Families of San José de Cusmapa, in the department of Madriz, fear that at any moment the authorities of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo will take over the facilities of the center Fabretto located in that municipality, as happened days ago in the centers located in Somoto, the departmental capital; in Ocotal, New Segovia; and San Isidro de Bolas, in Managua; after the cancellation of the legal status of the Asociación Familia Padre Fabretto and Fabretto Children’s Foundation, lnc.
According to legislative decree 8787, through which Fabretto’s legal status was cancelled, the assets and shares of the NGO will have, after liquidation, “the destination provided for in the articles of incorporation or in its statute.” Only “if nothing has been provided” in the statutes, the assets will become the property of the State. Until now, the Fabretto authorities have avoided giving statements to the media.
However, “Katherine” —a former employee of Fabretto— reported that at least three of the eight Fabretto centers throughout the country were occupied by lawyers and alleged officials of the Ministry of Education (Mined). In the case of San José de Cusmapa, the 36 workers have already been liquidated and allegedly have delivered the documentation required by the Ministry of the Interior (Migob).
For “Katerine” the closure and occupation of the Fabretto centers is like “a slap in the face” for the population of northern Nicaragua. At the time of being cancelled, the NGO benefited 40,000 children and adolescents who were integrated into initial, primary and vocational technical education programs, according to information available on the foundation’s website.
It also served eight “Fabretto” educational centers, and more than 140 public primary schools in disadvantaged rural and urban communities, according to the organization.
affected families
“The first job I had was at Fabretto. My children have also passed through Fabretto, as have the children of most of the people in this town and in the communities, because they had spread to the communities where there is a lot of poverty,” said “Katerine.”
Like former Fabretto worker, “Orlando” —an inhabitant of San José de Cusmapa—explained that, since last February 11, a group of villagers barricaded themselves in the center to prevent its occupation, a tense atmosphere remains in the area, since allegedly some of the organizers of the protest have been threatened by representatives of the regime.
However, “Orlando” clarified that, despite the fact that the protest ended a day later, the regime’s officials have not returned to take over the facilities where -in addition- Father Rafael María Fabretto (1920-1990) is buried.who dedicated his life to educating the most disadvantaged communities in Nicaragua.
“Fabretto was the first to bring high school remotely (to the north of Nicaragua), it was an excellent program because the kid could finish his high school without having to go to the urban area and they graduated with an agricultural technician,” lamented “Orlando” .
The Father Fabretto Family is an organization founded in 1963 to perpetuate the work that the priest of Italian origin, but fu canceled and busy under the argument that he allegedly breached with registration with the Ministry of the Interior (Migob).
The Padre Fabretto Educational Center in San José de Cusmapa benefited some 2,500 poor students, who, in addition to their formal studies, had services that are not always found in the state education system, such as a computer lab, a library, a vegetable garden and a health center. early stimulation.
It also included food security and nutrition, technical and vocational education, community development, and parent-teacher training, as well as student cooperatives.
