Support NicaRobotica to Compete in the World Robot Olympiad

NicaRobotica is a pioneering robotics education program in León, Nicaragua. Our mission is to ignite curiosity and inspire innovation through dynamic, hands-on robotics classes for children and teenagers. We aim to help build a better future by educating the next generation’s leaders in the skills needed to confront tomorrow’s challenges.

NicaRobotica in the World Robot Olympiad

For the past few years, we have been forming teams to participate in the annual robotics competition, the World Robot Olympiad (WRO), which is held each year in a different country. Teams first compete in the National Robotics Olympiad held in Managua, Nicaragua and winners are then eligible to move on to the international competition.

Last year, we earned four trophies in the national competition and got to travel to the World Robot Olympiad for the first time! Two of our teams competed in Panama, where our Junior team made it to spot number 20 among 93 teams from around the world. The experience was inspiring and eye-opening for our students, who came home more determined than ever to continue their robotics education and motivate others.

This year, we are very proud to share that we beat last year’s record by bringing home five trophies from the National Robotics Olympiad held at the end of July! Now we are busy preparing our first-place winners - the Senior team Prime Bots - for the WRO which will take place in Izmir, Turkey this year at the end of November 2024.

Our winning team

The Prime Bots team, made up of Alexandra, Yeva and Gabriel, blew the other Senior category teams out of the water, with a remarkable total score of 119 (out of 145), 46 points higher than the 2nd place team and 74 points higher than the 3rd place team. This impressive showing gives us great hope for their potential to compete against other high-performing teams from around the world. We are working hard with them to make sure they are as prepared as possible to confront the strong competition they’ll see on the world stage.

Who are these amazing kids? They each wrote bios for one another, so here are their introductions:

Gabriel, 15, likes programming in Python, JavaScript, Lua, and even programs his own basic video games in Roblox. When he’s not making video games, he enjoys playing them. He is energetic and passionate, a quality that he brings to everything he learns, especially math, chemistry and physics. He has participated in WRO events since 2019, and is greatly looking forward to yet another. (written by Alexandra)

Yeva, also 15, enjoys using art as a means to express herself. She also likes working with her dad on improving her programming skills in Python. Another one of her hobbies is cooking. And last but not least, she greatly enjoys reading and writing. She is charismatic and funny. (written by Gabriel)

Alexandra, 16, never fails to bring a vibrant attitude to every situation she enters, whether she is in class or participating in her everyday hobbies. Her creativity comes through in everything that she does, but she especially loves drawing and experimenting in different art mediums. Though she is nearing the end of her time in high school, Alex has yet to lose an ounce of her playful and friendly demeanor. (written by Yeva)

Why we need your support

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for these students to showcase their skills on the global stage, but we need your help to get them there. The costs to get to Turkey from Nicaragua are much higher compared to those from last year’s travels to Panama, and higher than our students and their families can cover by themselves. The national WRO organizer has agreed to cover a portion of the air travel for the students, but we need to raise the rest of the funds for our three students and their coach. The costs are estimated as the following:

Total fundraising goal: $10,000

Every donation, big or small, will bring us closer to our goal. Please help us make these students' dreams a reality and show the world what Nicaragua's young talent can achieve!

https://www.facebook.com/NicaRobotica/

https://www.instagram.com/nicarobotica/

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

My name is Abby Augusta, I have lived in León, Nicaragua for 15 years, and my husband, Elder Soto, is the founder of NicaRobotica. The funds donated to this campaign will be used to cover the travel expenses required for three students and their coach to travel to the World Robotic Olympiad in Izmir, Turkey in November 2024. The funds raised from this campaign will be sent to my personal bank account in the U.S., which we will use to purchase the plane tickets and to withdraw cash to cover the travel expenses required for this trip. I am happy to provide more detailed information on the withdrawal process for anyone who is interested.