Projects

The Guatemala government has ordered all school districts in the country to provide pre-school education.  No money was authorized for new or refurbished classrooms, desks, chairs or instruction materials.  The tiny community of San José Sinache #4 only has three classrooms to support the elementary grades one through six. Each room is used to educate two grades at a time, reminiscent of one room schools in the U.S. decades ago.

Preschool education is the foundation for future learning.  The community has the land for the classroom. There is an ongoing request for desk and chair sets to outfit this classroom and other preschool classrooms. These are brightly colored, locally made tables and chairs that accommodate four children each.

The original request was for 100 sets. In 2022, Amigos de Guatemala was able to provide 30 sets.  The cost per set is Q1,000/$135 US. Depending on the class size, four or five sets are needed per room. The request came from the principal and superintendent of schools for the municipality of Zacualpa to ADIZ, which is a local NGO in Zacualpa, el Quiché that Amigos de Guatemala has partnered with for over 15 years.

The GOAL:  Q113,155/$14,700US plus $675US to include five table and chair sets.

The Guatemala Education Ministry is requiring preschool education for all children in the country.  At the same time, no funding for classrooms, tables, chairs or instructional materials is allocated to the districts.  Some of the schools in the Zacualpa area have made classroom space available.  Still needed are tables, chairs and some instructional materials.

The original request for 100 sets came from the superintendent of schools for the municipality of Zacualpa. In 2022, Amigos de Guatemala was able to provide 30 sets to outfit six preschool classrooms. Seventy more sets of the brightly colored tables and chairs are needed.  The sets are made locally and cost Q1,000 or $135 US.  To furnish all of the schools needing tables and chairs will cost $9,450 US.

They are made in Guatemala, providing work for local people.