Help Build School Libraries in Rural Guatemala

As we begin replication of our Pathways to Literacy Project into the community of San Antonio de Chacayá, our local staff is working hard to ensure a smooth period of phasing this project out of the Chukumuk Elementary School, where over the past three years we have built a fully functional, sustainable school library.

In addition to building literacy skills and training, the focus of our efforts has been to empower teachers and administrators to take complete ownership of library and its resources, thus embedding literacy activities in the fabric of the school and its classrooms.

Our project goals goes hand-in-hand with a government-led initiative in Guatemala called Leamos Juntos (Let’s Read Together), which requires every teacher at public primary schools to design a year-long literacy plan for their students.

Whereas teachers in urban communities often receive more government attention, teachers in vulnerable schools such as Chukmuk have received little training on how to develop a plan for literacy activities. To fill this gap, Pueblo a Pueblo recently led a workshop for ChukMuk teachers on how to develop an effective, age appropriate literacy plan. Our project not only provides critical training and skills for rural school communities, where the government efforts often don’t reach, but establishes a great example for other schools in the area.

“It was inspiring,” said Montse, our Project Manager. “Every teacher in the school was inside the library searching for appropriate books for their students, using the school library database, and comparing ideas for activities.”

The next step is to schedule a second training later in the year, after which, according to the school principal, the teachers will travel to the town of Santiago to present their literacy plans with other schools.