Vamos a la Escuela

Depending on each family's circumstances, we help cover the cost of enrollment fees, birth certificates, medical examinations, uniforms, shoes, backpacks, school supplies, transportation, school lunches, tutoring, and other educational expenses. When the barrier is more complex, we work with families and community partners to develop long-term solutions that make education possible.

Removing Barriers to Education

Vamos a la Escuela means "Let's go to School."

For many children, the biggest obstacle to an education isn't a lack of ability. It's a barrier that prevents them from getting through the school gate.

Sometimes that barrier is financial. Sometimes it's administrative. Sometimes it's academic. And sometimes it's much more complex.

Rather than offering the same assistance to every family, we work to identify the specific obstacle keeping each child out of school, then partner with families, schools, and the community to remove it whenever appropriate.

Enrollment & Required Documents

Some children cannot enroll because they are missing the paperwork schools require.

When appropriate, we help families obtain birth certificates, previous school records, required medical examinations, and other documentation needed for enrollment. We also work with schools and local professionals to help families navigate the enrollment process.

The goal is simple: paperwork should never be the reason a child misses school.

Tuition, Uniforms & School Supplies

For many families, the cost of preparing a child for school is simply too much.

Depending on each family's circumstances, we may help cover expenses such as:

School tuition and enrollment fees
Uniforms and shoes
Backpacks
Notebooks and textbooks
Classroom supplies
Other required educational materials

By covering these costs, we help ensure students begin the school year with the same basic opportunity to learn as their classmates.

Meals, Transportation & Academic Support

Some students need transportation to attend consistently. Others struggle because they arrive at school hungry. Some have missed months or years of instruction and need additional academic support after returning.

When appropriate, we may:

Help provide transportation to school
Work with participating schools to cover the cost of student lunches
Connect students with volunteer tutors and mentors through our Por los Demás network
Stay in communication with families and schools to identify new challenges before they become reasons for a student to leave school

When the Barrier Is Bigger

Not every challenge can be solved with a backpack or a pair of shoes.

Some families depend on a child's income to meet basic needs. Others face challenges involving addiction, unstable housing, caregiving responsibilities, or other circumstances that make school difficult.

One example comes from La Pintada, where some children spend their days selling handmade products to help support their families. In situations like these, paying for school supplies alone doesn't solve the problem because the real barrier is family income.

These are the situations that require longer-term solutions. In some cases, that means working with families and community partners to explore social enterprises and other approaches that strengthen household income while allowing children to remain where they belong: in school.

Learn more about our Social Enterprise initiatives.

Continuing to Learn

As we work alongside children and families, we continue identifying other barriers that affect educational success.

For example, we've observed that untreated vision problems may be preventing some students from reaching their full potential. We've also seen how something as simple as a haircut can affect confidence, school attendance, and classroom participation.

We're currently exploring these and other small pilot programs with local partners to better understand where they can make the greatest difference.

Learn more about our Pilot Programs.