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 community of Aldea Rosario Monte Maria had a school with six formal classrooms and four provisional classrooms made out of wood and dirt floors. Because of the large number of students, these classrooms were experiencing overcrowding, as well as additional structural safety hazards. These conditions posed a hazard to student safety and wellbeing, as well as to engagement and learning.
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 Rosario Monte Maria community build a four-classroom school. These additional classrooms help with overcrowding and serve preprimary, first, second and fifth grade students. Teachers, parents, and community members were dedicated and committed to the project, and contributed up to 20 percent of resources and labor necessary to complete the build. The students and community of Aldea Rosario Monte Maria are so excited to have a new school that provides a quality learning environment!