Successes and Challenges of Proyecto La Pedrera |
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Successes
Students
Thanks to the immense help we receive from our benevolent local and
foreign donors, today, some young people have the opportunity to
work and improve upon their own lives and those of the members of
their families. Currently, some youths who entered the program in
1998 have successfully graduated with different specialties. Here are some of the
graduates.
Families
The project continues to have volunteers with different backgrounds
and fields of study and these help to do so many other things in
the communities especially in relation to public health education,
family life education, sex education and care for the environment.
There have already been gatherings and one-on-one education on personal
hygiene, child care, and the children have had the opportunity to plant
trees in their communities. Within the months of July and August 2006
some of the volunteers are teaching the community members the need to
keep the environment clean, and the youths are also being engaged in
seminars on sex education.
Communities
Proyecto La Pedrera focuses on the following communities: Pedrera 1, Pedrera 2, Canton Xetuj, Chuilaju, Barrio San Bartolome, Canton Choqi.
Challenges
Sponsorship
Even though it is to be expected that the child sponsorship program will
not have the same quota every year, sponsorship rather seems to be on the
decrease. More and more children are losing their sponsorship and this is
affecting the project very negatively as children are not being asked to
withdraw rather the scanty resources are being used to help all of them.
As this site already contains, there are currently 93 children in the
program but only 32 have sponsors. The sponsorship program has is very flexible.
It is accepted if:
- an individual wants to sponsor one or more children
- a group of individual wants to sponsor one or more children
- institutions want to sponsor one or more children
Donations
In addition to the child sponsorship program, we also accept donations as such
computers, clothing, school supplies, infrastructure (bathrooms, more rooms,
e-library, etc.) which will benefit the project (school and communities) as
a whole. However, we would like the items to bring to us by donors or donors
add some additional money to enable us clear items or, better still, send us
the money for us to purchase items they want to donate to us here. The project
has very limited financial resources and most of the time we are unable to
clear items shipped to us due to high tariffs.
Additional Projects
Currently, bathrooms are being constructed for the project's two-room center.
Also, plans are under way to connect the center to the internet with Wifi
from Casa Xelajú and, in addition, create an e-library at the center for
the children.
For more detailed information concerning volunteer work, donations, and participation with La Pedrera Project, please visit La Pedrera´s own website at www.lapedreraschoolproject.com
Proyecto La Pedrera Contact and Info
La Pedrera Community Project
Callejon 15 D13-02 Zona 1
Quetzaltenango, Guatemala.
Phone: 7761-5954-55
Fax: 7761-5953
612-235-4347 -> USA phone operating in Guatemala
Web site: www.casaxelaju.com/pedrera/
Email (Spanish inquiries only): pedrera@casaxelaju.com
Email (English inquiries): elizabeth@casaxelaju.com
Link to Pages made by a Pedrera Sponsor
www.mikebaird.com/LaPedrera.htm
www.mikebaird.com/trip_to_guatemala.htm
www.mikebaird.com/trip2_to_guatemala.htm
Document updated: May, 2008