Creating Educational Opportunity for Maya Children

Concepcion is not your normal 9 year old girl. As a baby, her parents found a small lump on top of her head. When they brought her to the doctor, they were told the lump was not dangerous and would pass with time.

For the next few years, Concepcion lived with the small lump on her head. When she turned 6 years old, her parents took her back to the doctor. They got the same response: surgery wasn’t necessary, and she would have to live with the uncomfortable lump.

In the past six months, however, Concepcion started to feel more and more discomfort. Her teacher began to notice that she was not feeling well, and saw that Concepcion kept leaving class to go to the bathroom and splash water on her face to relieve the pain.

Given her increasing discomfort, Concepcion’s parents decided to bring her back to the doctor this year. To their relief, the doctor said they could go through with the surgery to remove the lump, and referred them to a health center in Solola, the capital of the state. But there was one problem: how to cover the costs of the procedure.

This is the kind of situation in which your support is crucial. Although Concepcion’s older sister, Dolores, is sponsored through our Primary Education Scholarships Project, Concepcion was not. When their parents reached out to tell us about her illness, we moved her to the top of our waitlist for new sponsored students. Luckily, there was an existing sponsor interested in supporting another child, and who was able to sponsor Concepcion.

After she became sponsored through our project, Pueblo a Pueblo was able to help cover the family’s expenses with your support. Our Primary Education Scholarships Project is committed to helping students with any medical expenses by putting aside $5 of every $25 donated towards a medical savings fund. This means that we collect over $500 every month dedicated to medical expenses. In general, only about 10 students need to visit the doctor each month because of minor illnesses.The rest of the money is dedicated to group medical campaigns and unique cases like Concepcion’s.

Because of your support, Concepcion was able to get the medical attention she needed. It has been one month since her surgery, and she is now pain free and happier than ever. Her family is relieved to see their daughter feeling better, and we at Pueblo a Pueblo are grateful for your support that helped to make this happen.

Bonus: Concepcion starred in our "Learn Tz'utujil" video this month! Check out the link below.

Links:

• Learn Tz'utujil with Concepcion!

The beginning of the school year is always an exciting time for our Primary Education Scholarships project. As our sponsored students began classes in January, we hosted the first event of the year: handing out school supplies. Students and their families from our different partner communities flooded the Pueblo a Pueblo office over the course of the week, bringing their smiling faces and excitement for the year ahead.

Students from kindergarten to high school received backpacks filled to the brim with all the school supplies they will need for the school year. The backpacks make a huge difference for families struggling to afford basic supplies for their children’s education -- serving as a push for students to stay in school.

Now that the school year is underway, we recently held another exciting event giving students new sneakers to be used in their physical education class. Something as basic as a pair of shoes is often out of reach for many students, as Project Manager Johanny Quieju describes:

"Athletic supplies are a necessity that the parents are unable to buy, but that Pueblo a Pueblo can cover.  Many students have so little income that they are unable to purchase adequate shoes, and sneakers are critical for physical education classes, which complement students’ general education."

One of our sponsored students almost did not come back to school this year.  Ashly, a 6-year-old student from Panabaj, was devastated after her father died unexpectedly in December. Her father used to carry her on his shoulders on the walk to school every day -- and she did not want to do the walk without him. After the tragedy, Ashly’s mother told us that she was not going to enroll her daughter in the school anymore; doing so had become too difficult, both financially and emotionally.

After speaking with Ashly’s family, we encouraged them to continue sending her to school and to keep her in Pueblo a Pueblo’s sponsorship program so that Ashly could be successful and continue her education. Thankfully, Ashley is back in school, and she is very happy.  She recently received brand new athletic shoes along with her peers!