The children deserve it all, our love, our hearts, and our unconditional care. We were personally invited by Oliva Cigar Co. because the proceeds from the Roaring Twenties cigars we purchased were directed entirely to the Oliva Foundation Escuelita in Estelí. The Escuelita was not a side visit or a secondary experience. It was the core focus of the trip.
Only 200 boxes of Roaring Twenties cigars were produced worldwide. Each box was priced at $3,000. We purchased two, and every dollar from those boxes went directly toward funding the school.
Escuelita exists for the children of the women who work in the factory. It provides early education, care, structure, and opportunity at no cost to these families. It offers these children a real starting point and a chance at a different future than the poverty they were born into.
We spent time with the children, visited their classrooms, and saw firsthand the environment created to help them grow into educated, capable humans. Touring the cigar-making process was a privilege, but the school was the reason we were there.
For anyone who feels called to contribute, donations to the Oliva Foundation Escuelita in Estelí are welcomed and deeply needed. I strongly encourage it. Being there, meeting these children, and seeing the impact of this work was humbling and profoundly beautiful oliva foundation