As the co-host on this year’s Learning Journey, I cherished the opportunity I had to intimately connect ten of our supporters to the work in which they had invested. While I do my best to connect people to Reading Village’s work throughout the year, the Learning Journey creates the perfect vehicle to directly connect the…
School is in session in the Department of Solola, Guatemala. Our youth leaders of Reading Village are deeply involved with their personal studies, learning daily how to engage young children in reading activities, and assisting their families with daily chores to keep households running. And all of this during the rainy season. In Solola during the…
One note on empathy. It really struck me after listening to staff today and to our scholar in Chuiquel the other day about what school is like for elementary school children here. Most are afraid of their teachers. Although they may no longer physically grab them by the ears or hit them, they still are…
We attended Agustin’s graduation today. Agustin was one of the kids that really didn’t score high on the admissions process, but Daniel (our Program Coordinator) wanted to accept him anyway. I told Daniel that it was on him, then, to make sure Agustin succeeded – and he did! Agustin lives in a small community way down below…
What makes the final day matter? Lessons from teens teaching us how to make tortillas? From the harvesting of corn, to the adding of lyme before boiling and then the grinding by hand on the ancient Maya stone. Did I mention that every day, every member of the family eats four tortillas for each meal?…
As you celebrate the holidays I hope you’ll join me in raising a glass to our shared success in changing lives in real and meaningful ways: To Julio, Rosmery and Marcela who graduated from high school this year (a goal less than 10% of youth achieve), To Yeltsin who discovered his gift to teach, To…
On my final day in Concepcion, Daniel Guzman (our In-Country Director) and I held a workshop for our teen reading promoters. I hadn’t worked with them as a group since February and it was so gratifying to see them speaking up more, acting as a group rather than six individuals, expressing their appreciation for the program AND making…
I visited Puertas Abiertas (Open Doors) today, a small children’s library in Santiago Atitlan that Reading Village has supported with donations of books. Puertas Abiertas is a project of Starfish One by One, they have several projects around Lake Atitlan that promote the growth and development of children. I am excited about the conversation we…
With a population of about a thousand, Concepcion is a agricultural town facing the prospect of not having enough land for the next generation to inherit and live from. An old colonial cathedral marks the center of town. Along with the butcher, there are a few small businesses selling farming supplies, dry goods and such….