Sunada's Impact in Suchitepéquez, Guatemala

Welcome to Suchitepéquez Department, Guatemala!

With Sunada’s support, PoP partnered with the Nueva Esperanza community in the Suchitepéquez Department to construct a new three-classroom structure and create a quality learning environment for hundreds of students and teachers.

Students Impacted

Community Members Impacted

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Why guatemala?

In Guatemala, where 59% of the population lives below the national poverty line, socioeconomic status is one of the biggest barriers to accessing quality education (World Bank 2014).

The average length of schooling for a Guatemalan child is only four years and 19% of the population is illiterate (US Aid 2014; World Bank 2018).

Pencils of Promise works with 255 communities in Guatemala to ensure students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing quality education. PoP has impacted over 155,000 students in Guatemala.

Suchitepéquez Department

Suchitepéquez, commonly called “Suchi” by locals, lies southeast of our headquarters in Quetzaltenango. Pencils of Promise expanded here in early 2012, with our regional office located in the capital of Mazatenango.

Suchitepéquez harvests a variety of fruits and coffee (and some of the best chocolate in the region), and the climate is much more tropical than the other areas in which we work due to its lower altitude and proximity to the Pacific Ocean. There are approximately 600,000 residents of the department, and the languages that are spoken here are Spanish, K’iche, Tz’utujil and Kaqchikel.

Sunada's Impact in Comunidad Nueva Esperanza

The Nuevo Amanecer school previously had students learning in corridors, under trees, in the kitchen area, and in a borrowed prefabricated bathroom. Some days, classes were cancelled due to rain or extreme sun exposure. These conditions hindered learning, posing a hazard to student safety and engagement.

PoP partnered with the Nueva Esperanza community to build a new three-classroom structure and provide the necessary school furniture. The community was committed to providing higher-quality education to its students and contributed 20% of the resources and labor required for construction. We officially broke ground on this new school build project in April 2024 and celebrated the completion in October 2024.

The new Nuevo Amanecer school is now providing a high-quality learning environment where every child can reach their unique potential.