The Nic(Amigos) Club, one of Loyola’s new clubs, has brought great diversity into the many clubs of Loyola. Created by sophomore JP Francis, the club serves to help with the education of many young students in Nicaragua.
Every summer, the Nic(Amigos) group travels to Nicaragua, helping with hands on activities and and bringing school supplies.
JP talks about his time at Nicaragua describes the experience, “I’ve been traveling to Nicaragua for nine years, and in that time I’ve helped to start several different programs with the NICA Foundation such as a used school supplies and uniform drive. The goal of these trips has been to improve their lives through education.”
Many students are illiterate the English language, impeding their ability to acquire the new opportunities. JP and the NICA foundation intend, to even the terms and eventually present students with stable jobs through education of the English language.
JP describes the choice to spread their good work to Loyola, “My trips to Nicaragua have been one of the most meaningful experiences for me growing up. I wanted to share these great experience with my fellow Cubs in a way that is both accessible for Loyola students and impactful for Nicaraguan students.”
The club meets around one or two times a month, and their focus is connecting with some of the students in Nicaragua. JP explains, “The sessions will include 40 minutes of Skype talks with Nicaraguan students. There we will talk about various different topics like sports, extracurricular-activities, current events, etc.”
The goal is to improve the Nicaraguan students’ knowledge of the English language, and strengthen the club members’ knowledge of the Spanish language. JP also mentions, “Attending the meetings also provides time towards your service hours.”