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Pitahaya Institute

Need

Venezuelans face shortages of food, electricity and medications that make daily living difficult and have resulted in millions leaving the country.

Action/results

Pitahaya Vocational Training School offers young women from low-income families a high school education with specialized training in hospitality that allows them to obtain employment to support themselves and their families.

Since 2016, LINCCO has helped Pitahaya through scholarships for students living at the school to pay for their education as well as lodging and meals during their studies.

Annual overall objective

10 scholarships of $500

Details

• Local partner: Association for Art and Science

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Los Samanes High School

Need

In order to provide a better education to children from economically disadvantaged families, the Los Samanes school, located in Maracaibo, was created in 1984. In order to minimize the cost of schooling and to allow a greater number of students to attend, the decision was made in 2001 to share the physical space with Altamira School, which would occupy the premises in the mornings, while Los Samanes would hold classes in the afternoons, from 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.

The crisis that has been affecting Venezuela for several years has had a great impact on the ability of families to pay the monthly fees, which have been reduced again this year.

Action/Results

In order to keep students in school and encourage academic excellence, a scholarship program was started.

Overall objective of 2024-2025

20 scholarships of $1700 
*Thanks to your generosity, we were able to offer 35 scholarships of $800 in 2023-2024.

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Drinking water problem at Pitahaya Vocational Training Institute

Need

In Venezuela, particularly in the city of Maracaibo, the distribution and quality of water is unreliable. Frequent interruptions in the water supply and poor water quality are a major issue.

The option of having drinking water delivered by tanker trucks was quickly discarded because, in addition to being costly, the quality of the water remains poor. Instead, the Pitahaya Institute opted for a longer-term solution: drilling a well, which already provides clean water with a regular flow.

However, a year after the well was installed, another problem arose. Because Maracaibo’s groundwater has a high salt content, the school’s metal pipes, installed in 1988, began to deteriorate and now risk contaminating the water.

Action/Results

There is an urgent need to install a reverse osmosis water filtration system and to replace some damaged pipes. The project amounts to $60,000.

LINCCO could not logically continue to provide scholarships to Pitahaya students when the school’s water was in danger of contaminating them. We had to act quickly and find the necessary funds to complete the project. 

Fortunately, a generous donor covered almost all the costs incurred, and the drinking water problem was solved.