Guatemala School Project in Chwitziribal
New Elementary School in Chwitziribal, Guatemala (Doris and Julio)
In March 2018 we celebrated the completion of our HUGE project to build a new elementary school in the village of Chwitiziribal, Guatemala. This was an 18 month effort of fundraising in partnership with Lynn Valley United Church, Highlands United Church, and St. Andrew’s Wesley United Church and many wonderful friends and donors. The website below outlines the project with many photos and details. We always visit this school with each group that goes to Guatemala sharing a day of joy with the children usually including a piñata, snacks and lunch, crafts and games. The walls of the school are almost shaking with the voices and excitement of the children when we arrive in our bus! Our groups also provide all the school supplies that the 3 teachers use in their classrooms.
https://newschoolguatemala.weebly.com/ (Click on this link for details on the school)
New Elementary School in Chwitziribal, Guatemala
Student Sponsorship in Guatemala (Doris and Julio)
Chwitziribal is a small rural community right in the mountains of Guatemala, a place full of beauty and struggle. Many of the youth do not have an opportunity to go to school once they finish the 6th grade (Elementary School). They have to stay home and look after their siblings and contribute to the livelihood of their family. Their parents do not have the resources to pay the fees to send them to school. Our sponsorship project began in 2014 where we realized that no girl had ever graduated from High School in the small Highland community of Chwitiziribal, Guatemala. That first year we had 6 students. In 2022 there were 24 Students in the project, 4 in University and 20 in various levels of High School. Education after elementary school is a challenge for these students, their families lack resources and many of their parents are illiterate and didn’t have the chance to go. For boys the historical expectation is that they would get married and start to work on the land, for girls it is not uncommon to be married by age 16. We are very proud of our students and look forward to continuing the sponsorship for years to come.
REPORT 2024 - SPONSORSHIP FOR STUDENTS IN CHWITZIRIBAL
This is the 11th year of this project which began out of our intentions to help girls and now boys be able to attend High School from the small village of Chwitziribal, Guatemala. Higher education for these Mayan youth is a challenge as many of their families face financial struggles just to feed and house themselves. Many of the parents never had the chance to go to school themselves. We also know that even if students don’t complete High School they will have had the experience of further education and will be parents who will hopefully work to have their own children attend further education. We have found it interesting as the years have passed that for the most part the girls in the programme are more devoted and driven in their studies. We’ve thought about why this is and traditionally the boys/men would feel more cultural influences to get a job and to work and support their families. Girls have more to lose in giving up their studies, generationally they are the first girls in their families to take these opportunities and in this coming year we will have 7 of the girls/women in university. This is a huge accomplishment and something to celebrate. Sadly this year was challenging as 4 students have decided not to continue their studies for various reasons, details below. We want to thank Eduardo Elias and Manuel Hernandez for all they do to administer and organize the project in Guatemala. Manuel is one of the teachers at the village school in Chwitiziribal and he knows all the students and their families well. He and Eduardo work with the students, encouraging them, checking in on them and distributing the funds. We thank them for their volunteer time with this project. The sponsorship fee will be $500 for the year 2025. Some of our University Students have much higher fees and in turn have a number of sponsors and need more funding. If you wish to add a little more that will be used to pay for Manuel and Eduardo’s gas costs and a celebration once a year we host of the students. If you can send your donations by Feb. 3 that would be ideal. You can etransfer to worldpilgrims@gmail.com or send a cheque to Doris Kizinna, 507-20416 Park Avenue, Langley, BC, V3A0N2. Some of you have been sponsoring students for many years and we are so thankful for your continued trust and support.
Best wishes to you all!
Doris
If you would like to sponsor one of our students in need of a sponsor, please contact worldpilgrims@gmail.com.
See the Full Report for 2024 Sponsorship For Students in Chwitziribal below.