A Season of Growth

May 17, 2024

Welcome, Spring! As dormant plants grow anew, seedlings sprout, trees boast fresh buds, and hibernating animals awake, Spring is a season of possibility, of beginnings, of promise.

Spring sunshine paired with spring rains tend to wash away the dust — reviving the resting, renewing the hope. But, in high-altitude communities in Guatemala, much-needed rains bring anxiety with their energy for those families without means of capturing its potential. Unharnessed, it is missed opportunity. It is frustration. It is worry. This spring, high-volume rainwater storage tanks will replace the often-futile efforts to capture rainwater in pitchers and plastic bottles and will improve water security for twenty families struggling with water scarcity in the community of San Francisco. Last year, 75 rainwater catchment and storage tanks were installed, allowing families to store water and extend the season of producing food for local consumption. Dry season sustenance starts with this spring’s water. Let it rain!

In Chicaman, Guatemala, budding students will soon benefit from a wide world of resources not currently available in classrooms. Digital libraries and tablets will reach the remote and under-resourced schools that were visited by Alberta Teachers last summer and by our most recent dental brigade. This project will leverage the successes and learnings of our Technology for Improved Learning project in Comitancillo, Guatemala where students and teachers in ten rural schools continue to benefit from a host of learning opportunities at their fingertips and through their touchscreens. We are excited that a world of possibility will soon open up for 1600 more students in six schools this spring.

Outside the classroom, students in two Chicaman schools where lack of sanitation facilities make for extremely unhealthy conditions will also get a fresh clean start this spring. The installation of school hand-washing stations and latrines will make for a safer learning environment where health and sanitation is prioritized alongside school studies.

Your support makes this a season of renewal for many. Thank you! 

Central America and the Caribbean Education Guatemala Health In The Field Water