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 190 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.
SOLOLÁ REGION
Before a PoP School Build
Previously, the school in the Caserio Pasín, Aldea Pacamache community had three formal classrooms and two provisional classrooms. One of the provisional classrooms was made from wood and had a dirt floor. The other classroom had a wooden, shed-like structure and did not have walls. Additionally, both structures were covered with nylon as a makeshift roof. The conditions of these informal classrooms posed a hazard to student safety and wellbeing, as well as to student engagement and learning.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
You’ve recognized that these conditions were not conducive to learning and have responded by helping PoP and the Caserio Pasín, Aldea Pacamache community build two new classrooms. These classrooms were built with technical specifications set out by the Ministry of Education in Guatemala, and will benefit preprimary and first grade students. Community members, parents and teachers were in full support of the build. We officially completed the school in May 2018, with an inauguration ceremony shortly thereafter. Your support helped make this school build possible, creating a safe and strong structural foundation that will foster an environment of educational growth and promise for the students of Caserio Pasín, Aldea Pacamache.
