By Deborah Payne
El Salvador
With a long history of free schools and community based education, the village of Santa Marta is celebrating 20 years of their university scholarship program. Established in 2005, the program has provided hope for many young people who aspire to complete their higher education. The structure of the program allows students to take classes at the University during the week then requires them to return to the village on weekends in order to provide education to the younger residents.
Since its inception, the university scholarship program has allowed a significant number of young people to enroll in university. The provision of higher education has resulted in the training of professionals across a broad spectrum of course work including Sociology, Social Work, Medicine, Maternal and Child Health, Dentistry, Anesthesiology, Nursing, Psychology, Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science. The program has also supported students of Journalism, Fine Arts, International Relations and Marketing, Education, Psychology, History, Philosophy, and English Language Teaching. Other students have studied Architecture, and Mechanical Engineering, Business Administration, Computer Systems Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Economics.

While initially focused on a small area, the scholarship program has extended to other departments. The program includes students from Cabañas including Santa Marta, San Felipe Hamlet, and El Caracol Canton. The Department of Sensuntepeque includes students from the Rio Grande Hamlet, and El Moidan while the department of Morazán includes students from Segundo Montes Community. The District of Suchitoto includes students from Las Delicias Canton, Chalatenango, and Sonsonate. ADES and CoCoDA’s work reaches far and wide.
Currently, there are 22 scholarship recipients in El Salvador:
- 14 women
- and 8 men
These young people are participants in the transformation of their communities, applying knowledge to address problems, obstacles, or conflicts. Their work in the free school helps promote the education of the next generation, enhancing leadership skills and supporting improvements in quality of life across the territories.
Nicaragua
CoCoDA celebrates the graduation of five high school students from Zacataloza, Nicaragua in December 2024. These students have worked hard toward this goal and will remain a part of CoCoDA’s scholarship program as they all continue their studies in the Technical School or University.


Elizabeth Zuñiga & Enmi Rodriguez, graduates of the scholarship program in 2024.
We also celebrate the development of a new program in Nueva Segovia, a municipality in the northern part of Nicaragua. In October 2024, CoCoDA signed an MOU with the Indigenous Council from Mosonte to build a partnership that will take charge of the Zacataloza scholarship program in 2025. This program, called Empowered Scholars, will add four additional University students to those already attending from Zacataloza and El Cacao.
The roster for 2025 includes 13 students:
- 8 in high school
- 5 in technical school or university
Participation reduced for different reasons this year. Some of the students changed communities or got married and one of them decided to stop studying to go to work. CoCoDA was told, however, that there will be around 6 students from the Zacataloza community graduating from 6th grade this year. In 2026 they hope to join the Empowered Scholars scholarship program and continue their studies.

For four years, CoCoDA has faithfully supported the education of 20 university students in the Nicaraguan municipalities of Somoto, Telpaneca, and Cusmapa. The scholarship provided $25 dollars per month, a flexible sum that could be used to pay for transportation, books, food, or any other needs. Students have studied in fields across the sciences, health, agriculture, law, mathematics, journalism and literature.
Sadly, the Young Rural Scholarship program had to close due to the loss of a partner organization in the area. While CoCoDA did its best to keep the project working, trying to send money in a safe, methodical way was difficult. CoCoDA decided to shutter the project until we have a partner organization in this municipality. We thank the people who made possible this wonderful program that has helped these young scholars make their dreams come true.
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