The School Construction Campaign

Inadequate access to education

The Guatemalan government provides no public secondary schools.  In fact, public spending on education in Guatemala is the lowest in the Western Hemisphere, comparable only to Haiti.  The few private schools that do exist are both financially inaccessible and too few in number to satisfy the demand for education in the region. Furthermore, these private schools generally offer a very Hispano-centric education that encourages students to forget their native language and rid themselves of their Mayan heritage.

Building a university preparatory school

Roots & Wings International intends to begin construction of a university preparatory school in the rural region of Nahualá, Sololá in the next three years. This school will meet some of the demand for education among impoverished youth in the region, and its curriculum will be based in the culture of the communities.

We are focusing on university scholarships now to have an adequate labor pool of indigenous K'iche'-speaking professionals to make up the staff and faculty of the school we build. We believe that it is important for students to receive an education based in their own culture and imparted by teachers who speak their own language.

All students graduating from the school will become the future Roots & Wings Intl university scholarship recipients. We believe that fostering higher education among youth in the communities where we work, will be the impetus for future sustainable development.