By Genevieve Croker | Director of Development
Greetings from the Western Highlands of Guatemala!
Despite an early start to the wet season, it's been a very busy few months here at Técnico Chixot Education Center. Our students have turned the classrooms into colorful learning environments. Our third graders planted cala lilies and other beautiful greens in tires to make the outside spaces inviting too. Two of our students, second grader, Wesley, and sixth grader, Ingrid, represented our school in the municipal "We Read Together" event. In addition to our seven local teaching staff, we have recently been joined by a local teaching student who is fulfilling her practicum hours with our preschool class.
On Friday, May 23rd, Long Way Home (LWH) pounded it's 10,000th tire here at the school site! It was wonderful to have everyone, even the students and teachers (in traditional clothing), take a turn with the sledgehammer. Enjoy the video of the triumphant occasion using the link below.
In March, thanks to the generosity of alumni volunteer, Alex Sinclair, and his alma mater, Westfield State University, LWH was able to implement a modest micro-lending program. This new fund makes small, low-interest loans available to LWH's local Guatemalan staff. In this first process, we were able to award three loans and are pleased to report that one of the recipients has already almost paid the revolving fund back in full. To read more about this new effort, visit our blog, linked below.
We are also happy to share that we have nearly reached our goal for a matching grant offered through One Day's Wages. Cascadia Montessori deserves the lion's share of the credit, surpassing their original target and raising over $8,600 of the money we needed to raise. These funds will allow us to build three of the next primary school classrooms. We are returning to using rammed earth tires after completing the three primary school classrooms made from earthbags. A huge thank you to everyone who participated in the ODW campaign, including the hosts and attendees of our Global Garage Sale on May 10th.
Also in May, we were pleased to host Teach-A-Man-To-Fish, a UK-based NGO that supports self-sufficient schools worldwide. Their yearly "School Enterprise Challenge" encourages schools to submit proposals for student-initiated businesses that can provide learning opportunities for budding entrepreneurs. Their workshop allowed us to show off our campus to several other educational institutions here in Guatemala.
As we move into the rainy season, work continues with little interruption. Interior finish work will occupy much of our time over the next months as we prepare for more grades and more students in the 2015 academic year. We are grateful for your continued support and invite you to like us on Facebook to keep up with all of our progress.
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