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 168 communities in Guatemala to ensure our students overcome these, and other, barriers to accessing a quality education. To date, PoP has impacted over 35,000 students 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 101 schools in the region and plan to continue to scale our builds, along with teacher training workshops, across Quiché.
Before the PoP School Build
Previously, the primary students of Aldea Vergel Chimal attended school in a rundown preexisting structure that didn’t provide a quality learning environment. The school had two classrooms made out of wood and a very low roof made out of corrugated metal sheets. The previous structural attributions caused a lot of heat to build up inside of the classrooms as well as a build up of dirt on the floors. The students were previously using old furniture that had been provided by the member of the community. On top of this, the teachers were attempting to teach off of very small boards, which was not encouraging learning and growth for the students.
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 Vergel Chimal community build a new school housing two formal classrooms. 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. This new school building, which the community completed at the end of April, has allowed dedicated classrooms for 65 primary grade students, relieving the teachers and students of the overcrowding issue and enabling growth and development for all students.
