The Mano Amiga Solution
The first Mano Amiga (Helping Hand) school was founded in 1963, in Mexico City, as a response to the grave financial, educational, and social problems that existed then, and which continue to plague the poor neighborhoods of the large cities in Mexico and throughout the developing world. Under the spiritual direction of the Legion of Christ, a religious order of the Catholic Church, the first Mano Amiga school opened its doors to 15 students in kindergarten, taught in two small classrooms. Two years later, first grade was added with 25 students, and the school continued to grow until the secondary level (high school) was completed.
Today, there are 34 schools in the Mano Amiga Federation, serving over 21,000 students living in poor, urban communities in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Mexico and Venezuela. In Mexico, for example, the average household salary of a Mano Amiga family is $2,400/yr. New schools currently are under construction in El Salvador, Venezuela, Argentina and Colombia. Fifty new schools are targeted for Latin America and Africa over the next 5 years.
The quality of Mano Amiga schools is obvious from the moment one steps inside: Students are happy, engaged, well-groomed and well-behaved; teachers are respected and demonstrate a visible interest in their students; and the parents are active in their child's education and many attend adult education classes, held at the schools in the evenings.
These are impressions, but the numbers tell the same story: Over 90% of Mano Amiga students complete their high school education; over 85% go on to to University or technical school; in regional scholastic competitions, Mano Amiga students repeatedly come out on top, beating out students from wealthy, elite schools. Requests for admission typically outpace available spots by 5:1.
Today, Mano Amiga alumni can be found working as teachers in Mano Amiga schools, studying in US universities for graduate degrees, and traveling for multi-national corporations as business executives. Ask any one of them, and they will attribute their impressive achievements to the education they received at a Mano Amiga school.
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