A boy named Nikanor Leonardo Quinteros is only 12 years old. He is like any other child of his age. Nikanor, or as he is affectionately called Niko, lives with his grandmother Ramona, attends classes and loves milk and cookies. He would be an ordinary teenager if he had not founded the school Patria Unity School, in which he teaches neighboring children, and part-time performs the work of the director.
How did you get the idea to open a school
The young benefactor realized this project four years ago. Nico decided to help the residents of his city of Las Piedratas (Argentina). In the dysfunctional area where his family lives, education fades into the background. The nearest school is located in a neighboring city, which is not easily accessible. Many of his peers could not afford to go to school, as their parents were not able to cover the cost of transportation. Others dropped out of school due to a lack of time or a simple misunderstanding of the program.
So very young children who have not received any education are forced to start making money or wandering around the streets idle. Watching everything happening around him, the boy wanted to change the situation and make the life of his comrades more prosperous.
The implementation of bold ideas
When Nikanor was nine years old, he asked his grandmother to help him build a school for all those in need in the backyard of their house. The woman supported the initiative of her grandson. They used improvised materials to build a kind of educational institution. Sticks and tarps came up to create classrooms, and grandmother and grandson decided to replace chairs and school desks with fruit crates. They also found a sufficient number of sheets from notebooks so that the students had something to write on.
The neighbors supported the boy’s initiative and tried their best to help him. So in four years, thanks to the assistance and investments of the townspeople, Nikanor managed to build two more classrooms, set up a board, purchase a first-aid kit, and even hang a bell that notifies students of the beginning and end of classes. Now in his house there is a school principal's office.
The young leader does everything possible so that his private educational institution is no different from any other. The school has a small library, assembled by local residents, and at the beginning of the school day a national anthem sounds.
Example for everyone
But what is most impressive in the school of Leonardo Nikanor Kinteros is the quality of education and his faithful desire to help others. Every day, Nicanor Kinteros travels four kilometers by bicycle to get to the school, where he himself is educated. Then, in any weather, he takes his two-wheeled vehicle and pedals to the side of the house to conduct classes in various disciplines such as writing, reading and mathematics. Sometimes, when his students cannot attend classes in the daytime, he spends them at night to make sure that his students are not behind the program. His home school has several entry-level courses and even a kindergarten. In addition to Nikanor himself, some townspeople living nearby and having education, as well as friends of the boy, volunteered to teach.
It's never too late to learn
Currently, 36 people attend classes at the school. Most of them, of course, are children. However, among the students there are also adults who, for one reason or another, did not have the opportunity to learn to read, write and count in childhood. Now they are happy to catch up on lost in the institution under the guidance of a young hero and mentor.
Selfless Altruist
Despite the fact that the impromptu school of Leonardo looks very cramped and nondescript, it is improving every day. Kinteros himself, apparently, is a child prodigy, since he is able to instill in others a love of learning at the level of a competent adult teacher.
Nico often saves his own pocket money to feed his students a hot lunch. The boy’s house always has milk and cookies for little wards. His main dream at the moment is to build a public canteen at his private school.
The news of the initiative of Nikanor Kinteros hit the media with the submission of local journalists. Then the constructed school was illuminated through various channels in different countries. Nico is still a child. And this is exactly what has attracted the attention of the public around the world. An incredible level of awareness at such a young age helped the boy understand that education is his privilege, inaccessible to many of his other peers.
But Nico did not entertain his own ambitions with this thought, but wanted to share his knowledge. Now the boy teaches children from poor families and gives them a chance to achieve greater success in life. The selflessness of the young benefactor inspires the inhabitants of the whole planet to do good deeds for the benefit of the development of the world.
