Lets Be Ready

"The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual." Or as the saying goes: The Union makes the Force.

 Precisely that is what we will talk about, support, unity, cooperation and teamwork. The things we did not even imagine we would do.

 We are very happy to have started the school year very well, all the teachers are very enthusiastic about the group of children they have this year, the progress they have had and everything that each group is ready to do: To reach the most distant communities and where there is no preschool.

 During the time this year has taken place, there have been some transfers of schools, in new communities, more distant and rural. An example of this is the new school in the community of CHURRAMOS in San Martín Jilotepeque, which has had great acceptance in this area, the parents are very happy and willing to collaborate with the teacher.

There is certainly much support, but it has not been possible without the help provided by our sponsors; And the fact that they visit our schools is a new adventure and experience for them. As happened to John who is the sponsor of this new school, he was in Guatemala last month, to see what work is being done in this community. He was very excited, admired the community, and he was very moved by the children; The children were also very happy and a bit intimidated, as they are not accustomed to foreign visitors.

 We also had the visit of a volunteer Kathy; She was very happy comparing with the children, and not only with our children but also with the children of Primary. She comments:

“On my annual trip to Guatemala this January, I accompanied Sara, the Project Director for Lets Be Ready, to deliver supplies she had purchased in Antique along with the wooden puzzles, blocks, preschool books in Spanish, and stickers I brought to donate. We traveled to two schools near Patzicia, a commercial agricultural area of Guatemala, as well as to the home of one of the teachers where three more teachers would pick up supplies on their way to their even more rural preschools.

 The two classrooms we visited are next door to homes of two of the children, in keeping with the philosophy that the community needs to provide the space for the preschools, keeping financial donations for just teachers and minimal supplies. The day was cold. Sara explained that it is always cold there due to the altitude. In both classes children were missing due to illness; colds were going around everywhere.

 This was my 9th trip to Guatemala and each year I bring a suitcase or two full of educational toys and books for the preschools. I love garage sales and thrift stores and it gives me a reason to shop. While visiting in town I asked a 2nd grade teacher at one of the three local elementary schools if she could tell which children had been to the LetsBeReady preschool. She gave a resounding yes, but also commented that she wished the public schools had the materials that our preschools have. I love watching the children play with the well stocked preschools. But I am aware that more sponsors are needed to maintain the 23 teachers. It only takes $2000 a year to sponsor a preschool of 15 to 20 children. Or for two people to each give $1000; or four to give $500 each.

 Donations of goods and money are critically needed to continue giving children the opportunity to succeed in school and overcome the crushing poverty especially dominant in rural Guatemala. Any help is welcome.

A fan of Lets Be Ready”

And the truth is this, we need a lot of your support, Guatemala can have a universal preschool, quality and very effective. Support us! Make your donation

Hello everyone, it’s a pleasure to write you again and be able to share our accomplishments from 2016. As a continuation, the following is a short summary of the communities and number of children we worked with this year:

During the year of 2016, Let’s Be Ready worked in 20 communities total, with 23 total teachers in charge of the schools, and 3 communities with 2 classrooms. It was a year of hard work, but with very satisfying results.

In San Martín Jilotepeque we had 5 schools, each in a different community. In the community of Pacoxpon, Dina taught a group of 12 very attentive students. In Santo Domingo the teacher was Glendy, who had 12 students as well. In Panatzán, Beatriz was in charge of 13 children, and in Chuisac a teacher named Oscar taught 14 kids. In El Sapito, María was the teacher of 12 students.

In Patzicía we had a total of 7 schools. In the community of Sajcap, teacher Evelyn was in charge of 15 kids. In San Lorenzo, Roselia taught 11 children. In Pahuit, Elba taught 17 kids. In Las Parcelas, Heidy taught 8 students. In Los Cerritos, Noemy Xicay taught 12 children. In the community of La Canoa, María taught 15 children. In Xejuyú, Nery taught 8 kids.

In Santo Domingo Xenacoj we had 3 schools. In San Antonio, Diana  taught 15 students. In Los Izotes there was Lidia  with 14 children. In the center of Xenacoj, Cindy taught 18 students in the morning; and Gloria taught 18 students in the afternoon.

In Sumpango we had one school with two rooms, in the community of San Rafael El Arado. There Claudia taught 15 kids and Betzabé taught an additional 15, both teaching in the morning.

In Patzún we had 2 schools: one in the community of La Pila, where Lucrecia taught 13 children, and the other in La Vega, where  Johana taught 15 children.

In Antigua we had 2 schools. In San Juan del Obispo, Paola taught 14 kids. In Alotenango, Annelise and Margarita taught 24 children total, both in the afternoon.

By the end of the year all of our young students had made great achievements, thanks to the presence, patience, creativity and persistence of every teacher and the attention they gave to each individual child.

In order to accomplish our goals and objectives, we conducted 2 trainings during the year: one in January and the other in July, with the intention of improving our teaching methodology and understanding of preschool education. In these trainings the teachers learned new ideas and activities to implement during the year. The Common Hope foundation in Antigua is a large supporter of Let’s Be Ready, and they provided us accommodations and the conference room in which we conducted the trainings.

It was a dynamic year for the students and teachers alike, and was worth the effort, making the most of the support from our sponsors. Because of this, we are always grateful for the unconditional support, council and suggestions we receive, and do all that we can to keep them informed with monthly reports discussing our goals and accomplishments with the children as a group or as individuals. In this way our sponsors are always a big part of what goes on in our classrooms.

Ultimately, we can say that we achieved all of our goals during the year, thanks to the support of our sponsors and founder who has given so much to help this country.

Thank you for your support- not only of Let’s Be Ready but of the entire country. Thank you for everything.

(This report was written by Sara, and translated from Spanish to English by Drew)