Pueblo A Pueblo

In guatemala, poverty and hunger affect the young, indigenous, and rural communities. The primary cause of malnutrition and periodic hunger crises is the lack of access to food. Access to food is limited by the poor's inability to either cultivate or buy sufficient nutritious food to meet their nutritional needs. According to usaid, approximately 60% of the indigenous population in guatemala is malnourished. Children who benefit from one nutritious meal A day stay in school longer than those who do not and while in school they are more focused and more attentive while studying. Our primary objective is to provide A mid-morning meal or lunch during the school day to alleviate short-term hunger, increase attention span, facilitate learning, and obviate the need for children to leave the school to assist the family in getting food. In-school meals act as an incentive to increase school access.

The organic school gardens project aims to improve the hunger, health, and nutrition of primary-aged school children in indigenous coffee growing communities in the lake atitlan region of guatemala. The project addresses the needs of these by bringing organic gardens to partner schools and working with teachers and administrators to integrate organic gardening and nutrition lessons into the school curriculum. This empowers students with short-term and long-term solutions for malnourishment and food insecurity. With the skills they learn, students maintain the organic garden and produce dozens of nutritious crops that they are able to enjoy for lunch. The project also has significant carry-over benefits, in which students share their gardening knowledge with their families to improve household food security. By witnessing the benefits of the program firsthand, many parents become involved in the project and have truly made the organic school gardens project A community initiative.

Working in partnership with the local community, we help create school programs that are sustainable, give every child access to A good education and become the focus of community life. Every school we work with is different. We visit our schools regularly to find out which aspects of our projects work well and how the communities are developing. The primary education scholarships project helps relieve pressure on families by providing local children with the support they need to succeed in the classroom. Through the project children receive supplies, gym shoes and uniforms, and targeted assistance from first through sixth grade. They also receive free medical care at A local clinic. As A result of our primary education scholarships project dozens of students who otherwise would have no access to education have been able to graduate 6th grade literate, confident and with A better chance at A successful future. Also included in our educational sponsorship program we have A program called pathways to literacy. Pathways to literacy addresses the harmful effects of illiteracy among indigenous youth in the lake atitln region. Project staff assist school personnel in the preparation and maintenance of child-friendly libraries and the acquisition of age-appropriate materials to build literacy skills among primary age students. The project also empowers teachers and administrators to take ownership of libraries and their resources. Through teacher training and capacity building activities, we encourage schools to weave literacy into the fabric of their communities. We hope that through pathways to literacy, more children like irma will be able to find confidence and inspiration through reading.