Creating Educational Opportunity for Maya Children

As the 2015 school year comes to a close this week, our Primary Education Scholarships Project is moving into new territory. During the coming break from school, the project will begin a pilot tutoring initiative to help those students that, given the many difficulties they face, were unsuccessful in passing their grade.

Currently, about 15% of scholarship students do not pass to the next grade level. Our project manager, Johanny Queiju, hopes the tutoring will eventually help all students to pass: “…with the tutoring, our objective is to offer these students the opportunity to improve their school performance.”

Our initial reach will be limited, working with four struggling fourth and fifth grade students from the Chukmuk School. These students attend school through scholarships, but difficult circumstances pushed them off course during the school year. One fifth grade student, Yessica Paola, who suffers from a disability that has affected her since birth, recently changed schools and has struggled to adjust to her new environment, which in turn affected her studies. Ana, a fourth-grade student, performed much more poorly in school after her father left her family and she was left to take on more responsibility at home.

The new tutoring pilot will give students like Yessica and Ana the opportunity to study and make up the work for the classes they failed. It will help them avoid repeating a grade and instead start the next school year along with their peers. The project will be led by Isabela, a former scholarship student who, in part because of the support of Pueblo a Pueblo, was recently able to complete her schooling and become a certified teacher. The project has come full circle! 

The halfway point in the school year means a lot is happening with our Primary Education Scholarships project!

Last week Pueblo a Pueblo distributed school supplies to 105 student scholars. Although we have always provided school supplies in the beginning of the year, we recently started restocking necessary items at the midyear point and saw great success. This small contribution, with materials like pens, pencils, and glue, is a big help to local families that often have to replace lost school supplies throughout the year. 

It’s also time to visit the doctor! Here in Santiago only about 50% of children are fortunate enough to have regular medical checkups. However, as part of our scholarships, students are provided with regular doctor appointments and any additional needed care. In the upcoming weeks, all 105 scholars will visit the doctor as a way to stay healthy and be prepared for school!

Finally, we are pleased to introduce, Andrea, the newest member to our project. Typically our scholarships are provided at the beginning of a new school year, but Andrea is an exception. Receiving her scholarship just this month, Andrea is now getting support while attending her first year of primary school. She lives with her mother, father, and two brothers and is currently learning how to read and write in class. Despite her young age, Andrea told us that she wants to be a doctor when she grows up. Our hope is that this scholarship motivates Andrea to stay in school and brings her one step closer to achieving her dreams in the future.