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 educational programming, across Quiché.
Before the PoP School Build
Previously, pre-primary and primary students of Caserio Santa Ana attended classes in aging wooden structures. The school had seven preexisting classrooms: three of which were formal structures and the other four were unsafe provisional structures. These dilapidated wooden classrooms, with their dirt floors and low roofs, were not conducive to engaged learning. The poor condition of the school was previously hindering student learning, growth and development.
Your Impact with the New PoP School
You recognized that these conditions were not conducive to learning and responded by helping PoP and the Caserio Santa Ana community build a new four-classroom build. Teachers, parents and community numbers were dedicated to the build, with community members contributing up to 20% of resources and labor necessary to complete construction by the spring of 2017. This build will benefit students of preprimary – 6th grades, providing a total of 130 students with new and safe classrooms. Your support has made possible the school build of an enriched learning environment — one where students may continue to learn, to grow and to reach their full potential and promise!