Education is one of the key factors for effectively breaking the cycle of poverty which plagues the developing world. In highland Guatemala we help communities break out of this cycle by providing the necessary funds for impoverished families to send their children to school. Currently only 58% of children attend school, which is evidenced in Guatemala´s high illiteracy rate.

Although education is highly valued in Guatemalan families, a lack of rural schools, the expense of transportation, registration, study materials, and uniforms keep those families living in poverty from giving their children an opportunity to attend school. As many of the families we support are struggling to put food on the table, they are often forced to pull their children from school in order to contribute to the family's income. Girls are specifically at risk of being denied an education because their domestic skills are culturally regarded as more valuable than those skills they would exercise in the work force.

In order to combat the financial burdens families face in sending their children to school, we provide the necessary funds that help cover educational costs and/or replace the meager wage the child would have earned if he or she had been working instead. Pop Wuj, our local partner, finds a school, transportation, and the necessary supplies for each child in the scholarship program. The progress of each student is closely monitored on a monthly basis through communication with students, teachers, and parents. The families of scholarship recipients are required to stay involved with the education of their children if they are to continue receiving funds. In monthly meetings each community works together to send the maximum number of students to school. It is in this way that we offer impoverished children the choice of becoming a school teacher or an operator of a business rather than a seasonal farmhand.

We currently provide scholarships for approximately 130 students. Typically each family receives $13 US per month, though this amount may increase or decrease depending on need. For the children, this small amount of money determines whether or not they will be literate as well as the quality of lives they will lead.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Scholarship Distribution in Chirijkiak, San Juan Ostuncalco, and Llanos del Pinal

San Juan Ostuncalco
Last week was a busy week for the Pop Wuj Scholarship Program, as meetings were held and scholarships were distributed in three communities: Chirijkiak on Wednesday, San Juan Ostuncalco on Thursday, and Llanos del Pinal on Friday. 





San Juan Ostuncalco

The idea of the Scholarship Program or the “becas” is to supplement a family’s income to pay for school-related needs such as books, writing utensils, and school uniforms, and/or to make up for the income forgone by having children attend school rather than work.  The total cost of providing a scholarship is 100 Quetzales (about $13) per month, or 1,200 Quetzales (about $160) per year for each child.  This seems like such a small amount of money for what is gained: access to, and motivation for, achieving an education. 




Llanos del Pinal
Each meeting began with a presentation by Teri, a Pop Wuj social work student, who spoke about the importance of healthy relationships, family planning, and birth control methods.  The talk included dispelling common rumors about contraceptio, such as the myth that a contraceptive injection can cause an abortion if received while already pregnant.


Llanos del Pinal


Birth control is a contentious issue in Guatemala, as most of the country is very religious--mostly Catholic or evangelical Christian, but Pop Wuj is committed to making accurate and useful information available to our scholarship recipients and their families as a means of empowering women to make their own decisions regarding their health and their bodies. 

Llanos del Pinal
After the talk, the scholarships were distributed to the families, 100 Quetzales per recipient for this month.  The Scholarship Program funds the education of over 130 students from kindergarten to university level. Fifty percent of the scholarship project budget comes from the profits of the Pop Wuj Spanish Language School.  The remaining 50% is funded by individual donors who sponsor individual students.  Most of these donations come through the Foundation Todos Juntos, a U.S. 501(c)3 nonprofit.  Many former students and their friends and families are currently supporting the education of our scholarship recipients.



Llanos del Pinal
If you are considering a donation to the Pop Wuj Scholarship Program, rest assured that these scholarships are among the most noble causes to which one can give; providing an education for one of our children is not expensive, and the rewards of doing so are priceless.