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 180 communities in Guatemala to ensure our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 227,000 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 built over 70 schools in the region and plan to continue to scale our builds, as well as our programmatic work, across Quiché.
Before the PoP School Build
Previously, the preprimary and primary students of Aldea Santa María Saraguate shared 2 provisional classroom structures. These structures, however, were neither safe for the students nor conducive to engaged student learning. The 2 brick classrooms, which previously served as the classrooms for all students of Aldea Santa María Saraguate, were in poor condition. They didn’t have any windows, the ceilings were extremely low, the floors were made of dirt and the foundation that supported the structure was only 20 centimeters deep. The combination of these variables, student’s constant exposure to the outside environment, the tight spaces, the minimal lighting and overarching structural problems, was posing a distraction and hinderance to quality student education in Aldea Santa María Saraguate.
Your Impact with the New PoP School
You recognized that these conditions were not conducive to learning and responded by helping PoP and the Aldea Santa María Saraguate community build on a new 2-classroom build. Teachers, parents and community members were dedicated and committed to the project and contributed up to 20% of the resources and labor necessary to complete construction. This new building, which the community completed on July 4, 2017, now provides students of Aldea Santa María Saraguate with access to a safe, quality learning environment where they can pursue their education.
