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Guatemala Education Update: September, 2020

9/1/2020

 
by Lesly Ely
PictureLemoa scholarship student
As students in the U.S. return to school, we wanted to give you an update on the status of our students as they are nearing the end of a challenging school year.​

Since April, students in rural schools have been doing their schoolwork at home.  Parents of elementary school students go in person to the school once a week to get new assignments and a small bag of food for student lunches.  The government of Guatemala has been providing this food, and now they are giving fruit or vegetables for each student.

Intermediate level students do their homework via the Internet or television. They do not receive food.  Most of them have a cell phone and access to WhatsApp, and receive and deliver their assignments this way.

The president of Guatemala recently announced that there will be not yet be any scheduled international air service -- only private flights. They are trying to decide when international tourism can be reopened.  Currently, they are asking for a letter for each person who enters the country saying that a coronovirus test was done and is negative. At this point, it is not known when commercial flights will resume.

The good news is that students in our scholarship program have not experienced any cases of the virus. In the communities, people are being very careful and they hardly go out to avoid contact. A month ago restaurants and some shops were reopened, so there is a little more income for families, except for those that make embroidery and fabrics and sell them to tourism. This is the main economic income for families in our program villages.

The Guatemalan school year ends in October, and it has been decided that students will finish classes from home. The government has not yet decided if in-person schooling will reopen in January, 2021.

Our Guatemalan staff members are very grateful for the monetary support that is being sent to the students and the bags of food that have been distributed, which has given a lot of relief and joy to families in our program.
​

Rowena Helman
9/3/2020 01:51:57 pm

Thanks so much for this update. If more money is needed to purchase food, I am happy to contribute further. I'm so relieved to learn that none of our students has been affected by the virus!

Rowena Helman

Mark Ely
9/8/2020 12:18:45 pm

Thanks Row. We'll keep you updated.

Dale and Kathy Balu
9/3/2020 02:45:36 pm

Thanks for the update and we have heard that it is much harder for our students to do school at home but we know it is the best for their safety at this time. We have tried to be encouraging in our responses to their letters and wish them the very best. It is great to hear that no students have been impacted by the virus. We continue to be impressed with the work your organization is doing in Guatemala!

Mark Ely
9/8/2020 12:20:06 pm

Dale and Kathy -- Thanks for your ongoing support. We really appreciate your support of our scholarship program.

Linda Marshall
9/8/2020 02:33:04 pm

Hi, We are sending $50 through the donation tab, hoping it will be used for the food distribution and educational support.

Mark Ely
9/15/2020 03:08:52 pm

Thanks Linda! I hope you and Jim are well.


Comments are closed.

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