Our History
In response to the need for solidarity, education, and peaceful reconstruction after the decade long civil war in Nicaragua, in 1988, Todd Evans and Patrick Rickon participated in a Habitat for Humanity project to help build houses near Ciudad Darío, Nicaragua. On subsequent trips to Nicaragua, Patrick and Todd were deeply touched by the hope still alive in the poverty stricken region. Observing the basic need for school desks and education resources, they decided to work together to respond to the need. Todd organized support and the collection of educational materials in the States, while Patrick worked with local community members to build rustic school desks out of scrap lumber from a Habitat for Humanity saw mill.
As the demand from surrounding communities for school desks increased, so did Patrick and Todd’s resolve to work longer-term in the area. Nicaraguan children, who previously sat on a dirt floor or a wooden stump at school, now had a desk. Local community members were able to participate in the construction of the desks as well, empowering them to become active participants in the development of their own communities.
As the wave of new school desks spread throughout the communities in the area, soon the need for schools became apparent as well.
In 1991, SOL became an official nonprofit organization dedicated to enriching the future through education in the Americas. As the interest in supporting work in Nicaragua grew, so did SOL, enabling it to reach a wider range of education needs in Nicaragua. Soon, through generous donations of additional woodworking equipment, SOL’s woodshop was able to furnish even more school desks before growing out of its quarters. At this time, SOL also collaborated with Swedish and Nicaraguan volunteers on an adult education and literacy initiative, organizing adult literacy classes and supporting rural communities’ efforts to eradicate illiteracy.
Meanwhile, in California, SOL continued to attract the attention of a wider population of youth, church members, and other interested parties. During the summer of 1992, twenty-one volunteers from Mendocino, California traveled to Nicaragua, to work together with community members of Playa de Moyua to build a one-classroom school. The success of this endeavor helped to establish SOL’s school construction and work group programs. In that same year, seven schools in Northern California commenced correspondence with schools in Nicaragua, and the sister school program began. Today there are over 2,000 students and 80 teachers involved in the sister school program, exchanging letters, artwork, and cultural traditions throughout the year.
Although SOL increasingly provided the means for people in local communities in the Darío area to pursue education, other needs continued to present themselves, especially in the area of education resources. Following a community survey, in 1995, a pilot Learning Resource Center was opened. Children, youth, and teachers, alike lined up around the block to wait for a chance to put together puzzles, read, or just marvel at the brightly colored storybooks. As the center continued to grow, twice it moved to larger facilities. Soon, responding to the popular demand of high school students for a library with up to date reference and literature books, atlases, and dictionaries, SOL added a reference area to the LRC. Before long, guitar classes were offered, followed by sewing, embroidery, art, dance, and other music classes. Today the center is a popular hub of educational and cultural activity in Darío. It attracts students, teachers, ministry of education and local government officials, as well as community members interested in learning a new skill or in using the many resources in the center.
Deterred by the high cost of school uniforms, transportation, tuition, tests, and books, few students are able to complete primary, let alone, high school in Nicaragua. Beginning in 1996, SOL established a scholarship program, which today supports over 70 primary, secondary, and university students in Latin America. From its inception to the present time, SOL has given over 350 scholarships to students in Nicaragua and El Salvador.
In 1999, responding to the invitation of the small post-war resettlement community of Las Minas, El Salvador, SOL began a school construction project. Finding needs similar to those in Nicaragua for rural schools and community development, SOL began working with local volunteer community members to establish school construction and scholarship programs in El Salvador.
Today, approximately 260 volunteers from all over North America participate in SOL’s work group program each year. Together, USA volunteers and community members have built 105 classrooms in 34 schools in the past 19 years, benefiting over 10,000 students.