The
Project is based in the philosophy of Unity in the Diversity and community participation.
We are helped a great deal by the diverse experiences obtained by the locals
and the foreign people who work in the project. With the vision of unity in
diversity, the community project "La Pedrera" will facilitate relations
between the community members (Cantón Xetuj and La Pedrera), the volunteers
and the people interested in supporting the programs of the project.
The Community Project "La Pedrera" was founded in 1994 in an attempt to support the development of a self supportive economy and culture in the communities of La Pedrera and Cantón Xetuj which are located in the hills immediately south of Xela. The project began through an investigative study done by Casa Xelajú in 1992.
After five years since the first socio-economic study in the communities and favoring the administrative situation, we decided, in April, 1998, to do a new study with the interest in identifying and prioritizing the community needs and restructure the project objectives.
Philosophy:
The following philosophy identifies THE UNITY IN DIVERSITY and is part of the Mayan Cosmogonic Vision. The concept speaks of the interdependence, harmony, equilibrium and organized progress based in respect, honesty and humility between the cosmos, nature and humans. In addition, to maintain the equilibrium, it is necessary to importance and value to all that surround us in equality. With this philosophy as a foundation and with community participation, we hope to obtain many quality changes for the process of development.
In General: Promote and facilitate the self supportive economy and culture for cooperative development of the communities of La Pedrera and Cantón Xetuj.
Specifically:
1. Collaborate in fortalization of community organizations to achieve self-sustainability and local power.
2. Reinforce the education of the children.
3. Promote opportunities for volunteers to achieve personal and professional goals that complement the philosophy of the project.
Community Profiles:
Geographic Coverature: The Project is located in Region VI of Guatemala and includes the communities of La Pedrera Sector I, La Pedrera Sector II and Cantón Xetuj. These communities have many needs for development according to a socio-economic study done in April of 1998. The target population is made up of boys girls and youths with a total of over 250 families benefiting.
The houses in the community are small have poor construction. Family incomes vary between 40 to 100 dollars a month, which is not enough to cover the many basic needs of a family with 6 to 8 children. The majority of the adult population are Mayan descendants and speak K’iche’, Mam or Qa’njobal as their first language. With the children, there are a few that speak their native language and the rest exclusively Spanish.
Many of the children can not attend school because of the high costs of public education in Guatemala and a family dependence of child labor. The illiteracy rate in adults is extremely high. About 70% of the adults are functionally illiterate and the majority of them are women.
1.
Sponsorship Program: This program is the base of the educational programs
to achieve elementary and high school education. This program is supported through
donations from students and ex-students of Casa Xelajú and altruistic
people. To sponsor a student at the elementary level the fee is US$240.00 annually,
for a high school level it is US$360.00 and for the university level it is US$400.00.
These funds are used to provide the materials needed such as books, didactic
materials, medical needs and economic support for recreational activities, etc.
Through these joined forces, the children are given the opportunity to reclaim the right to an education and subsequently help the sustainable economic development and protect the traditional practices of their culture in general.
Currently we are covering 20% of the children in the community (50 children, 1998) that attend public school, 2% of the beginning high school level (14 adolescents) and a small percentage of the vocational high school level (6 youths), a consequence of the economic problematic and the lack of opportunity for education.
It is important to realize that the kids demonstrate ability and a lot of creativity, aptitudes that can be made the most of and give support back into the community itself.
2. Literacy Program: The principle objective is to diminish the illiteracy in the communities. The Project employs a literacy teacher who works with small classes covering everything from letter sounds to sixth grade level reading. The program is funded through profits from cultural parties that the community organizes when tourism is in it’s peek season. This is a major problem because of a lack of monthly income to cover the 500 quetzal (US$80) salary of the teacher. Funds for this are also received through donations that are given for the it’s benefit. This will permit the teacher to continue in his work with intensity.
We are always looking to better the system we use on a regular basis to provide the best education to the population.
3. Educational Reinforcement Program: The objective is to support the children in school courses such as: Math, writing, social studies and natural sciences, being the classes that the children have the most difficulty with in school. This program has been implemented so children can achieve better results in their exams.
Women’s Cooperative: After the recent socio-economic study, it was determined that the women of the community were working washing clothes for the families in the city and doing domestic work earning a salary of 10 quetzals a day. This salary is not enough to buy food, maintain a family and cover educational costs. For that reason the cooperative was organized so that the women could learn to sew clothing and have another opportunity for work where they could earn a better salary and also be able to make and sell "Tapioca" clothing.
If you are interested in one or all of the above mentioned, please come and talk in person with the person in charge of the project or contact the project by e-mail at pedrera@casaxelaju.com.
If you are studying Spanish in the morning, you can support us through giving English, Math or Computer classes in the afternoon. The objective is to reinforce the courses for school aged children. These classes provide educational support in the community through social activities by which facilitating exchange and learning between the students with a goal to educate the children as well as the volunteers. An important objective of all the classes given is to stress the importance of education as an instrument to help the families and community.
English Classes: Students of all ages and abilities can participate. The emphasis is on reinforcing and not on grammar or other advanced abilities. There are usually two or three students for each teacher and there are materials to use, but we try to get everyone to use their own creativity. It is not necessary to have a good understanding of Spanish to teach the classes.
Computer Classes: The project has various Macintosh computers, with which, we use to teach basic computer skills such as use of the mouse. We look for creative people to use what resources we have and we always welcome suggestions.
If you are going to be here for a longer period of time (2 months or more), and you have an advanced or intermediate level of Spanish as well as abilities or ideas that could help the project, there are long term volunteer opportunities. This work includes office work, answering letters to sponsors and giving information to those who request it, preparing the classes, coordinating the volunteer work as well as the other volunteers and doing translations etc.
If you wish to support the project economically, we suggest sponsorship of a child at the elementary or high school level or becoming a member of our organization.
If you prefer to give a one time donation of a smaller amount, we would love for you to sign up as a member of our organization. This option is for donations of US$50.00 or more or help finance a specific sustainable development project such as the women’s cooperative, literacy classes or other projects. Your economic support will be of great benefit to the communities of La Pedrera and Cantón Xetuj.
Sincerely,
The Project "La Pedrera" Team