August 15, 2008, cont. from front page, Caracol pedestrian bridge due August 15, By Julio Edgar Méndez, Presidencia ''Citizen Tuesdays''

A requirement of the scholarships granted by these organizations and the local government is that students maintain good grades. The state government has also introduced a scholarship program to encourage students to study. Those scholarships are not based on grades, and prohibits students having more than one scholarship.

This restriction is not imposed by the other scholarship - granting organizations.

Government scholarships

The local, state and federal governments all award scholarships to students in San Miguel. The education office, part of the Education and Culture Department headquartered in the municipal library on Pepe Llanos, manages two scholarship programs: municipal scholarships and a state program called “Contigo vamos a la escuela” (We go to school with you).

“Contigo vamos grants 4,500 pesos a year to students, whereas the local government grants 2,400 pesos a year,” said Ledesma. According to him, Contigo vamos works together with INAEBA (National Institute for Literacy and Basic Education for Adults). “If the student’s parents do not know how to read, they are required to learn to read as a condition of their child receiving a scholarship.”

The government program does not allow a student to have more than one scholarship. “If we discover that a student who has a scholarship with us has another one from the Biblioteca Pública or another institution, we suggest that he or she keep the other scholarship, since it is larger, and forfeit the state scholarship.”

According to Ledesma, Contigo vamos a la escuela does not monitor grade point averages. “The minimum grade they hope students earn is a 7 [out of 10]. The objective of this program is to encourage students not to leave school, since many of them only finish their basic education and then begin working.”

Scholarships at the Biblioteca

“The Biblioteca was developed to serve the youth of the community, so almost since its beginning a scholarship program has been part of its mission,” said Louisa Velte, director of the scholarship program at the Biblioteca Pública.

The Biblioteca provides scholarships for junior and senior high school students in rural communities and for university students who live in the municipality of San Miguel de Allende.

“The students come in for interviews in June and July, bringing proof of residence and recent academic records,” said Velte. “For high school we ask for a minimum grade point average of 8, and we grant 1,000 pesos a year.”

For university, the scholarship amount is 6,000 pesos a year, and according to Velte, the selection here requires a long interview and a lot of information. Some of the scholarships are destined to last for many years since once the university scholarship is granted, the student will continue receiving it until he or she graduates. “The high cost of university education can impose a huge burden on the student and his family. In the interviews we learn about how each student and his family will cope with paying the bills. A full time job is the only solution for many of these young people.”

According to Velte, the Biblioteca’s scholarship team has begun working together with Mujeres en Cambio and Jóvenes Adelante. “Some students may be applying for several scholarships. My feeling on this is that there are students who need more than one scholarship; they need it and they deserve it,” she noted. “But others may be asking for too much, so this is why all the scholarship programs must work together so that we can jointly make decisions that are fair, and so that we can grant a greater number of scholarships.”

In the academic year 2007-2008 there were 163 applicants for university becas and 112 were selected. “This year we have 196 applicants and will select around 115, so you can see that our selection committee will have a more difficult job this year,” said Velte.

Scholarships for women in the campo

Mujeres en Cambio is a nonprofit organization that has been operating for 13 years. The group currently provides scholarships to more than 150 deserving young women who are recommended by their schools’ principals or teachers.

“We only grant scholarships to female students in rural communities,” said Marjorie Zap, current treasurer of the Mujeres en Cambio scholarship program. “We only help women because men tend to finish elementary or secondary school and then drop out to work here or in the United States.” The scholarship recipients come from the rural communities of Atotonilco, San Marcos, Augustín Gonzáles, Corral de Piedras, Támbula and Alcocer.

Zap noted that the girls must maintain a grade point average of 8 or higher to keep their scholarships. Mujeres en Cambio pays approximately 2,700 pesos for high school students and 10,000 pesos for university education.

María Guadalupe Ramírez Patlán has just completed her degree in tourism at CBTIS, with the highest ranking in her class, thanks to the support of Mujeres en Cambio. “I had some trouble getting the scholarship because I was studying in an urban secondary school, but because I live in San Marcos, a rural community, I finally got the scholarship. I am very grateful to Mujeres en Cambio because without their support I would not have finished my studies,” she said.

Jóvenes Adelante university scholarships

A scholarship program for male and female university students, Jóvenes Adelante was started by Helen Morris in 2001. Virginia Wheelwright, current director of the program, said that Jóvenes Adelante carefully chooses which students receive funding.

Lists of prospective awardees are submitted from the two largest senior high schools in San Miguel, CBTIS and Pípila, and then the applicants’ families are interviewed. “We have discovered that there are parents who do not want their children to go to the university; they prefer to have them working immediately. We grant each student 1,000 dollars (10,000 pesos) a year, which is not a tremendous sum, but it makes a big difference,” said Wheelright.

Currently, Jóvenes Adelante sponsors 68 students. “We also instituted a mentorship program for all scholarship students. The mentors help with problems at school or home. Mentors are not expected to give students money, but if there are financial problems they come to the board and we try to find a way to help the youngster get money.”

Wheelwright said that Jóvenes Adelante also supports San Miguel students who attend universities outside the city. “We generally request that the university be within 120 miles of San Miguel, in cities such as Querétaro and Guanajuato.”

Rosy, from the rural community of La Esperanza, is studying psychology at the University of León thanks to Jóvenes Adelante. She is the second of five sisters, all of whom have been sponsored by the program. Rosy said that it would have been much harder to continue studying without the support of the scholarship.

“My mentor, Evelyn Chisolm, is like my friend. She has invited me to have lunch at her home; she calls and invites me for coffee. She gives me support and tells me that I am not alone.”

For scholarship donations

Biblioteca

Contact Luisa Velte or Sandra Suaste, Biblioteca Pública, Insurgentes 25

Mujeres en cambio
San Miguel Community Foundation
220 N. Zapata Hwy #11A
Laredo, TX 78043

In Mexico mail your check to:
Mujeres en Cambio
Apdo #760
San Miguel de Allende
GTO 37700 Mexico

Jóvenes Adelante
Aldama 3, Box 175, SMA

Construction work delayed for several months on libramiento Manuel Zavala, from Mega to La Luciérnaga, is now moving ahead. Raúl Barrera, new director of Public Works, took charge only two weeks ago and has already addressed the problem. He spoke with Atención on Friday, August 8.

An advertising company had agreed to build the bridges in exchange for commercial use, but they should have been finished several months ago. Barrera approached them and worked out a schedule. The first bridge, on Pantoja, will be in place August 15, and the second one, on colonia Allende, in the first week of September.

The second phase of the Caracol project, the third lane, had been delayed due to an alleged lack of communication between the municipality and the company responsible. The contractor doing the road will install signals and paint lane lines to replace those painted temporarily by Local Transit to prevent more accidents. All this should be done by next week as well.

Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes, SCT (Comunications and Transportation Department) constructed access to schools on the road to Alcocer, but local transit found many defects on the project. SCT and local transit chief Samuel Mercadillo are now reviewing the project, as they want a prompt and correct solution to the problem.

Barrera found, once he took charge of the office, that several projects which should have been a priority were stuck or delayed. “The idea is to take them up again and be able to give effective solutions to all those problems,” he said.

Since Tuesday, August 12, members of the Public Security Department (Dirección de Seguridad Pública) have been receiving public complaints and reports in the former Presidencia building at Plaza Principal 8 across from the Jardín.

If you have any problem in your neighborhood, such as a gang hanging around the street corner, a broken streetlamp, a water leak, or a police abuse of authority, you can report on Tuesdays, 9:30am–3pm, and the matter will be resolved within 36 hours.

“We need citizen reports to discover any bad elements in the Public Security staff,” said Daniel Trujillo, head of the Public Security Department. “Any problem in the streets or in the colonias will be turned over to the proper department and will be resolved in no more than 36 hours.”

Trujillo said he will be in the former Presidencia every Tuesday to assist expats who do not speak Spanish.