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 over 179 communities in Guatemala to ensure our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 226,500 lives 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 80 schools in the region and have also provided our teacher training and educational programming to many PoP schools in the region.
Before a PoP School Build
Previously, many of the Lacal Tzucubal School students attended classes in provisional learning structures. The classrooms lacked proper construction, ventilation and furniture. As a result, student engagement was hindered and overall learning was challenging.
Your Impact with a New PoP School
You recognized that these conditions were not conducive to learning and responded by helping PoP and the Lacal Tzucubal community break ground on a new school. The Lacal Tzucubal community members, parents and teachers fully supported the project. They contributed 20% of the labor and resources necessary to complete the build. Your support made this school build possible, creating a safe and strong structural foundation that will foster an environment of educational growth and promise for many years to come for the students in Lacal Tzucubal.
