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Home > Find a Project > Guatemala > Children > Empowering Guatemalan Youth to Promote Literacy

Empowering Guatemalan Youth to Promote Literacy

Summary

We provide scholarships and leadership development training to rural Guatemalan teens. In return, they give back to their community by leading reading activities with younger children. progress reportread updates from the field


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More Information About this Project

Project Needs and Beneficiaries

Rosmery is one of our teen reading promoters. Her parents are uneducated yet she aspires to be a teacher, “I want to show that a girl can be something in this world.” Earning just $100/month her family cannot afford her $500/year school fees. Our program allows her to continue studying AND empowers her with confidence and pride as she brings a love of reading to children in her community where there is a 50% illiteracy rate, no means to buy books, no library, nor even textbooks in the school.

Activities

We empower teens to promote literacy. The ability to read enables children to envision and create a better life for themselves. Maria, leader of a local women’s group said, “Literacy is vital to our children’s future. There is no more land to farm.”

Funding Information

Total Funding Received to Date: £2,771
Remaining Goal to be Funded: £31,738
Total Funding Goal: £34,509

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Excel file (projdoc.xls).

Resources

Why this Project is Important

Potential Long Term Impact

This project will develop local leaders, increase the number of high school graduates (currently 5%), and break the cycle of illiteracy in the town of Concpecion (pop. 5000) -- creating the opportunities the children need to fulfill their potential.

Project Message

I am enclosing a check because of what books have meant in my life. These kids deserve no less.
- Meghan Kostishack, Reading Village supporter

Who is Running This Project

Contact

Linda Smith,
Staff Member
Reading Village
3210 15th Street
Boulder, CO 80304
United States
303-883-2822
Email:

Project Sponsor

Linda Smith

Organisation

Reading Village Logo Reading Village
3210 15th Street,
Boulder,, CO 80304
United States
303-883-2822
http://www.readingvillage.org

Learn more about Reading Village and the project team.



Where this Project is Located

Country

This project is located in Guatemala and can also be found under Children.

For more information about Guatemala, read the Human Development Report on Guatemala or the Wikipedia entry for Guatemala.

When this Project was Updated

Last Updated

This project was last updated on July 23, 2010.

Date Added to GlobalGiving

This project was added to the GlobalGiving project catalog on March 22, 2009.

Latest Update from the Field

Transforming Lives

By Linda Smith - Founder and President, July 12, 2010 12:31 PM

I'm in Guatemala with our Learning Journey group. They just spent three full 

days in Concepción getting to know this indigenous Maya community, their

culture, traditions and history as well as our reading promoters, their families

and homes -- connecting at a very personal and heartfelt level. Promoters 

and visitors alike were sad to see it end. (See link below for photos.)

I had the opportunity this morning to chat with Julio César, one of our 

second-year reading promoters. He shared with me that he had been 

planning on studying music until he began reading to the children in 

Concepción through our Leaders and Readers program. The joy and 

satisfaction this work gives him convinced him that he should become a 

teacher, and he changed his course of study. 

Yesterday Julio's best friend Carlos, a first-year promoter, told him he was 

confused about what he wanted to study. He'd always thought he'd become 

a mechanic, but comments from various of the visitors on theLearning 

Journey made him think he should consider being a teacher. (I have to say, 

Carlos is amazingly talented at bringing stories to life for the children!) 

Then Julio said, "You know the phrase on the Reading Village logo, 

Transforming Lives through Literacy? It really is true. My life has changed 

because of Reading Village and now Carlos's life is being impacted as well."

All of our teens have grown tremendously in ability, self-confidence and self-

awareness. Watch Maribel's face light up with pride in a two-minute video (link below) 

as she talks about the success she is enjoying as a reading promoter.   

Thank you for all you do to bring the joy of reading to children,

Linda

Links:

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