The School Around the Mango – La Escuela Vuelta El Mango
256 elementary school students, from kindergarten through 6th grade, are being taught in 12 makeshift classrooms built with bamboo and the donated labor of the people of the community and the 15 teachers who work at the school.
The people of Aldea El Xab are campesinos, extremely poor subsistence farmers who must eek out an existence on less than $1.50 a day toiling in the fields, dawn to dusk, six days a week. That they found the time and energy to construct this small school out of available materials on their rare days off speaks to how much they care about their children and their education.
Escuela Vuelta El Mango has no electricity or running water, and inadequate sanitation facilities. The floor is dirt – mud when it is raining and dust when it is not. The metal roof is so hot in the sun that you can’t touch it, and the air inside becomes stagnant and superheated during the school day. The walls are porous, leaking rain and insects with equal alacrity- including disease carrying mosquitos, putting the children at risk for Dengue Fever, Chikungunya and Zika.
AMEDICAusa is in El Xab. As soon as we saw this video on Guatemalan TV, we knew we had to do something. Within a week we began delivering educational supplies, clothing and shoes to the school. But we can do so much more. Simple things, like chalkboards, books, backpacks … and more difficult ones like potable water, floors, walls with windows and screens to keep the insects and the rain out, and electricity for fans and lights.
With your help, we can give these kids and their parents the hope of a good education, in a safe, clean and nurturing environment. Join us in giving a helping hand up to our neighbors in Guatemala by donating, volunteering and sharing this with your friends and family.