Benefit to Fund Year of Learning at Una Escuelita in Central America

A benefit for Una Escuelita, a school in an impoverished town in Nicaragua, will be held at  in East Hampton.

East Hampton artists Frank Roccanova and Pope Noell created Una Escuelita, the not-for-profit school in Limon Dos, four years ago, and it has successfully run on donations since. Roccanova explained that he and Noell saw a need while visiting the Central American town, and Una Escuelita is already making a difference.

Schools in Nicaragua are state-run and children are not mandated to attend, Roccanova said, noting that the kids who do attend only go from 7 a.m. to noon each day. Una Escuelita begins after school at 12:30 p.m. and the children receive help with homework, and they participate in sports and various volunteer-run art and music programs each day.

“We’re not looking to build doctors, lawyers and engineers,” Roccanova said, “We’re looking to build good citizens.” The artist said the kids who attend Una Escuelita have some of the highest scores among students at the state-run school, they behave better than average children, and they are seeing the most success.

The school has four classrooms, anywhere from 20 to 45 elementary and middle school students, and it employs a dozen locals. They also have a rotating staff of volunteers who come from around the world to offer their expertise or experience in a variety of subjects. “They’ve all left a tremendous footprint on the school,” Roccanova said of the volunteers, most of who stay for two weeks at a time.

Each student at Una Escuelita receives a meal, and Roccanova said that was the initial draw for most of the kids. Limon Dos is in such poverty that the meal at their school could be the only one many of the children eat each day.

While they first came for the food, Roccanova said the students now attend Una Escuelita for the joy of learning and socializing in a positive atmosphere. He said giving back to this little town has been one of the most rewarding experiences of his life, and he and Noell eventually plan to leave the school in the hands of the Limon Dos community.

“It’s not our culture,” Roccanova said, pointing out that he and Noell made mistakes in the beginning, but they learned quickly that the people of Nicaragua are very different from Americans. Because of this, he said Una Escuelita would be best left to them, once everything is operating well enough to keep it going in perpetuity.

“We’re two artists, we know nothing about building a school,” Roccanova said modestly. “It’s like building and flying a plane at the same time,” he added, noting that they’re lucky it’s still in the air.

Una Escuelita costs $35,000 to run for one year, and Roccanova said he and Noell, who is currently in Limon Dos running the school, hope to raise the money on Saturday.

The benefit includes live music from jazz instrumentalist Julie Bluestone, appetizers and a silent auction featuring numerous gift certificates for local restaurants. “This is more of a dance party,” Roccanova said, adding that the $50 price tag is a cheap night with live entertainment, free food, and best of all it supports Una Escuelita.

The Una Escuelita benefit is from 7 to 11 p.m.

To learn more about Una Escuelita visit www.UnaEscuelita.org.