Fund a teacher and teach a class in Latin America

The school year in Guatemala came to an end in October with very encouraging results from all the grades. We are preparing to use our experience we have gained over the last two decades to expand our operations in other communities in Guatemala to bring more graduate teachers into the classrooms whilst paying for their University costs. This is so important not just for the children in the primary schools who often have to share their teacher with two other grades, though will also show them what is possible, as these graduate teachers live in the same community can come from the same background.

We will also be setting up small businesses for teenage single mothers who can learn new skills and receive income so they can pay for their further studies which they had to leave behind once they became pregnant and, due to being single, are the only earners in the household.

The graduations from our Phoenix College in Honduras next month will be a “first” for a very important reason: all the graduates are girls! All our recent graduations over the years have been mixed though this year, after six years since this group started with us, they are all now graduating, which is a brilliant example of giving girls the same rights and opportunities as boys!

This will also be the end of our first year in our satellite Phoenix secondary school high up in the hills which has allowed students very rural communities to receive further education when before they couldn’t due to the long distances to travel each day. It has been a huge success and we will be adding another grade in 2020.

The college band once again wowed the crowds in Independence Day with more instruments that we purchased this year and we celebrated Day of the Child in La Pintada with food, games and of course piñatas!

In Ecuador the new school year got underway with the traditional ceremony of flowers and gifts with the parents and the students. The head of education of the area was in attendance. Work continued installing piping into the school for fresh water and the community got together for a minga to prepare a new playground for the children.

Due to the potential increased transport costs following the Government’s decision to cancel fuel subsidies we have set up a monthly fund for all the teachers so they will be able to travel each day up into the mountains where we work. At time of writing this still hasn’t come into action so this fund will go towards a food program for the children. 

We celebrated our 13^th Anniversary in Perú recently with lots of traditional dance, food and games. Edyluz, our longest serving teacher since 2006, once again was the start of the show. Our aims for 2020 are to increase the numbers of local teachers in the school as the current ratio is just one teacher per three grades. Thanks to your donations we can achieve this.

As part of the the curriculum the importance of personal hygiene and prevention of illnesses was taught at the school. Most families don’t have running water and the school itself gets water twice a week. The lack of water means the families have to make the most of what they have.

On 3^rd December Global Giving will be adding bonuses to all donations whilst funds last as part of their #GivingTuesday campaign so if you can donate, please donate early and thank you very much in advance! All donations made will go towards our Christmas Appeal which aims to raise $15,000 towards our local teachers’ salaries and University scholarships, sustainable income plans for local families, fruit and food, school materials and celebrations during 2020.

We will also be planting one tree for every $15 donated in our effort to help offset the problems of deforestation and the effects of climate change as trees help reduce carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Thank you so much for any donation you can make to the Appeal and 2020 and all the best for the upcoming festive season!

As part of their final year in Honduras, our college students make regular visits to local rural communities to give talks over a range of subjects including health, nutrition and the effects of climate change – this is the 4^th year in a row the crops have failed. They not only impart useful information it also helps them get used to speaking in public. They must also teach in the local primary schools, providing important individual attention and reducing the class/teacher ratios, as well as adult literacy. These past couple of months they have been involved in reforestation in the surrounding areas of Copán including up near our new satellite secondary school in Barbasco. The students also learned about recycling methods to create indoor vegetable and plant garden s using old water containers. As with every August a lot of time has been spent practicing for Independence Day with the newly improved school band! Photos to come next month!

As our school in Guatemala becomes more self-sufficient and taking control of its own direction we can start thinking about phase three of our work in Guatemala: replicating what we have learned over the past seventeen years to sustainably help other communities. This includes adding recent graduates into rural schools where the teacher/class ratio is often 1-3 whilst helping them with University costs and adding sustainable income plans. We aim to focus on communities in Huehuetenango, Lake Atitlán and the “dry corridor” areas of Chiquimula, Jocotán and Camotán over the next few years.

With the school off for holidays in Ecuador we are undertaking maintenance, including adding water piping into the school and the community is busy laying pipes for their houses in the communities. We are adding another teacher when school starts up again next month, Zoila´s daughter, to bring the teacher/class ratio down even further. To celebrate graduations this year we paid for our first trip to the beach with the graduating students and their parents which was an experience for all! As ever June was Inti Raymi month celebrating the sun (Inti) where the children and the community got involved with dance and tradition. Finally, well done and a huge thank you to our charity challengers who scaled Imbabura and Fuya Fuya and circumnavigated Lake Cuicocha with the local families and teachers back in June. We’re doing it all again in 2020 – for information please see below!

The children learned about different traditions, food and cultures this month to celebrate Arequipa Day – and got to eat the results too! Due to increased seismic activity in Perú we have been doubling up earthquake drills and the children also undertook a nature hunt in the surrounding area of the school; admittedly there were slim pickings! Finally, well done and a huge thank you to our charity challengers who completed the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu as well other day hikes! 

Business can play a huge role in education, employment generation and supporting communities and is an area where we, as Phoenix, would like to explore further over the coming years to benefit the countries in Latin America – not just our projects though other communities as well. If you would like more information on how your company could get involved in the future please do contact me on dom@thephoenixprojects.org

Our recent Whole Foods Market trip in Guatemala saw them visiting their micro-credit partners in Huehuetenango, funding and helping to build a kitchen for a family at Lake Atitlán and reforesting an area on Pacaya Volcano.

Following on from our excellent Phoenix Charity Challenges in Perú and Ecuador we will be doing it all again in 2020 with the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu dates from Saturday 23^rd-30^th May and Ecuador volcanoes from Saturday 30^th May-6^th June. It is a fantastic way to economically tick off Machu Picchu and volcano hiking from your bucket list whilst raising funds for Phoenix! We will need confirmations of places for the Inca Trail by the end of September so if you are interested please follow the link below and please do contact us soon so you don’t miss out as there are limited places on the trail.

Links:

• Inca Trail and Machu Picchu Charity Challenge in Peru 2020