Avivara     

Grants To Schools

Many schools in Guatemala have only very limited resources to purchase much needed educational materials. It is very common to see classrooms with bare walls, some old desks, and maybe a blackboard.  Things that we take for granted in schools in the United States, such as books, maps, science equipment, math materials, colorful wall posters, etc., are non-existent in most rural Guatemalan schools. Teachers, when they do have teaching materials in their classrooms, have often purchased these things from their very meager salaries. (The typical salary for an elementary teacher in Guatemala is between the equivalent of $250.00 to $300.00 per month. To put that into perspective, the cost of a canasta basica, the amount of food needed to provide the minimal nutritional requirements for a Guatemalan family of five, is $467.00 per month.)

Generally, the government provides the basic shell of a school building, but rarely does it have the funds to install lighting or purchase desks and other equipment necessary for fully functioning classrooms. Rural schools often purchase (or scrounge) used classroom furniture that has been discarded or surplused from the more affluent schools in the cities. In many cases, students and teachers simply make do with whatever is available to them. Several of our grants have helped to install lighting in classrooms, purchase new desks and chairs, and even install a water delivery system for one school. 

The vast majority of the teachers we work with have demonstrated tremendous commitment to the education of their students. In spite of their minimal pay and poor working conditions, they will often travel for over an hour by bus and by foot to reach the schools where they teach. We have tremendous respect for the work they are accomplishing under very difficult circumstances. To assist them, Avivara has provided teacher curriculum guides in several of the schools, as well as funding for additional teacher training and staffing.

Because of the lack of funding for the schools, the families are expected to provide their children with all of the paper, pencils, books, and other miscellaneous supplies needed for their schoolwork. Unfortunately, many of the families simply cannot affords these supplies. Part of the support that Avivara provides the schools includes purchasing school supplies for those students who are unable to provide the supplies themselves. 

Using a Collaborative Process
During our time in Guatemala, we have had the opportunity to observe a number of projects and foreign NGO's. From those experiences, we have learned several "do's and don'ts." 

First, it is extremely important to work with the local people to determine what is most needed and what they think will work. We have witnessed first hand a number of well-meaning people coming to Guatemala and imposing their "help" (i.e., their external solutions and value systems) on local Guatemalan communities. This not only creates frustration and resentment on both sides, it does not generally result in sustainable organizations nor positive community development.

It is also very important to develop criteria for providing support and systems of accountability. Because of the extreme poverty that is encountered in Guatemala, there can be the strong desire to do something, anything to help. However, without thoughtful planning and follow-up evaluation of a program's effectiveness, limited resources can be squandered. Additionally, the extreme poverty combined with a long history of corruption and cronyism within the country, does mean that one cannot be naive in how money is distributed.

For these reasons, Avivara employs the following steps in its Grant to Schools Program:

1. Screening: All schools are visited by our staff prior to any grants being considered in order to evaluate the level of poverty in the village, the school's needs, the quality and commitment of its leadership, the commitment of the teachers to student learning, and the level of energy and enthusiasm for moving forward within the school community.
2.  Discernment of Needs: After the initial visit to the school, our staff then meets with the school staff and parents to determine what the priority needs are for improving student learning in the school. This is usually different for each community. In some cases, it is purchasing supplies for students. For other schools it might be upgrading facilities, or a breakfast program. This discernment process is one which is facilitated, but not directed, by the Avivara staff.
3. Determination of Grant: After identifying the school's needs, our staff evaluates the school's proposal and determines the level of support that will be needed to adequately meet those needs, how much of the cost can realistically be borne by the school, and how the grant amount fits within our budget.
3. Purchase and Delivery: After determining the grant amount, our staff researches vendors to determine which supplier is able to provide us the best value for our money. For example, rather than buying student supplies for each school separately, Avivara purchases these items in bulk from a wholesaler, thus reducing the overall costs for these supplies by around 40%. After purchasing the supplies, our staff delivers the materials and has each school complete an inventory and signed receipt for services and supplies provided.
4. Follow-up and Evaluation:  Periodically, our staff visits each school (usually around once each month) to see how the supplies and/or materials are being utilized. If they are being used, that is excellent. If they are not being used, we meet with the teachers to determine why that might be happening.  At the end of each year, our staff looks at how well each school used the materials or improvements that were provided to them and whether the grant had a positive impact on student learning.

By using this process, Avivara is able to support schools in ways that are meaningful and important to that particular community, as well as ensure that the resources donated to us are used effectively. 

School to School Partnerships
An important source of contributions for our Grants to Schools are the partnerships we have established between schools in the U.S. and schools in Guatemala. In these School to School Partnerships, the two schools have the opportunity to communicate with each other through letters and video storytelling, and the students are provided information about life in their partner school's community. In addition, the U.S. schools take on a commitment to do fund-raising for school improvement projects in their partner schools. Examples of these have included funding a breakfast program, purchasing new student desks and chairs, purchasing teacher curriculum guides and installing lighting.


Summary School Profiles
Currently, Avivara provides school improvement grants to eleven schools with a combined enrollment of approximately 1600 students. The schools vary in size from 30 students to over 520 students. Some are housed in concrete block buildings, while others make do in wood structures with lamina metal roofs. Most of the communities we support have high levels of poverty and a high percentage of indigenous (Mayan) children attending the school. Below are summary descriptions for the six schools we have been working with the longest. The data for each community are derived from our own research and statistics from the Guatemala government's Instituto Nacional de Estadisticas (INE). In addition, each school's latitude and longitude coordinates are provided. With improved satellite photos of Guatemala now available on Google Earth, it is possible to view the school and its surrounding community in fairly high detail.

The poverty statistics provided are estimates based on government data for the departments in which the villages and schools that we work with are located. In Guatemala, "regular" poverty is defined as having enough income to meet basic nutritional requirements, but insufficient income to cover housing, medical and educational expenses. "Extreme" poverty is defined as not having sufficient income to meet basic nutritional requirements.

Cerro Nino
Student Enrollment: 85 students (K-6)
Number of Faculty: 4
Community Characteristics An outskirt hillside community with primarily cane and lamina houses connected by dirt paths
Primary Occupations in the Community: Campesino (farmhand) and artisan
Primary Products: Corn, vegetables, fruits, leather goods
Municipality & Department: Pastores, Sacatepequez
Latitude & Longitude: 14º 36′ 02.20″ N,  90º 45′ 41.76″ W
Poverty Statistics: 62% living in poverty, 18% living in extreme poverty (total-80%)
Improvement Grant Focus: Teacher and student supplies
Additional Needs: Classroom equipment
School-to-School Partner: Archbishop Murphy High School, Everett, WA
To view some of our favorite photos from Cerro Nino please see the video Cerro Nino: A Community of Hope and Joy in our Video Gallery

Don Pancho
Student Enrollment: 96 (K-4)
Number of Faculty: 2
Community Characteristics: Very small community, highly dependent economically on large nearby finca
Primary Occupations in the Community: farm laborers on the Don Pancho Finca
Primary Products: Coffee, cardamon
Municipality & Department: El Rodeo, Escuintla
Latitude & Longitude: 14º 23′ 01.85″ N,  90º 51′ 21.58″ W
Poverty Statistics: 64% living in poverty, 21% living in extreme poverty (total-85%)
Improvement Grant Focus: Teacher and student supplies
Additional Needs: Building improvements, additional staffing
School-to-School Partners: St. Madeleine Sophie School, Bellevue WA and Thornton Creek Elementary School, Seattle WA

El Yalu
Student Enrollment: 454 (Pre-school-6th)
Number of Faculty: 17
Community Characteristics: Predominantly Kaqchikel Mayan community; Spanish is a second language; lacking potable water system
Primary Occupations in the Community: Campesino; small farm and finca laborers
Primary Products: Corn, other vegetables
Municipality & Department: Sumpango, Sacatepequez
Latitude & Longitude: 14º 41′ 49.92″ N,  90º 44′ 42.83″ W
Poverty Statistics: 68% living in poverty, 24% living in extreme poverty (total-92%)
Improvement Grant Focus: Classroom desks and chairs, student supplies, teaching supplies
Additional Needs: Building repairs, New classrooms
School-to-School Partner: St. Monica School, Mercer Island WA

San Jose Pacul
Student Enrollment: 260 (K-6)
Number of Faculty: 9
Community Characteristics: Predominantly Kaqchikel Mayan community, village sits on a high altitude plateau
Primary Occupations in the Community: Campesino (farm hand or small plot farming)
Primary Products: Corn, fruits,
Municipality & Department: Santiago, Sacatepequez
Latitude & Longitude: 14º 39′ 10.56″ N,  90º 39′ 10.16″ W
Poverty Statistics: 58% living in poverty, 14% living in extreme poverty (total-72%)
Improvement Grant Focus: Teacher development, student supplies, classroom furniture
School-to-School Partner: St. Bernadette School, Burien WA

Segunda Cruz
Student Enrollment: 45 (K-4)
Number of Faculty: 3
Community Characteristics: Very small, predominantly Kaqchikel Mayan community
Primary Occupations in the Community: Campesino (farm hand or small plot farming)
Primary Products: Corn, vegetables, fruits,
Municipality & Department: Sumpango, Sacatepequez
Latitude & Longitude: 14º 36′ 56.91″ N,  90º 44′ 52.05″ W
Poverty Statistics: 68% living in poverty, 22% living in extreme poverty (total-90%)
Improvement Grant Focus: School Breakfast Program
Additional Needs: Materials for newly added 3-4th grade classrooms
School-to-School Partner: St. Anthony School, Renton WA

Tunino
Student Enrollment: 80 (K-6)
Number of Faculty: 5
Community Characteristics: One of the most isolated of the communities we work with, located in a ravine with the school on the steep hillside
Primary Occupations in the Community: Campesino (farm hand or small plot farming)
Primary Products: Corn, vegetables, fruits
Municipality & Department: Sumpango, Sacatepequez
Latitude & Longitude: 14º 37′ 20.16″ N,  90º 44′ 23.07″ W
Poverty Statistics: 58% living in poverty, 17% living in extreme poverty (total-75%)
Improvement Grant Focus: Teacher development, student supplies, classroom furniture
Additional Needs: Kitchen equipment
School-to-School Partner: Bowman Elementary School, Anchorage, AK