You’re Making a Difference Here
WHY 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 four years and 24.1% of the population is illiterate (US Aid 2014; World Bank 2014).
Pencils of Promise works with 194 communities in Guatemala to ensure our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education. Currently, PoP is impacting over 37,000 students in Guatemala.
QUICHÉ REGION
The region of Quiché, located northeast of PoP’s headquarters in Xela, is a mountainous and volcanic region in northwestern Guatemala.
To date, we’ve built over 85 schools in the region, providing quality infrastructure to ensure a safe and engaging learning environment.
Before the PoP School Build
Previously, the primary students of Aldea Napoles attended a school with eight classrooms: six formal and two provisional, made of wood. The first wooden classroom was used by 35 fourth grade students, while the second wooden classroom was used by 31 fifth grade students. The wooden classrooms were not only overcrowded, they did not provide a safe and positive learning environment for students and teachers alike.
Your Impact with the New PoP School
You’ve recognized that these conditions were not conducive to learning and have responded by helping PoP and the Aldea Napoles community complete construction on a new two-unit classroom block. Teachers, parents and community members were dedicated and committed to the project, and contributed up to 20 percent of the resources and labor necessary to complete the build. This new school building allows for a high-quality learning environment, relieving the teachers and students of the overcrowding issue and enabling growth and development for all students.
