Scholarship Program Details
Pura Vida is arranging scholarships for children in rural Guatemala desiring to continue their education but are unable to for financial reasons. We are currently sponsoring children in all grades of elementary, middle, and high school. Schooling is just not affordable for most rural village residents. There are some really bright kids who just won't have the chance to go to school.

The Problem

Guatemala provides free public education through sixth grade. But in rural areas such as Lemoa, children average less than two years in school; parents would rather have their children work in the fields or in the home. Girls especially are not encouraged to go to school. Also compounding the issue is the fact that most children in rural areas converse primarily in their indigenous language, and Spanish only in school. All of these factors have has contributed to a literacy rate of much less than 50% among the indigenous population.

Our Strategy

Pura Vida has been offering scholarships in Guatemala since 2002. We have been working closely with parents to help them understand the long-term benefits of keeping children in school longer. These benefits are already becoming apparent -- children from the first few years of the program have undergone huge changes in maturity and ability. There is much promise in this program!

Your sponsorship is tied to education: it covers tuition, supplies, uniforms, bus fare, and tutoring. Tutoring is provided to students that need it since their parents generally have not attended school at that level. If you would like to sponsor the education of one of these students, either by yourself or as part of a group, please contact us for more information. Children are selected in early November each year for the program.
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Student Selection Criteria
  1. Financial need: Does the family need assistance to keep their applicant in school?
    Each year we send a social worker to perform a detailed interview of each scholarship applicant and their family in their own home.  This gives us a very good idea of a family's financial situation.

  2. Academic ability: What is the applicant's track record in previous studies?
    We review applicant report cards and talk with teachers when possible.  Except in very young applicants, this helps us understand the applicant's academic potential.

  3. Desire, drive, and support: Does the applicant and family show interest in continuing in school?
    We need to be sure that the applicant really wants to go to school, and that it's not just the parents pushing them against their will.  We must also verify that parents will provide support and decrease the child's workload in the field.  To this end, our local staff conducts a second set of interviews with applicants and their families once the results of the social worker's study are complete.
Additional Considerations
  • Applicants must reside in one of our program villages (Camanchaj, Chichicastenango, Chontala, Lemoa, Paquixic, Patulup, Paxot, Pocohil, Quijel, Santa Cruz, or Xepocol)
  • We give special attention to orphans, the disabled, and other disadvantaged children that would otherwise fall through the cracks.
  • We try to recruit more girls than boys, since girls are historically disadvantaged in school attendance.  See Sponsorship Statistics for a breakdown of the students in our program by grade level and gender.
  • Whenever possible, we place scholarship recipients in private schools. If the distance from home is great and the student is very young, we will choose placement in the closest public school.
  • We regularly meet with the families of scholarship recipients to reinforce the importance of education, and to ensure the student is given time to study
  • Scholarships are also intended to help defray the opportunity cost incurred by sending a child to school who would otherwise be helping to generate income for the family.
  • Scholarships are available from Kindergarten through the University level. We encourage our students to think big in this regard.