​The construction of the new offices for Fundación A. Jean Brugger has begun. We are proud to say that 5 of our current or former scholarship students are part of this project. Engineer Aurora Perez is working for the contractor, MultiServicios, as assistant engineer. Henry Sevilla, who is close to graduation as a Civil Engineer, is doing his internship with MultiServicios. Engineer Luis Mendoza, Engineer Kenneth Avendaño, and Engineering student Jordan Marin form the Supervisory staff, who will assure that the procedures and materials match the construction plans. We feel that the skill these young people are bringing to the project is a mark of the success of the scholarship program and of the university system of Nicaragua. And it is a fulfillment of one part of the dream for this project, that our graduates would be part of making the dream a reality.

Fundación A. Jean Brugger fosters a sense of community service in our scholarship students, and we are excited to report that a group of former students have formed a committee to help their 70 fellow graduates continue to serve.
The group’s first initiative was to jointly sponsor a student. In 2018, 18 graduates committed to make monthly donations to support Jorge Ramos study Civil Engineering in Managua.
Another objective of the Graduate Committee is to support construction of the new Fundación offices.
This group of young people is motivated and excited to support Fundación as a token of thanks to Mrs. Jean Brugger, for all the support she has given to the children, youth and seniors of San Juan del Sur.
You can also support the objective of this group of young people by donating for the construction of the new offices of the Fundacion.
#educationsjds http://www.fundacionajbrugger.org/building-the-future.html

President German Sandino Pérez, attorney, has his own law office in San Juan del Sur; Vice-president Karla Membreño, Physiotherapist, works at Zen Yoga; Fiscal Nadiezdha Ibarra, graduate in Banking and Finance, is administrator at the new Plaza La Talanguera; First Treasurer Belkys Guillen, graduate in English and currently studying Public Accounting, works at Discover Realty; and Secretary Francisco Tellez, graduate in Language and Literature, is a teacher at San Juan del Sur’s public high school.
In addition, long-time resident of San Juan del Sur Kathleen Knight will serve as second Treasurer. Kathleen has sponsored Fundación students for over 15 years and is also a member of the Fundación’s U.S. Board of Directors.
The new members of the Board were elected on April 11. A welcoming reception was held on May 3, at which founder Jean Brugger told the new Board members, “Part of my original vision for the Fundación was that the sponsored students would be inspired to transmit the values of education to the next generation. I am thrilled that this dream is being realized with this new Board, and feel confident that the Fundación is in good hands for the future.”
Together with Jean we welcome the new members who will work closely with the staff to further the vision of Fundación A. Jean Brugger.

​On April 28, the economic sciences students received a training on reading comprehension. This group will be doing a weekly program promoting reading and writing with 30 children in the Cebadilla community.
The training was given by Professor Freddy Baltodano Meza, whose specialty is Pedagogy. The scholarship students were given instruction in the methods of teaching reading.
Currently, a large percentage of children face serious difficulties in learning to read and write. This constitutes a serious obstacle endangering their success in school. This group of Fundación A. Jean Brugger scholars developed a community service program in order to combat this problem.

Both the medical science and economics science students attended second training sessions in the first week of May. 
In their community service, the medical science students give talks on reproductive and sexual health to women in rural communities around San Juan del Sur. In this latest seminar they learned about the risks and complications of teen-age pregnancy and the importance of breastfeeding in the first months of life.
The seminar was given May 4 by Dr. Álvaro Cortez, a specialist in Reproductive and Sexual Health, in collaboration with Dr. Kim Priebe, an obstretrician/gynecologist from the United States.
The economic science students are implementing a reading program in Cebadilla for their service project. Their seminar, on May 10, was about methodologies and didactic tools that are beneficial in teaching reading comprehension and writing to children.
This seminar was given by Professor Freddy Baltodano. 
We are pleased that our scholars are working so hard preparing for their community service projects, so that their work can have the maximum impact on the people they are serving.

​This year the female medical science students are giving talks on sexual and reproductive health to women in rural communities. Saturday April 27 they visited El Bastón and spoke to 17 teen-agers and mothers.
In their presentations, the students create an open atmosphere where the women feel comfortable asking questions.
This is the group's community service project
and they plan on visiting at least six more communities this year. 
The program is given in conjunction with Days for Girls, a US nonproft that provides free washable, reuseable sanitary napkins in attractive kits.
Thanks to the Houston Downtown chapter and Heidi Glantzberg for providing us with the beautiful kits.

Architect Jessica Céspedes has completed the drawings for the future Fundación offices. We are excited about taking the next step, which is finding the right builder for our new home. 
But first, the plans are being reviewed by our Building Committee, which includes scholarship students and graduates in architecture and engineering.
Jessica Céspedes owns the architectural firm Barberena Cespedes, based in Granada, with her husband Juan Barberena. They designed and constructed Escuela Adelante’s new building in El Container.
http://www.fundacionajbrugger.org/our-plan-in-action.html

​The first Baseball Camp of 2019 was held during the week of April 1 to 5. The participants were members of the local chldren's baseball league. 29 young people participated from these teams:
• Pampas Junior Team: 5 children
• The Falcons Team; 5 children
• Toros del Valle team: 3 children
• Halcones del Oro Team: 6 children
• Municipal team: 8 children
• Other children of the community: 2 children
• The goal of this camp was to improve baseball skills and to identify weaknesses and overcome them, in the interests of further developing the children’s league.
On the last day of the camp a friendly baseball match was played between the participants. This was followed by a closing ceremony where prizes were given to the 8 best students, taking into account discipline and participation over the entire week. The other 21 children were each given a baseball. 
At the end of the camp the children expressed their gratitude for having been able to participate. They said that they had greatly improved their techniques in the different positions they occupy in their team.
Fundación A. Jean Brugger thanks the Christopher Shatagin Foundation, the sponsor of Fundación baseball camps, and baseball camp coach Alejandro Noguera.

 This week they gave a talk to 44 students in the 8th grade of Stella Maris, presenting causes and prevention of this social problem.
This initiative is a coordination between the Stella Maris Educational Center and Fundación A. Jean Brugger with the goal of prevention, so that the young people of San Juan del Sur do not become victims of bullying.

Scholarship students in medical sciences careers receive training in prevention measures for uterine, ovarian and breast cancer in women, in order to strengthen the knowledge of students in these topics that will be used in training themselves to train women of different ages, in 7 communities of the municipality of San Juan del Sur, as part of the community social service program implemented by the Fundación A. Jean Brugger through the project Days For Girls which contributes to the prevention of early pregnancy, hygiene and cancer prevention in women
This training was facilitated on Saturday, March 30, 2018 with the support of Dr. Álvaro Cortez who is a specialist in Reproductive Sexual Health.