Patzicía, Guatemala - The trip from Chimaltenango to Patzicía was absolutely beautiful. My previous two trips to Guatemala had kept me in the capital, so I especially appreciated the rolling green hills and farmland of rural Guatemala. I commented on the beauty of the landscape to my taxi driver, and he explained that thanks to a generously long rainy season and mild climate, this part of Guatemala stays green year-round.

I was making the 45-minute trip to Patzicía to visit one of GFC’s newer grantee partners in Guatemala—Centro Educativo Maya Aj Sya’ (Maya Aj Sya’ Education Center). A grantee partner since 2008, the mission of Maya Aj Sya’ is to provide high-quality, bilingual education in Kaqchikel and Spanish to local children living in extreme poverty. The school is nationally recognized and teaches all required subjects as well as traditional Mayan music and dance. In addition to offering a competitive and engaging curriculum, the school provides culturally appropriate education to students who otherwise could not afford to attend school. Read more

Quetzaltenango, Guatemala - When I arrived at Colegio Miguel Angel Asturias (Miguel Angel Asturias Academy) in Quetzaltenango (also known as Xela), Guatemala, school director Jorge Chojolán apologized because today wasn’t going to be a “normal day” at the school. He explained that the primary-school students were learning about politics this month, and today was an important assembly where each grade’s candidate would make his or her pitch to the student body on why he or she should be elected school president or vice president. Over the past couple of weeks, each class’s students—from the 5-year-old kindergarteners to the sixth graders—had been developing their platform, creating a political party, and electing a candidate to represent them in the school-wide election. Many of the speeches had a strong environmental focus due to the school’s emphasis last month on ecology and conservation. Read more

Port-au-Prince, Haiti - At first glance, the school of GFC grantee partner Ansable Vwazen Jakè (Jakè Neighborhood Association, or AVJ) looks like a “normal” school in post-earthquake Haiti, if such a thing can be said to exist. Children under tarps, learning in the sweltering heat as best they can. But it’s not a typical school at all. According to Prof. Gregory, a dreadlocked and charismatic teacher and one of the leaders of AVJ, the AVJ school was created to be a model school for Haiti by offering high-quality education, taught in Kreyol; employing popular educational methods to build critical-thinking skills in its students; and not charging any school fees to students.

The AVJ school uses the national curriculum as a base but goes beyond it. The school has four different classes but covers nine grades in the four-year program. Approximately 160 children currently attend the school, which this year graduated its first class of seven students, all of whom passed the exam to qualify for high school. These graduates are currently receiving scholarships from AVJ to attend high school and in exchange come back as tutors for the other students in the school. Read more

Lhomond, Haiti - Today I traveled with Gerry Delaquis, founder of GFC grantee partner Light for All to visit the Toussaint L’Ouverture School in Llomond, in southern Haiti. This school was founded and is managed by the Peasant Movement of Llomond (MPL) and receives funding from an intermediary organization, Light for All. Because of language barriers, oversight requirements, and the physical difficulty in reaching the village of Llomond, GFC channels its grants through Light for All.

What I found was hopeful and encouraging. The school was not physically affected by the earthquake and is functioning well. It is running seven classes, from kindergarten through sixth grade. I visited every class and saw grammar lessons, reading, and literature lessons (see the picture of the schedule of classes). The children are enthusiastic and have clear ideas of what they want to be when they grow up—a doctor, a nurse, a policeman, a lawyer. Read more

Port-au-Prince, Haiti - It’s 9:00 p.m., and after eight hours of site visits, I’ve made it back to my home base for the week—a tent in the yard of the Coalition House, located in the Delmas 33 neighborhood of Port-au-Prince. I’m sitting at a table, working alongside an eclectic assortment of Haitian and foreign activists, NGO workers, and technical specialists. Most people have their laptops out and are alternating between typing, arguing, and soliciting advice. A petition is in the works to protest forced displacement of internally displaced people, photos are being sent from a recent site visit, and a news article is being drafted. There is a letter-writing campaign being planned, Facebook groups are being updated, and a constant stream of “tweets” is being emitted into cyberspace. Food distributions, site visits, and meetings are being organized and set up for the next day.

The Coalition House is run by the Haiti Response Coalition, a network of NGOs that began to form minutes after the January 12 earthquake struck in an effort to mobilize resources and help coordinate the local and international response to the disaster. Read more