A secondhand shop is helping Venezuelan teachers cope with their dire wages. El Ropero Solidario, launched in December by the Venezuelan Teachers' Federation (FVM), offers clothing at prices between one and four dollars—one of the few solutions for educators struggling to make ends meet. Living on a $15 monthly salary is impossible in Venezuela, where the education system is in crisis and faces a shortage of 200,000 teachers. Basic groceries for a family of four cost an average of $500 per month—38 times the average teacher's salary. Teachers have historically been underpaid, but never as little as now. María Cerezo, 70, has been in the profession for 39 years. She stretches the family budget with help from her daughter, also a teacher, and her husband, a lawyer. With everyday expenses already hard to cover, buying clothes was out of the question. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES