Connect Education International is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization committed to promoting educational and nutritional opportunities for children in developing countries. Connect Education International has no religious or political affiliations.
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Santa Luisa
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This primary school sits in the Central Market, the urban center of San Salvador. Students from first through ninth grade attend the school daily from 7:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. When they finish their studies they head to the market to work with their parents. Some students walk through the streets selling vegetables, bread, pens or anything else they think they may be able to sell. Others sell from stands that are just far enough to the side of the street to allow buses to pass. 
Wrought with gang violence and drugs, the central market proves a dangerous place for many while the children often suffer most. School is the only truly safe place that many of the children will be in all day.
Before ConnectEd International entered Santa Luisa, the school did not have a single computer. They also lacked a program that addressed nutrition for the students. Through cooperation with Santa Luisa, ConnectEd International and sponsors within the United States, Santa Luisa now has a computer lab and a nutrition program. The computer lab houses 30 computers, five of which are equipped with internet access. Keyboarding and general computer use are offered through computer classes that have been implemented into the school curriculum. Students from fifth through ninth grade participate in the computer classes.
The nutrition program is based on soy, which provides much needed protein to the students. Each student who participates in the program receives soy milk daily and many bring home dough from the soy beans to be used in cooking by their families. ConnectEd currently sponsors 200 of the most needy students at Santa Luisa. The total student population is almost 600. ConnectEd also holds workshops that parents of the students are encouraged to attend. The workshops serve as educational tools to show parents how to use soy products when cooking culturally common foods.
