Pueblo a Pueblo

Keeping Youth Leaders Connected Through The Pandemic

9/15/2020

Some of our youth leaders from San Martín! *All photos from pre-COVID-19 restrictions

As we enter the sixth month of COVID-19 related regulations and restrictions here in Santiago Atitlán, each of our community members has felt the impact of lost income, health challenges, social isolation, distance learning, and restricted travel in various ways. While the impact of COVID-19 is definitely felt by all, our Youth Leadership Project Coordinator Hony explains that it has been particularly challenging for adolescents.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University explain that “the greatest impacts felt by adolescents stem from school closures, being in the house, and not getting to see friends and peers” (1). Hony echoed this sentiment, explaining that adolescents participating in the Youth Leadership program have felt isolated, discouraged, and doubtful at different points during these past few months.

Luckily for our Youth Leaders, Hony is working to find safe and meaningful ways to continue engaging with them as they reach their entrepreneurial goals!

Currently, Hony is working with two groups of Youth Leaders, one in San Martín and another in Patzilin Abaj. Both groups are in different stages of their participation in the program; the San Martín group is in their second year, while the Patzilin Abaj group is already in their third. The typical trajectory of our Youth Leadership Project is one year of capacity building and familiarizing participants with organization and leadership through management of an organic school garden. In year two, participants initiate their own project and learn more about modeling a business, drafting a budget, and monitoring and evaluating their progress. Finally, in year three, participants grow their businesses, learn about business leadership and sustainability, and practice using the CANVAS business model.

Students help plant the San Martín school garden

Students learning about gardening at the San Martín school garden

Interruptions due to COVID-19 have left our San Martín group without a fully defined project, and our Patzilin Abaj group (whose project is based on selling chickens) unable to sell due to local marketplace closures. Although these setbacks are challenging, Hony was recently able to meet with Youth Leaders to discuss a way forward.

For the group in San Martín, Hony plans to conduct the two workshops centered around project ideation, budget planning, and business modeling in an online format. Working with Pueblo a Pueblo to ensure that participants have access to internet and appropriate technology, Hony is very hopeful that these workshops will help get our leaders back on track. He says that although meeting in person and launching the team’s project this year is not possible, they have discussed a new start date for the beginning of 2021!

As for our Patzilin Abaj group, Hony explains that although they cannot sell in the local market right now, the group does have a small savings fund that has allowed them to keep up with their chickens during COVID-19. He spoke with this group of young entrepreneurs about restarting their project when it is safe to do so, and about potentially workshopping new chicken-related projects.

Paztilin Abaj leaders caring for their chickens

Overall, Hony is excited to have been able to reconnect with our Youth Leaders during this challenging time. Social connection is vital to maintaining hope and supporting mental health during times of crisis, and our Youth Leadership program is working to do just that!
Pueblo a Pueblo knows that empowering young people is vital to breaking the cycle of poverty, and despite recent challenges, our Youth Leaders are well on their way to becoming young entrepreneurs.

Can you help support our Youth Leaders as they navigate this challenging time?

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Students and Youth Leaders at San Martín school garden

References

https://hub.jhu.edu/2020/05/11/covid-19-and-adolescents/

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Different Format, Same Mission: Online Education Workshops

8/25/2020

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Schools might be closed, but here at Pueblo a Pueblo, we know that reading is still essential!

A group of boys sharing books at La Cumbre Elementary in February 2020

Students reading at the Paztilin Abaj Library in February 2020

Over the past few months, our community here in Santiago Atitlán has experienced a number of drastic changes due to COVID-19. To ensure the safety of our community members, and in accordance with government mandates, all of our typical in person programming has been suspended.

While we have definitely missed the face to face interactions with our community members, Pueblo a Pueblo has been finding new ways to connect with and serve our community. One of these ways has been through online workshops.

On July 29th, Rebeca and Johanny teamed up to lead a workshop entitled “Animación a la lectura en casa” or Encouraging Reading at Home. 17 participants, made up primarily of local teachers and parents, tuned in for this one hour workshop.

In it, they learned a variety of techniques about how to keep children engaged and excited throughout the entire reading process and beyond. Rebeca and Johanny shared that pre-reading and post-reading activities are especially important for enhanced comprehension and continued interest in reading!

Students celebrating International Book Day back in 2018

Throughout the workshop, participants learned just how vital it is to establish a culture of enthusiasm and curiosity around reading. Illiteracy is one of the largest barriers to economic mobility in Guatemala, so encouraging reading from a young age is extremely important to the future of our community members. Schools might be closed, but here at Pueblo a Pueblo, we know that reading is still essential!

Transitioning to the online workshop format was completely new for Pueblo a Pueblo, but Rebeca and Johanny were excited to continue supporting education in this way. The two shared that although they were concerned about the lack of direct interaction with their audience, they were pleased with the ability to reach a new and diverse group of participants. The online format made this content accessible to teachers and families that are not directly associated with Pueblo a Pueblo, allowing Rebeca and Johanny to expand their reach!

Although schools will remain closed for the remainder of the school year here in Santiago Atitlán, our students are continuing their studies at home. It is with the help of our amazing sponsors and donors like you that we are able to continue supporting students during this crisis.

As we continue to adapt to meet the changing needs of our community, we are so grateful for your continued support of our students' education!

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Data-Driven Success: WASH Edition

11/6/2019

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When Pueblo a Pueblo intervenes on behalf of rural Guatemalan families, we want to know that we are delivering positive results.

Tomás observes students' behavior at the school

Observing Our Impact

Throughout Pueblo a Pueblo's partnership with Agua Escondida Primary School, we have been measuring our impact on the school by making observations both before and after we implemented critical interventions related to student health.

Tomás Mendoza is our Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator. He and his team use data collected in real time to make our projects more effective and more efficient each year. When Pueblo a Pueblo intervenes on behalf of rural Guatemalan families, we want to know that we are delivering positive results.

Monitoring & evaluation team member Matthew Teitelbaum collects data at Agua Escondida

Reflecting on Our Results in Agua Escondida

Before our interventions, our team observed that only 55% of upper-school students washed their hands after using the restroom, and no students used hand soap. After Pueblo a Pueblo staff implemented sanitation improvements and hygiene education, those numbers rose dramatically: 99% of students washed their hands, and 94% used antibacterial hand soap.

Agua Escondida Primary School students

A Real Win for Students

These results are helping improve students' health, happiness, and education. Diarrheal disease is considered a “major infectious disease” and significant public health risk in Guatemala (1) and puts infected children at risk of long-term malnutrition and death (2). Furthermore, education is a precious resource here in Sololá, where more than one in three adults cannot read or write (3), and poor sanitation infrastructure at home and at school counts among the top reasons young Guatemalans perform poorly or drop out (4).

Proper handwashing hygiene has been found to reduce the incidence of diarrheal disease by 31% (5), and Pueblo a Pueblo’s recent efforts have given students at Agua Escondida both the education and the infrastructure they need to protect themselves. Our post-intervention evaluation confirms a happier, healthier school, where students experience fewer interruptions to their education.

How YOU Can Help

We have completed Phase I of our collaboration with Agua Escondida Primary School—now our team is gearing up to double our impact with Phase II! Read more about what we've done and what we have planned here.

Can you help us make these plans a reality? Join us in making 2020 our most successful year yet! Click the button below to support our data-driven programming today.

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