Walton International Scholarship Program

The Walton International Scholarship Program was started in 1985 by Sam Walton. Many of Wal-Mart's products are manufactured in Central American maquilas that pay low wages, in countries where workers lack the same rights available in industrialized countries. The Walton International Scholrship Program began as a program to stem the tide of communism in Central America, and promote capitalism and privatization. It was a scholarship program to bring Central American students to Christian universities in the United States. It was hoped that this would create sympathy for capitalism and privatization, instead of communism and public ownership.

As the Walton International Scholarship Program web site says: "Before his death on April 5, 1992, Mr. Sam Walton expressed his concern about the influence of the communist ideology on Central America. He commented at the time of the gift, '...we want future leaders of Central America...we need to get large numbers of the student generation up here to the United States. The students will learn skills through the liberal arts curricula of these three fine colleges that will encourage...private development of their countries.'"

The Walton International Scholarship Program is a project of the Walton Family Foundation.