Education for 500 children in Guatemala

I hope all is well. It has been a great couple of months on the projects in Guatemala.

Our students with special educational needs and disabilities were involved in a march to draw attention to and promote people studying, working and living with disabilities. Guatemala still has some way to go when it comes to inclusivity, help and rights of disabled people though it is on the right track and is miles better than it was just a few years ago.

The students were also involved in an inter-school athletics meeting which was a fantastic opportunity to try new sports and meet new people from neighbouring departments and communities. Medals were also won!

Our scholarship students were involved in local community celebrations in July despite some violent disturbances in one of the communities where we work so to be able to get out and try and live a normal life is paramount at the moment.

We are in the process of purchasing water tanks for the schools where our scholarship students attend. With rain becoming erratic it is important to implement water harvesting plans now to take advantage of the rains when they come. We also purchased a fridge for the school we support with students with varying disabilities so they can keep their medicines at the correct temperature. It will also be used to keep food and drinks fresh.

With our project manager Gaspar spending more time helping out in the school for children with special educational needs and disabilities he can dedicate some of his time helping with the parents too.

We are in the process of getting sewing as part of the school curriculum in the local schools we support using our Plan Costura centre. The first trial with a school was undertaken where they learnt about the machines. Once we start seeing success we should be able to spread to other schools.

And finally we have been planting trees with the students. Each year we plant hundreds of trees around the communities with the students and their families to combat deforestation and also to cover our carbon footprint from our work in Latin America. By purchasing the trees ourselves and planting them on land belonging to members of the communities we can ensure that the reforestation is being undertaken responsibly.

Thank you so much for all your continued support and have a great September. Don’t forget to check out next year’s 25th Phoenix Anniversary Charity Challenge in Ireland (follow the link below) - it would be great to see you there!

Cheers

Links:

• Phoenix 25th Anniversary Charity Challenge in Ireland - May 2027