You’re Making a Difference Here
WHY GUATEMALA?
In Guatemala, where 59% of the population lives below the poverty line, socioeconomic status is one of the biggest barriers to accessing a quality education (World Bank 2018).
The average length of schooling for a Guatemalan child is only four years and 24% of the population is illiterate (US Aid 2014; World Bank 2014). This is one of the highest illiteracy rates in the Western Hemisphere.
Pencils of Promise works with 211 communities in Guatemala to ensure students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing quality education. Currently, PoP is impacting over 38,000 students in Guatemala.
BOCA COSTA REGION
The region of Boca Costa, located southeast of PoP’s Guatemala headquarters in Xela, is home to a more tropical climate than any of the other regions in Guatemala in which we work. PoP expanded to Boca Costa in early 2012, with our regional office located in Santo Tomás La Unión.
To date, we’ve built 210 schools in the region and have also provided teacher training and educational programming to many PoP schools in the region.
Aldea Labores Chipó
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With a population of around 2,000, this farming community is located within the Boca Costa region and the Suchitepéquez district of Guatemala. Spanish is the primary language spoken. The Labores Chipó school currently serves 411 students, spread throughout 16 classes. |
Nader’s Impact in Aldea Labores Chipó
At PoP, we strive toward a world in which every child can experience and benefit from quality education. Previously, in Aldea Labores Chipó, students were learning in infrastructure that does not support each child’s unique potential.
We believe that a quality learning environment is critical to increasing student attendance, engagement and overall literacy outcomes.
In the previous structure, students were easily distracted and overcrowded, often forcing grades to double up in classrooms. Space was so limited that some classes were conducting learning in empty corridors. These conditions clearly posed a hazard to student safety and well-being, as well as to engagement and learning.
A school build is only the start of a transformative education experience, and we are excited to be making progress. In the past few months, PoP has partnered with the Aldea Labores Chipó community to build a new four-unit classroom block and four additional restrooms! The community is devoted to providing a valuable education to its students, and contributed 20 percent of the resources and labor required for construction.
We establish partnerships with communities who are deeply committed to their children’s education. The support of the Aldea Labores Chipó community ensures the sustainability of the school that it will remain a quality learning environment for generations to come.