You’re Making a Difference Here
GUATEMALA
In Guatemala, where over 50% of the population lives below the poverty line, socioeconomic status is one of the biggest barriers to accessing a quality education (World Bank 2013). The average length of schooling for a Guatemalan child is only 4 years and 24.1% of the population is illiterate (US Aid 2014; World Bank 2014).
Pencils of Promise works with over 165 communities in Guatemala to ensure our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 219,000 lives in Guatemala.
QUICHÉ REGION
Quiché is a mountainous region located in northwestern Guatemala. PoP’s base in Quiché is in the city of Nebaj, which is about 5 hours northeast of our Guatemala headquarters in Xela.
To date, we’ve broken ground on over 70 schools in the region and plan to continue to scale our builds, along with educational programming, across PoP schools in Quiché.
Before the PoP School Build
Before the PoP school build, not all pre-primary and primary school students of Aldea Lancetillo Sacubul had access to formal classrooms. Instead, some were taught in provisional structures and the remaining students attended class in a structure with a poor roof and no windows. The classrooms had dirt floors and lacked sufficient space for all of the students. Students from grades Primary 2-3 shared a classroom and students from grades Primary 4-6 shared another classroom. As a result of this lack of proper learning space, student engagement was hindered.
Your Impact with the New PoP School
Thanks to your Foundation’s generous support, PoP was able to partner with the Aldea Lancetillo Sacubul community to complete the construction of a new 4-classroom school. The Aldea Lancetillo Sacubul community, teachers and students remained extremely enthusiastic and dedicated to this project until it was completed. Now, students have access to new classrooms equipped with learning essentials that will provide them with an appropriate educational environment to encourage their overall growth as students and support their educational aspirations. Aldea Lancetillo Sacubul students can now attend school in a safe, strong structural foundation, which will help them realize their potential and promise.