Introducing: PROJECT GUATEMALA!

Our partner in Guatemala, Fred Zambowski and Let's Be Ready continues to open rural preschools, and we are trying our best to keep up the demand for items most easily acquired in the US:

1. Leap Pads and early childhood books (Spanish)
2. Wooden blocks, puzzles, board games
3. Puppets, costumes, dolls
4. Musical instruments
5. Kitchen items: dishes, cook pots, plastic/wood fruit and vegetables

Between 25-30% of children from rural Guatemala either repeat or drop out of the first grade, contributing to a high illiteracy rate – the highest in Central America! Estamos Listos is an organization dedicated to preparing Guatemalan children for success in the first grade. The organization has three branches: an outreach program using clowns in public spaces of poor communities to educate family members on how to prepare youngsters for elementary school, a teacher training program that teaches proven methods in the field of early education to Guatemalan pre-school teachers, and its newest program, Pequenos Pero Listos.

Pequenos Pero Listos (Small but Ready), will be Write Around the World’s primary focus. This branch of Estamos Listos works specifically to establish preschools for underprivileged children in rural communities. The classes are taught by local teachers (often offering employment to out of work teachers) who have completed advanced training from Estamos Listos. The local communities must provide a facility for the classes to be taught. Once a teacher and location are secured, a class “sponsor” must be found to fund the project, which covers the teacher’s monthly stipend, necessary school supplies and class furniture. Sponsoring a class costs $3,300 annually.

The curriculum used is Guatemala’s New National Curriculum for subject matter and assessment tests in conjunction with Creative Curriculum, a preschool curriculum used in Head Start and many other early education programs in the U.S. Each school works hard to maintain an optimal 12 to 1 student-teacher ratio.

Pequenos Pero Listos’ first project was only one year ago, but like all good ideas – it took off. The project now has ten successfully operating kindergartens, with a goal of doubling by the end of 2009. Currently, school supplies are brought into the country in the suitcases of supporters and sponsors. Some items are purchased in Guatemala City from donations. This process cannot support the desired growth, and WATW is planning on lessening this burden by providing the necessary supplies to meet the upcoming expansion so they can focus on what matters most – educating more children!

Fred Zambroski is the founder and driving force behind Estamos Listos. Fred is an American now living in Antigua, and is passionate about the success of this Estamos Listos. He, like all administrative and supervisory labor, is 100% volunteer based. For more information see www.letsbeready.org