Recipient of the Month
Foundations for Education - Guatamala

Foundations for Education

Guatemala

In partnership with Kindness in Action - a charity of Alberta dentists who volunteer to provide dental care to the poor - the foundation has built the IOMA school in Xix, a town in the northern highlands. The school opened in January '06 as a boarding school with 15 girls and 10 boys are studying in Grades 7-9. A $5,000. A grant from Give Girls A Chance (December 2005) will pay for room, board, books and schooling of all 15 girls. We will continue to raise money to allow these girls to continue their schooling. Read below to learn about some of these girls. (scroll down to read about some of these girls)

Students are required to do community work during their vacation from October to December; if they don't, they lose their scholarship. This provides them the opportunity to demonstrate their skills to community leaders, and leads to future employment.


Students working in Agriculture Class

Ana, aged 16 and in Grade 7 at Xix, loves to play basketball, sing and dance and dreams of becoming a nurse. She is fifth in a family of ten children and loves helping her parents cultivate coffee, plant beans and help out in whatever type of work needs to be done.

Our current goal is to support Ana through grades 7-9 at a cost of approximately $405.00 a year which covers room, board and school books.

Maria, an eighteen year-old spends two days getting to her boarding school in Antigua. She loves to sing and cook different types of food and dreams of becoming a teacher.

"For me, education is the most important thing in our lives."

Our goal is to help Maria complete three years of school at a cost of approximately $860.00 per year.

Maria C, is in her second year of a 3-year technical bilingual teaching course and would like to continue for an additional two years to obtain her Masters. She also helps out with the teaching at Xix and goes to the city to study on the weekends. Her goal is to have a masters in Education to help strengthen the Mayan culture with the students and community.

GGAC initial goal is to support Maria in completing her current education course for two years at a cost of approximately $635.00 per year.

Teresa, a thirteen year-old in Grade 7, loves to play football, basketball, read, listen to music and to be happy. My current goal is to finish Grade 7 and continue through Grade 9. "My two older sisters are married because my father did not have money for them to study."

GGAC goal is to pay for Teresa's three years room, board and books at approximately $405.00 per year.