This is our main reason for fundraising - it's an ongoing commitment to help as many teens as possible graduate from high school. You can help by sponsoring a teen or by making any size donation. But, once they start high school, we want to make sure they can continue.
Most children do not attend school past the 6th grade, since middle and high schools are not free in Guatemala.
Our goal is to keep as many teens in school as possible, and our scholarships fund over 100 teens each year. We're always so glad when another teen chooses to go on to high school, but we want to be sure they can afford to stay until graduation.
We need scholarship help every school year - You can help keep a teen in school for another year.
The dream is to create a space where the youth from area communities can come for help with schoolwork, get on the Internet, learn computer skills, attend special events and classes. Teachers could have access to a resource center, with teaching materials, books to share, photocopiers for making worksheets.
The library is being built on the Mountain School's property. A Rotary Club in Calgary donated the initial cost of the construction, and the building is underway.
Now, the Library Committee has decided that they should go for a two-story building so it won't outgrow their needs before it is complete. They plan for the library and study areas to be on the first floor, a computer lab on the upper floor, as well as meeting rooms.
This is a major undertaking, but one that will serve lots of students from many small communities in the mountains. Most of these kids go through school without having read one book cover to cover, so having a library of books available to them is a delight.
Students at the Mountain School will be able to volunteer as tutors during their stay, helping with homework and serving as great role models for the teens.
Many donations are making this dream happen: the Rotary Club helped get the first floor built, the Community Mennonite Church of Lancaster gave a $1,000 grant, kids at a public library raised $3,000 for books and computers to get the library started, a young couple asked for donations rather than wedding gifts, Bev Como is a one person cheerleader drumming up support across Canada.
Bit by bit the library will come together - mostly because the communities believe in the idea and are willing to keep at it until they make it happen. These people don't give up, we're just helping it happen faster with our financial support.
Fátima and Nuevo San Jose are building clinics that will bring basic health services and information, as well as a pharmacy stocked with common remedies to their communities. Their Health Committees have been struggling for years to educate and support the families, especially the women, about basic health issues.
They now have trained Health Promoters working on education programs. They are tackling garbage and nutrition as major problems for the communities to work on.
A recent event combined fun with serious - music, dancing, games and performances alternated with community conversations about possible solutions for garbage and a scathing review of chicharones (pork rinds). After seeing how chicharones burn the same way plastic does with a huge flame and bad odor, many were convinced to try other snacks instead.
Every Saturday morning, we offer free art, guitar, and marimba (the national instrument) classes at the Mountain. Teachers are paid and materials and instruments are provided for the children. This program has offered art and music education for over 10 years, and we hope to continue to make these courses available to anyone, cultivating a love of art and culture.
Friends of the Community La Escuela de la Montaña Guatemala Copyright 2010
