Education in Mexico is free until aged 15, the end of Secondaria. Even so, there are costs associated with  staying in school even until then: materials, books, transportation, the expectation that students have access to a

computer. For families living on the edge of poverty it often comes down to buying food for today or paying for school supplies and uniforms.

 

Prepatoria, similar to senior high school, is fee-based with costs starting around 1,000 pesos a month plus materials, books, transportation, cyber cafe and printing. Where the minimum wage is less than 10 pesos per day, many families cannot afford to send their child to Preppa and want them to get a job to contribute to the family. Girls are also kept home to babysit younger siblings. Young people who want to stay in school and get enough education to break out of poverty lose hope that their lives can be different and better. It  opens them up to early pregnancy, recruitment into criminal gangs, substance abuse or depression.

​

CIDC began a scholarship program as a natural evolution of our engagement with families for whom we built homes as well as our ESL students and the families in the community in which we are engaged. We match a student with a sponsor and for between $80 to $100 per month they can stay in school and work to fulfill their dreams. Students must contribute some money towards their own expenses and keep up an 8.5 average. Most of our scholarship students are young women who are less likely to be supported by their families than their brothers.