Empower a Girl in Guatemala: Education after COVID

One of the main causes of school dropout is: Poverty, since it is the biggest barrier to access  education, its worth to mention that: in the whole world, 1 out of 5 adolescents do not attend school, in comparison with the proportion of children of primary school age, which is 1 out of  11. Therefore, adolescents are twice as likely to be without schooling. As mentioned in the report recently made by Unicef on education.

The culture, the economy and the lack of adequate educational centers are barriers that prevent young girls from continuing their studies. To start the school year, one of the challenges that young girls face is the purchase of school uniforms and shoes (for daily use and physical education). At the same time, they must buy school supplies to start their studies. The purchase of supplies and uniforms is not a family-priority, which makes families prioritize the purchase of food rather than send their children to school, which gives an effect of drop-outs.

Derived from this problem, the scholarship project makes the delivery of a kit with school supplies to each girl, in order to encourage enrollment in schools and start classes with basic conditions.

Thanks to your donation, 28 young girls continue their studies in high school level and as a result of the donations received during the year 2018, the support to 8 more girls in the first grade of high school level begins. With this, a total of 36 girls will be supported through a scholarship for the current year 2019.

One of the young women that has benefit from the program is Evelin, who is 14 years old and studies the second grade of basic education in the community’s educational center.

Among her challenges to start the school year was the purchase of school supplies and shoes; and through the project she has been given a kit of school supplies so that she can begin her educational process. It should be noted that since her primary education, she has been a distinguished student with high grades and having a good behavior.

She is committed to her studies for the opportunity to have the scholarship and the support she receives from her parents has been transcendental to continue studying.

Your donation has been important so that the lives of the young women take a turn and visualize an educational future with better opportunities, which allows them to break the cycle of poverty in which they live.

“Thank you very much, your contribution is changing lives”.

Thanks to your donation 28 young girls have had an opportunity to improve and achieve a school degree. The support that was provided was used for the acquisition of: uniforms, shoes, payment of complementary courses such as computer or typing; inputs that allow them to have the necessary conditions to attend classes.

The average salary of each family ranges from $ 3.00 per day working as day laborers when it is sowing season and harvest in the area, which means that these income vary depending on the days of work during the week.

The families of the girls live in visible precariousness, which does not allow them to acquire uniforms or shoes for their children (5 to 8 children in each family), which means that they do not attend classes because of the cost that this represents. That is why families prioritize other expenses rather than the education of their daughters which in turn produces a drop-out effect.

Thanks to your donation, we were able to support 28 young girls who, due to economic precariousness, would not have continued their studies but in turn they were incorporated through the scholarship.

Such is the case of Dally, 15 years old, who is the fourth of six children, despite having left school two years ago, this school year she was incorporated again.  

Dally is a young girl who, with the accompaniment received as part of the project, has improved in several aspects of her life such as: organization of her time through a study schedule, punctuality and responsibility in the delivery of homework.

As one of the eldest daughters in the home, she has to work in the field cutting sesame seeds to contribute to the household income. This activity is carried out from 5 in the morning until 11, since in the afternoon she studies. She returns with enthusiasm and hope, although it takes approximately an hour to get to the school as she travels by bicycle.

This is the reason why your donation is an important bond, so girls like Dally would be more likely to continue their studies, each donation received has been translated into inputs that young girls need to continue with the hope of changing the circle of poverty in which they live and therefore their future through education.

On behalf of each of the girls, thank you for your support!

A figure that has been fundamental for the good academic performance of the young girls with a scholarship has been the mothers of family, that is to say, with the attendance to the formation sessions the mothers have committed themselves to follow up the progress of their daughters in the educational centers.

It is important to mention that each mother is aware of the significance of their daughter’s education, they are practicing what they have learned at home and especially support in their educational tasks, this has produced a 97% of satisfactory performance from the girls.

The case of María Elena is worth mentioning because having responsibilities in her home, she was elected as representative of the families that received scholarships in the community, her participation and delivery to the scholarship program has given positive results; among other things she has taken the responsibility of a project in the community which consisted of collecting bags of pure water for the parade held in their town, likewise, their enthusiasm has generated the creation of a board of directors of parents, in order to organize, monitor and coordinate better the actions that they run in the community.

María Elena is the mother of the young scholar Sofía Iveth, from the community of Cantón Ayutía. As a leader of the community, she has become known and is now also part of the community authorities.

We would like to thank you for everything you have done for Guatemalan girls' education. We area few steps away from reaching our goal, and we will achieve it together!

P.S. Check out our 2017 Annual Report to discover more stories and projects, and make sure you follow us on Facebook to stay up to date!

Within the accompaniment methodology that the project offers during these months the instruction on mathematics has been provided, which has been very useful for the academic progress of the girls.

At the beginning of the school year, a survey was conducted with the 28 girls who received scholarships in terms of progress in the subjects taught in the schools, which determined that they had weakness in the subject of mathematics, which is why math workshops are being implemented. Instruction in math contributes to the constant improvement and development of logical competences.

During the development of the workshops, as part of that reinforcement, they have been left with tasks, which are solved in groups or in pairs. This has notably strengthened their grades and above all they are discovering their potential, which motivates them. As a result, we can mention the case of Sofía and Yaneth, who in the mornings help each other solve their math and other subjects.

Links:

• Video: Learning math together