Help Build School Libraries in Rural Guatemala

Over the past three years we’ve been proud to help build a reliable community resource in the Chukmuk Elementary School Library. Students, teachers, and parents now have weekly access to a fully equipped library and services that include book lending, literacy activities, and summer vacation literacy camp. In a region that struggles with chronic illiteracy, resources like these are a way for students to start along a path to better jobs and more economic opportunity.

In the coming year, we’ll be expanding our Pathways to Literacy Project to Chacayá, another rural community with which we’ve built a strong bond over the past several years.

 Most of the students who attend the Chacayá Primary School come from families that depend entirely on coffee farming as a sole source of income. Even compared to the rest of our partner communities, living conditions in Chacayá can be dire. Stunting rates are among the highest we’ve seen; children often receive as little as one meal a day; and when the coffee-harvest ends economic activity in the community grinds quickly to a standstill.

Since 2006 we’ve introduced new projects into the local elementary school: Organic School Gardens, School Nutrition, Primary Education Scholarships, and Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) in School.

Bringing Our Pathways to Literacy Project to Chacayá will create even more comprehensive support for resident children in need. Once we establish the library space, we will also lead workshops and provide individual training for teachers to ensure that the library is well managed and utilized.

 “We envision it becoming part of the fabric of the community,” says Montse, our Pathways to Literacy project manager. “Over fifty percent of the population in Chacayá is under 20. The future of this community lies with these children.”