Help 500 Guatemalan Children Receive an Education

This year has been very fruitful for both of our schools. We are very proud of our dedicated and dynamic teams in both schools.

After-school program:

The school year in Guatemala runs from mid-January to mid-October. At the end of this process the teachers at our high school proposed a volunteer project, whereby they would offer a long list of optional classes to anyone who wanted to attend during the week. They have given up many hours of their vacation time to be able to do this and be with us. Here you can see the schedule, the offer is wide and offers opportunities for everyone. The program was launched, and the results were incredible, with over 200 students attending classes. The classes were open to both our high school and elementary students. These courses were recognized by the Department of Education, and many of them will result in the issuance of a certificate of completion. In Guatemala, these certificates carry weight and will greatly assist students in gaining access to employment. We are very proud of our dedicated team, their passion for the students is evident.

Our team in El Patojismo, Guatemala

Produce from our vegetable garden

Robotics class

Cooking class at the secondary school

Medical Mission

Through the efforts of one of our partners in Canada, we have had the good fortune of meeting Michelle from a Canadian organization called Team Broken Earth. They have been doing medical missions to Guatemala and offered to come to both of our schools to examine the eyes of all our students and provide glasses on the spot to any that need them. The medical team did 370 eye examinations, many of which resulted in fitting the patients with glasses. For some kids, this was the first time in their lives they had clear vision! This was a tremendous opportunity for our students, as the majority cannot afford to do this on their own. The medical mission will return to Guatemala during the winter and is willing to provide surgical procedures to anyone who needs them.

THANK YOU

Together with our generous donors, we are truly changing hundreds of lives in Guatemala forever. We thank you for your donations in the past and we hope that we can rely on your continuing support. We promise that ever dollar donated to us goes directly to the children and projects.

We hope you have a wonderful holiday season with friends and family.

DESPITE THE CHALLENGES IN LIFE, OUR STUDENTS ARE CHAMPIONS!

The sports program at El Patojismo is essential for our students. Participation in sports has many positive effects including physical fitness, learning that perseverance pays off, developing healthy habits that keep them off the dangerous streets and moving toward positive goals, improved mental health, strengthening self esteem and confidence. Learning to work effectively in a team is a lifelong lesson that will serve them well.

Our teams have excelled this year thanks to our dedicated teachers, Kevin and Christian.

• The gold medal in boxing at a national level. Adelina won the national championship for the fifth time. She will now be travelling to Puerto Rico for an international event. Hector, another of our students, was runner up in his category. He demonstrated technical ability, discipline and dedication to the sport. He has been called up to the National Boxing Team.
• Our volleyball team achieved an impressive second place finish at the recent Copa Boston, a regional tournament that brought together several teams.
• Our swimming team achieved a position at the National Games to be held in September, 2024. We are very proud of them!
• Our school participated for the first time in rhythmic gymnastics and attended the first inter-school local tournament. The students and coaches are very excited to expand the event to more local schools.
• In a recent departmental cycling race, our athletes made an excellent performance, coming in 5'" place in he overall classification.
• Our women's basketball team has participated in events at the municipal and district levels, they were champions for the second time.
• Our junior soccer teams participated in the children's championship of Jocotenango. In the under 9 category, we were 4" place and in the under 12 category we placed 1". Alexander in the sub 12 category was the goal champion scorer with 45 goals.
• Our junior basketball team werw sub-champions at the 2024 shool games.
• Our junior soccer team placed 3rd in the inter-school games for pre-primary level.

We are very proud of our athletes, despite the difficulties they have experienced in their lives, they have persevered. They have demonstrated to all students that with discipline, hard work and team effort, goals can be achieved.

Jairo

For 4 consecutive years Jairo Romero has participated in our educational program, he is in the tenth grade and participates in the cooking program (it's what he likes). -In his words, El Patojismo has changed his life. “I am treated well here and they are giving me new experiences everyday, which will open doors for my future. My closest goals are to graduate and with your help, to have a more stable job to support my family in a better way.”

WE NEED YOUR HELP TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT THESE KIDS IN THEIR ENDEAVOURS TO IMPROVE THEIR LIVES