In Cochabamba, many children struggle academically due to a combination of poverty, family migration, and limited educational support available at home. Parents working long hours to support their families, or navigating the disruptions of relocating for work, often have little time or capacity to help their children with schoolwork, leaving academic gaps to widen over time.
Maryknoll addresses this challenge by providing after-school tutoring, mentoring, and a safe, structured environment where children can focus on learning outside the pressures and distractions they may face at home. The program specifically serves students from low-income families, offering academic support that helps improve performance in core subjects while also fostering personal confidence and social development.
This project embodies the Catholic Social Teaching principles of Rights and Responsibilities, particularly a child’s right to education, and the Option for the Poor and Vulnerable, addressing the academic gaps that poverty and family instability so often create. It also reflects Maryknoll’s charism of practical accompaniment, meeting children exactly where their need is most acute, in the after-school hours when a lack of support can quietly widen into a lasting disadvantage.
Gifts to this project provide after-school tutoring and mentoring that help children in Cochabamba overcome academic challenges linked to poverty and family instability, building the skills and confidence they need to succeed in school.
