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Education in Guatemala

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Deep Roots Guatemala provides scholarships to at-risk youth and future leaders in the Chisec region of Alta Verapaz, Guatemala. Deep Roots concentrates its efforts in this Q'eqchi'-Maya rainforest region because it is one of the most isolated and abandoned in the country. With more than 60% of the population illiterate (over 75% of the women) and the majority of rural children not in school past the second grade, urgent efforts are needed to promote education in this area.

Deep Roots Guatemala works in cooperation with the local Guatemalan organization SANK (a Q'eqchi'-Maya acronym loosely translated as "Harmony in our Community"), to ensure that donations reach the children who are the most deserving and the most in need. SANK focuses on educational and environmental conservation projects in the Chisec region, currently cooperating with the Guatemalan government, USAID, Veterinarians Without Borders, the European Union, Counterpart International, and Idaho State University. Integrating Deep Roots Guatemala's scholarships into its other activities, SANK provides logistical support in Chisec and relays the local scholarship needs to Deep Roots Guatemala.

Deep Roots Guatemala knows the value of formal education for at risk children in rural Guatemala and has focused efforts on two special populations.

AT RISK YOUTH - The Chisec Shoeshine Union

Some of the most dynamic and brightest children in Chisec are the shoe-shiners, who spend their days pitching shines to customers in the three local languages - Spanish, Q'eqchi' and Poqomchi. Deep Roots Guatemala has been providing scholarships for these hard-working children and their siblings to enable them to stay in school.

Recognizing the potential of these young entrepreneurs, SANK helped set up a local shoe-shiners union in 2001. Working with the local mayor and a committee of parents, SANK helped double the price of a shoeshine, developed a set of rules to promote structure, discipline, and pride among the youth and provided uniforms and self-esteem workshops for the shoe-shiners. Deep Roots Guatemala's scholarships are an integral part of the efforts to give these children a better chance for a brighter future.

FUTURE LEADERS - The 21st Century Leaders Program

Deep Roots Guatemala's Future Leaders program provides scholarships to young men and women from rural villages to enable them to continue their studies at the junior-high (grades 7 - 9) and high school (grades 10 - 12) levels. This program not only provides for tuition, uniforms and school supplies, it also includes monthly seminars in leadership development, environmental education, human rights and a variety of other topics that are under-addressed in the local academic curriculum.

One of the most devastating effects of the 36-year civil war in Guatemala was the destruction of local leadership. Years after the Guatemalan Peace Accords were signed, rural areas like Chisec, which were destroyed during the war, are still struggling to recover their sense of local empowerment and organization. The 21st Century Leaders Program is Deep Roots Guatemala's way to accelerate this process. Deep Roots Guatemala is working to develop local youth into educated community leaders in order to help fill the void left behind by the war.

As we continue to work to create a more just and peaceful world, we ask you to continue supporting Deep Roots Guatemala's important work in this remote corner of the world. As always, we guarantee that at least 90% of your donation will go directly toward the improvement of children's lives through education.