HELPS International has had a presence in Guatemala since the '80's, when founder Steve Miller responded to the need for medical care in outlying areas of Guatemala. In fact, my introduction to HELPS was through responding to my brother's urging to participate in a 70 member team in San Cristobal, Alta Verapaz, in January 2004.   He did surgery all day; I worked triage on the front patio, determining which family member was the patient and the medical reason for being there.

But I'm a teacher, so I asked the question, "Does HELPS do anything with education in Guatemala?"  Indeed they do.  A quality education is the key to advantages in life in any society, so HELPS has invested in a K-6 school in Santa Avelina, Quiche, in the Ixil triangle area that especially needed assistance after the time of violence.   Head for Nebaj, then take the road to Cotzal and the road literally ends in Santa Avelina.  The only two-story cement block building in town is the Centro Educativo Privado Experimental "William M. Botnan" school.   Originally a K-4 school with an open second floor to be used as a town meeting area, the school has expanded to K-6, with serious thoughts of adding Basico.

Now I travel to Guatemala in my role as an educator.  Twice a year, a team of six to eight American teachers draws on their experience to help the school's young Mayan teachers become better teachers.   In January, just before their school year begins, we meet off site.  For instance, in January 2005, we capped four days of workshops in Guatemala City, with a trip to Copan, Honduras, to see the Mayan ruins.  I thoroughly enjoyed seeing the teachers listen attentively to the guide, learning about their own ancestry.  In July, when school is in session, we meet and stay at the school, pushing our cots to the edge of the classrooms each morning.  When the children are dismissed in the early afternoon, the in-service begins for the staff.  It's a long week for them, but they are eager to learn and are very aware that this is a unique opportunity.

So who pays for all this?  When I am in Santa Avelina, I represent the area of Language Arts, with particular emphasis on getting more writing into the curriculum.   I volunteer my time and travel expenses because I believe in education and know that HELPS is an organization based on integrity.  But teacher salaries, materials and a significant percent of each child's education is covered through donations, grants and the Partners in Education Program known as PEPKIDS. 

There are seven grades, K-6, with 20 children in a classroom.  To meet our financial obligations we need 140 PEP sponsors, who are each willing to become the godparent for a specific child.   The cost is $300 a school year (January-October) and the contribution can be paid as a single payment (ideally early in the year, when the expenses are the greatest), or in increments such as $75, four times a year.   In return, the sponsor is assigned a specific child and receives a photo and newsletters about four times a year from the room mother for that grade.  Last year I attended sixth grade graduation for the first time in October and saw what an important milestone that is.   The kids beam, and so do the parents, but no one can be prouder than principal Rosa Cordova Perez and her staff.    I can't wait to attend graduation for the two children I support, now in fourth grade!

The school has also recently begun a successful pre-school (maternal) program, as well as after school classes for working children.    Due to a recent Fondo Unido de Guatemala (United Way subsidiary) grant, the school has just had ten student computers installed with internet access, opening a whole new approach to education for both students and staff.    The long-range goal is for the school to become a model Mayan school, with the Santa Avelina teachers becoming in-service presenters themselves to area teachers.   As director Lois O'Neal is fond of saying, if such success can occur in Santa Avelina, it can happen anywhere.  

I was fortunate to grow up in an environment in which the adults around me made sure I had a good education, before I even knew its value.   Now it's my turn to pass it on

Cheryl Weeks-Rosten

PEPKIDS Director

cwrosten@sbcglobal.net