By Heather Graham | Executive Director
Dear Friends,
It is hard to believe that January has come and gone! The month always flies by fast here as we are so busy preparing for the return of the children! It was a great month and we are now almost a month into the school year. The kids are settling into their routines and are already counting the weeks until spring break! We started our enrollment over the second week of January, and quickly all of our classes were filled! We even had to purchase extra textbooks so we could make exceptions to allow special cases to join us. In all honesty, it is very hard to have to turn anyone away, and we do our best to ensure that we are able to help as many families as possible.
This year, we have 199 children all together, including our middle school and high school students. The first day is always a bit crazy but it is also very exciting and full of emotions for everyone! There are happy reunions with friends and classmates, and tearful goodbyes as parents drop off their little ones for the first time. Thankfully, our older siblings and cousins help the little ones to adapt and feel at home. This year we decided to help the process by making sure we had Christmas presents for all the kids who live onsite since they were home in their villages over the holidays. Just having a new teddy bear and some toys of their very own has definitely helped to bring some smiles to their faces! You can see our video and lots of pictures of the first days of classes on our Facebook page. Be sure to follow us on social media for daily updates!
As we have begun the classes, we have discovered that most of the new students who have gone to the rural public schools in the past, are far behind the levels of the children who have been at Casa Guatemala since kindergarten. We have some students joining us in the second and third grades who are not able to read or write, and yet they have been passed along year after year with no real effort being made to ensure that they are learning. It is frustrating for everyone involved, but our incredible staff have initiated a reinforcement program to help bring those students who are behind up to the levels they need to be at! Many of our new students only speak Q’eqchi and are already starting to pick up on the basics of Spanish thanks to their teachers, orientadores and their fellow students! I am always amazed by how fast they are able to learn a new language! This year we have also hired a local English teacher to ensure that we have a consistent English program that meets the requirements of the Ministry of Education. We love that our kids will be leaving us knowing three languages when they set out on their paths!
Of course, none of this would be possible if it wasn’t for all of our donors like you from around the world. Each year, we make strides to improve our services and our installations with the faith that we will continue to receive the funding we need to make it happen! We know that there are many other places around the world who are in great need, so we are especially grateful that you chose to support these incredible children here at Casa Guatemala. Everyday I see the difference we are making in their lives as they grow into independent young adults and I am filled with pride and gratitude that we are able to continue this important work!
We are so pleased that our long-time, local supporters have once again provided all of our school supplies and textbooks for the 2024 school year! Thanks to PERENCO all of the children have brand new textbooks that cover all the curriculum for each grade! This is a huge investment for us as the books are not cheap and most schools don’t get this level of quality learning materials in the rural areas we serve! Together, EIG S.A. and PERENCO supply all of the school supplies for the children and the teachers so that we can ensure we have the materials they need to learn and express themselves artistically throughout the year!
Our new nurse Andrea, was very happy to have the help of our returning volunteer Breanna over the last two weeks as they have been working hard to organize the pharmacy and the files for all of the children!We are grateful for all the supporters of our healthcare program who help us to provide for our nurse’s salary, the medicines we need and the expenses we incur while treating and transporting patients to their different hospital visits and examinations! Thanks to Sharing the Dream, Dr Dic and Lizzie Clubb, and True North Missions for all your support!
Right now Casa Guatemala receives 117 different monthly donations that come from the US, Canada, the UK, and here in Guatemala! Individually, these donors give anywhere from $5 to $500 each, but collectively, their support adds up to just over $5000 a month! That is about 20% of the funds we need to raise each month to cover the core of our education, nutrition and healthcare expenses! If you can, help us by becoming a monthly donor and if you already are, tell your friends and family to join us too!
Thank you so much for all you do to help us! We really are changing the world, one child at a time and we can’t do it without you!
With love and gratitude,
Heather
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