Lets Be Ready

“Education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world” (Nelson Mandela)

Hello everyone, it's a pleasure to greet you again. I hope everyone is doing well with their loved ones.

It is incredible that each year that passes, time runs much faster, for example: it seems that we started classes yesterday and we are less than two months away from finishing them... However, we are very happy and satisfied with what we have been doing .

During the week of July 17-21, we had our mid-year workshop in Santo Domingo Xenacoj. The topics were of great interest and importance to all. We invited Auri Tun, sister of Sara, our director; for a presentation on “First Aid”, since she is a nurse. This was one of the topics that our teachers liked the most, because it helped us see the importance of being careful in class, having our first-aid kit and how to act when an accident occurs with one of our children.

Also, thinking about the well-being and health of our teachers, a psychologist was invited to give us a talk about "stress". We learned that although stress is a part of our lives, we must take control and not let it dominate us. We learned that it is important to be organized, control our activities and accept that we have limitations and that we cannot do everything at the same time. In addition, the importance of exercising constantly to release the stress that accumulates in our body was highlighted.

We had another guest at the workshop, he was Emanuel Tun; also Sara's brother, who is studying at the university for a degree in Physical Education. His presentation included a theoretical part, in which he shared ideas for using recyclable material in Physical Education class. And in the practical part, just like we do with our children; We had a very complete class of exercises and dynamics to work speed, coordination, balance and agility. Without a doubt, we release a lot of stress with this activity.

Most of the comments from our teachers were positive and of all the activities carried out during the week; many agreed that these three presentations described above were the ones they liked the most. There is no doubt that it was a workshop of much learning and benefit.

A month of a lot of activity is coming up and many of our teachers have already started working on activities that have to do with the history of our country and everything related to our independence. But, in our next report I will share more details of the activities that were carried out with the children.

We are infinitely grateful to all of you for the trust and support you always give us. Thanks to your donations, we continue to provide quality education outside of the traditional, to improve their learning and their future. So, thank you very much for your contribution and unconditional support, God Bless you.

See you soon.

Hello to all our dear readers!

It is a pleasure to greet you again, so that we can tell you more about the work that we continue to do with our children here in Guatemala. We are very happy for the months that we have been working and the achievements obtained up to now.

During our training in January, we talked about implementing "The Traveling Books" a method to stimulate reading at home. Therefore, after having started classes; in the second month, we started having meetings with the parents. The objective is to give them ideas to share books with their children, without having to read the text; this helps parents who cannot read, as they are not required to do so. Each teacher is doing different activities with this method, for example; some are making a dictionary at home, others are reviewing topics that the children have not yet understood, and others are creating stories based on what they read in books. Undoubtedly, we have seen that it has been a good stimulus to become interested in reading and strengthen the affective bonds with their parents.

We also resume workshops with parents to reinforce topics at home and at the same time involve them more in their children's education. We continue working with recyclable material in the activities we carry out on the star books. In fact, for Earth Day; Many of our teachers carried out different activities to raise awareness using recyclable material. Others planted plants, took a walk to remind community residents of the importance of caring for the planet, and others made different crafts.

Most of our newly admitted children have already learned to write their names, draw lines, draw shapes, identify vowels and classify animals with the star books. Children who are in their second year are more advanced; some can already read syllables, short and long words, and short sentences. They love reading, creating stories from what they see in books, and adding and subtracting. Each of our teachers strives to give each child the necessary attention, without a doubt, his work does not go unnoticed. For example, Betzabé; she is one of our star teachers, as she is very dynamic and creative when working with her children. It impresses me that even though her community is very remote and rural, she adapts her classes to their needs; using the material that she has on hand.

Next month, we will have our second workshop of the year. We are preparing new themes for children and teachers. So we will share more information in our next report…

I want to thank everyone for their support and contribution to our program. We know that the economic situation in many countries is becoming difficult; however, there are very generous and kind-hearted people like you who share what they have with others. Thank you for helping us change the future of our children, the community where they live and the country. May God bless your generosity!