Education for Impoverished Guatemalan Youth

This profile of a student speaks well to the difference the secondary program is making every day for students at high risk of dropping out of school.

Hairon Josúe Chiroy Ponce is currently in 11th grade studying in vocational school to become a mechanic. In addition to his family’s economic instability, Hairon has been affected by other family issues, namely his parents’ separation. Over the past few years, Hairon began to develop into a fairly rebellious adolescent. Although he always did well in school, he became disinterested and started to skip class regularly.

When Hairon’s absences began to affect his academic performance, his school contacted Nineth García, Common Hope’s administrative manager of the secondary program, to let her know of the problems. Nineth spoke to Hairon’s family’s social worker and together, they met with Hairon and his parents. Hairon explained that he skipped classes because school no longer interested him. Through a series of meetings, education and social work staff were able to motivate Hairon to continue studying and get involved in other areas at school.

Nineth now happily reports that Hairon’s attendance has improved, and he recently won an award at school during a singing competition. Hairon continues to be at-risk, however, and Nineth and other education staff members are in regular communication with Hairon and his school.

Thank you so much for your support of education for impoverished Guatemalan youth. You are making a tangible difference in the lives of these young adults.

If you would like more information about the outcomes of Common Hope's programs, our Donor Impact Report for 2009 was just published and can be found at http://www.commonhope.org/downloads/donor-impact-report-2009.pdf.

Links:

• Donor Impact Report for 2009
• Common Hope Blog: Notes from the field