Partnership for education: in El Salvador, a program implemented by the Pan American Development Foundation supports schools and helps young people envision new possibilities for the future.

• Author: Del Toro, Natasha
• Position: Manos Unidas pot El Salvador

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It's still dark and the morning mist hangs low when Josue Vidal Barahona Flores, a bright teenager from the countryside in eastern El Salvador, gets up from his hammock and gets ready for school. He walks along a quiet dirt road, past cows, pigs, and roosters, to catch the bus to the Central American Institute of Technology in La Union, 45 minutes away.

His schedule is grueling, but Barahona is no stranger to hard work. Abandoned by his father as a child, he started doing field labor at age twelve to help support his mother and siblings, while also attending classes. Barahona excelled at iris studies, but the nearby school only offered classes up to sixth grade.

"I always thought, 'That's it, I'm not going to be able to study any further,'" he said. "But then a door would open."

With a teacher's encouragement, Barahona used his small savings to purchase a bike so he could continue with seventh grade in El Plebe, three miles away. The ride took iron around all hour along a bumpy road.

"In the rainy season, the roads are like rivers, but [Josue] never missed a class," said one of his teachers, Elmer Antonio Nativi. "When he got to school he would shake the dirt from his pants. To be able to come to class and support his family he still had to work in his free time, so after school he would go straight to the fields."

This is how Barahona remembers those days: "There were times I would say, 'I can't go on. It's too hard.' The physical exertion ... the homework.... But then I would think, 'I can't go back. It would be cowardly.' I wanted to get ahead."

In 2004, a program called Manos Unidas pot El Salvador--managed by the Pan American Development Foundation (PADF), in partnership with Central America's largest commercial bank, Banco Agricola--put a new computer center in Barahona's school in El Piche. The student, who had never touched a computer before, discovered his passion. He would stay after class and practice in his free time--and the hard work paid off. He graduated first in his class with honors and received a scholarship to study at the Central American Institute of Technology.

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"At graduation, I felt like citing," said Barahona. "Since I was little, I've always prayed to God, 'If it's your will, send me a blessing' so that I could keep studying. I also asked Him to help with my grades."

Josue Barahona is the only one in his family to complete high school. One day, he hopes to be a teacher. "Education is essential for the development of a country," he said. "When you have education, you look towards the future."

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Nativi said the computer center at the school in El Piche gives students the chance to earn a better salary after graduation. Most jobs in El Salvador pay around US$170 to $250 a month, but computer training can lead to jobs that pay around $400 to $800 a month, he said. "[Josue] will serve as a model to show that, yes, we have the resources if a student wants to apply himself and get ahead," the teacher said.

El Salvador faced numerous challenges in the 1990s, following the end of the country's civil war. Plummeting coffee prices and soaring petroleum costs hurt the economy. Hurricane Mitch and two devastating earthquakes delivered a major blow to basic infrastructure and housing throughout the country.

The last few years have brought some signs of recovery. Free market reforms and remittances--transfers...