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Pueblo a Pueblo Blog

Right from Santiago Atitlán to your computer. Your window into our world. Thanks for reading and comments are welcome! ​

Experiences of an Organic School Gardens Educator

2/25/2015

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Since 2011, Elder Archila has been an educator for Pueblo a Pueblo’s Organic School Gardens project, a sister-project of School Lunches. A normal workday for our garden educators consists of teaching lessons on organic agriculture and the importance of a well-balanced diet to primary school-aged children in multiple public elementary schools. As our local staff come from traditional Mayan families themselves, one of the unique skills Elder brings to his work is educating schoolchildren on traditional Mayan agricultural practices. Elder loves his job and enjoys positively contributing to children’s education by sharing his passion for organic gardening. 

From his perspective, many indigenous, coffee-farming communities lack proper nutrition as well as education on healthy eating habits.

Though this is the reality, Elder has seen many positive changes in the past four years. For instance, students who have participated in this project eat more fruit now than they did before. They also gained interest and knowledge on organic agriculture, planting techniques, and the benefits of growing and eating diverse foods. With each additional year, Elder sees that the students get more and more excited when planting season begins and they take more pride in their annual harvest.

In the schools, Elder works alongside many teachers to make these classes possible. While the vast majority of teachers are supportive and encouraging, he mentioned that there are a few who do not see the importance of organic gardens in their schools. Elder is looking forward to another year of teaching organic gardening to local students, but more importantly, he hopes to gain deeper support and understanding from his partners.


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Increasing Our Impact and Saving Lives

2/12/2015

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Every second Wednesday of the month, laughter spills out of the Pueblo a Pueblo courtyard and travels through the office displaying the excitement and energy of women as they meet to learn more about healthy pregnancies and child development. In October, Pueblo a Pueblo’s Maternal Child Health meetings became not only louder, but much livelier when seventeen new expectant mothers joined our existing group.

In order to reach those women who are most in need, new beneficiaries are selected from criteria that make them ideal candidates for our program. First, they all come from rural communities where health care services are rare and poverty rates are high. They’re also young, with an average age of 24. Most importantly, they are all pregnant when they join the program, many for the first time.

Thanks to your generous support, these women receive the life-saving education and medical attention they need to ensure a healthy delivery for their newborn babies. 

One of the women we support is Antonia.  Prior to joining the group in October, Antonia’s pregnancy was labeled as high risk.  With a history of one miscarriage and a diagnosis of diabetes, she was in need of constant prenatal attention. 

Right after joining Pueblo a Pueblo’s Maternal Child Health program, Antonia suffered from early hemorrhaging in her last trimester. Using what she learned in one of our monthly meetings, Antonia recognized that she was experiencing the warning signs associated with a possible miscarriage. Due to the access to medical care that our program provides, doctors were able to stop the bleeding and save her unborn child.  Since then Antonia has been provided with prenatal vitamins and free medical appointments to ensure that the remainder of her pregnancy is a healthy one.  She now feels better and looks forward to giving birth in April.

In the span of only three months, Antonia’s life has changed. Her unborn child was saved and her health improved. Being poor and from a rural area lacking in medical services, Antonia will now receive the education and care that was previously unavailable to her. 

We are proud to be expanding our reach to provide the support that mothers like Antonia need and we look forward to increasing our impact in the coming year.   

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Starting the New Year with New School Materials

2/4/2015

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The start of a school year can be particularly stressful and expensive for many families. In Guatemala, where nearly 70% of the population lives in poverty, having pencils and scribblers for the New Year presents a common challenge.  Pueblo a Pueblo aims to mitigate this problem for the neediest families by providing Primary Education Scholarships to young students.  At the start of this school year, we delivered 146 backpacks full of school supplies to local children who would otherwise be unable to afford what they need to attend school.

Being a new intern for Pueblo a Pueblo, I assisted in the organization, coordination, and hard work needed to get these backpacks ready for our event.  When distribution day came, excitement was high as all the students impatiently waited in line to receive materials for the new school year. However, the highlight for me was seeing the huge smiles on the students’ faces as they enthusiastically tore open their backpacks and examined their new supplies.

Not only do these backpacks get children more excited for school, but the students know that being a scholarship recipient requires their commitment to attend school regularly. In a place where only 60% of students complete the sixth grade, attendance in schools is crucial to escape the cycle of poverty that plagues most indigenous, coffee-farming communities. Through scholarship awards, families agree to prioritize education for their children.  In return, Pueblo a Pueblo eliminates additional obstacles to accessing education by providing basic supplies, medical check-ups, and targeted academic support from kindergarten through sixth grade.  

Seeing the students receive their backpacks made me realize the positive impact that this project has on families in Santiago and the surrounding communities.  Not only were the students full of excitement and eager to continue their schooling, but many of their mothers looked on with pride, thankful for the opportunity to see their children succeed where many don’t. I’m glad I was able to help with this event and look forward to the beginning of new school year here in Guatemala.
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Guatemala Office
Cantón Tzanjuyú 
Santiago Atitlán, Sololá 
(+502) 7721.7449 (Callers in Guatemala)
+1 (920) 383-1506 (Callers in the U.S.)



​U.S. Mailing adress
Natik Esperanza
2700 Mayan Drive
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316
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Pueblo a Pueblo has been awarded GuideStar's 2019 Gold Seal for Transparency, meets the BBB Wise Giving Alliance's Standards for Charity Accountability, and was named a finalist for the National Coffee Association's 2019 Origin Charity of the Year award.
  • HOME
  • ABOUT US
    • OUR MISSION
    • OUR TEAM
    • BOARD OF DIRECTORS
    • OUR SUPPORTERS >
      • COFFEE INDUSTRY PARTNERS
    • Annual Report
    • FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY >
      • AUDITS & FORMS 990
    • Partnership with Natik
    • Our COVID-19 Response
  • PROGRAMS
    • WHAT WE DO
    • WOMEN'S RIGHT TO HEALTH >
      • MATERNAL CHILD HEALTH
      • WOMEN'S HEALTH CHAMPIONS
    • SCHOOL HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND NUTRITION >
      • WATER, SANITATION, AND HYGIENE IN SCHOOLS
      • PRIMARY EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS
      • PATHWAYS TO LITERACY
      • SCHOOL NUTRITION
      • ORGANIC TEACHING GARDEN
    • SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS >
      • BEEKEEPING
      • YOUTH LEADERSHIP
      • WOMEN ENTREPRENEURS
  • BLOG
  • MULTIMEDIA
    • IN THE NEWS
    • PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
  • DONATE
  • CONTACT