Blog Archive

Listen in as Child AID CEO Nancy Press talks with the XRAY.FM “Non-Profit Happy Hour” podcast about how our organization changed in some unexpected ways during the COVID-19 crisis. Not only did Child Aid pivot quickly to deliver emergency food relief to a nation of people suffering catastrophic hunger due to COVID-19 economic fallout, but […] Continue Reading

Download full press release Literacy nonprofit Child Aid, as part of its ongoing educational mission, holds virtual staff get-togethers led by Dr. Esther Han, a Johns Hopkins-trained physician, to review latest COVID-19 information and dispel myths surrounding vaccination and treatment. Child Aid equips staff in Guatemala to inform remote communities about the latest COVID-19 information […] Continue Reading

By Nancy Press and Graciela Landa Pichiya As we celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, women around the world face unprecedented threats to their futures. A global pandemic has upended economic prosperity, heightened food insecurity and swept away educational opportunities. Nowhere is this narrative more real than in Guatemala, the nation where our literacy organization Child […] Continue Reading

Learn how Child Aid’s amazing literacy team is improving our program during this challenging pandemic year. Continue Reading

Child Aid delivers a fourth round of emergency food to families in Guatemala. Read more and see photos of this relief effort. Continue Reading

If you’re looking for a holiday gift with heart, consider buying the coffee lover on your list this collectible tin gift set from our partners at 3-19 Coffee. Each inspiring tin contains a 12 ounce bag of sustainably sourced coffee beans, and best of all, 40 percent of the proceeds come straight back to Child Aid […] Continue Reading

Read how teachers like Teresa González Tuch are continuing to teach their students during COVID-19 school shutdown. Continue Reading

The future of girls education in developing countries like Guatemala is at risk due to the Covid-19 crisis, writes Child Aid CEO Nancy Press. Continue Reading

Child Aid partners with ECOM Agroindustrial Corporation and others to ensure food delivery reaches communities hard-hit by economic fallout from the COVID-19 crisis. Continue Reading

Literacy nonprofit Child Aid and Ethical Bean Coffee announce an expanded relationship to bring the Child Aid literacy and teacher training program to more children in Guatemala. Continue Reading

The Library of Congress reconizes Child Aid with a 2020 Best Practices award for their teacher-training and book delivery program and work advancing literacy around the globe. Continue Reading

This summer, Kansas City cardiologist Dr. Paul Chan is climbing the mountains of Colorado to bring awareness to hunger in #Guatemala. Read his guest essay on the mountains facing the Guatemalan Mayan people. Continue Reading

Guatemalan parents say thank you for providing emergency food relief for their families during the COVID-19 crisis. Continue Reading

See photos and updates from Child Aid’s effort to bring emergency hunger relief to families in our school communities. Continue Reading

American immigration policy is helping fuel the spread of COVID-19 in Guatemala says Child Aid CEO Nancy Press. Read her Op-Ed. Continue Reading

Portland-Based nonprofit Child Aid announces OPERATION WHITE FLAG HUNGER RELIEF, a short-term emergency food infusion effort meant to feed up to 10,000 people. Continue Reading

Schools in Guatemala may be closed due the Covid-19 Pandemic, but that doesn’t mean the learning has stopped for our teachers and students. Read about one teacher who has created a temporary classroom in her home for her nieces and nephews. Continue Reading

Teacher Appreciation Week is May 4-8 and this year it means more than ever.

Show your appreciation to a special teacher in your life by giving children in Guatemala a great teacher of their own. Make a gift in their honor and send them an e-card or printed postcard to share the news. Continue Reading

Despite the shutdown of schools in Guatemala in March due to Covid-19, Child Aid literacy trainers continue their work with enthusiasm and ingenuity. See how they are working to ensure children can continue reading during the school shutdown. Continue Reading

Child Aid CEO Nancy Press shares an update on Child Aid’s literacy programs in Guatemala during the Covid-19 crisis. Read about how we’re keeping our staff and communities safe while coping with this global disaster. Continue Reading

Check out this fun video of book delivery to new schools in the community of San Pablo la Laguna on Lake Atitlan. It features another first for us – delivering books by boat! Continue Reading

Working with a Child Aid literacy coach has helped teacher Tomás Bocel discover new ways of teaching. See how trainers and teachers are working together to help children learn to read. Continue Reading

PRESS RELEASE: Portland, OR (November 5, 2019) — Child Aid, a literacy nonprofit, and Children International, a global humanitarian organization, today announced a joint initiative aimed at improving access to quality education for underserved children in Guatemala. Continue Reading

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley is a long-time supporter of Child Aid and our mission to help vulnerable children in Guatemala get a foothold in life through the power of education. In an address to Child Aid supporters, he praised our literacy work as an integral part of a long-term, effective solution to the root causes of migration in Guatemala. Continue Reading

See highlights from best-selling children’s author, Yuyi Morales’ visit to the La Fe school in Guatemala and hear why libraries still have a special place in Yuyi’s heart. Continue Reading

Meet our newest Champion, award-winning author Yuyi Morales, and hear her reflections after recently visiting Child Aid partner schools in Guatemala. Continue Reading

It’s evening in a small tienda in the town of El Sitio, Guatemala, and Marí Hemelda Gomez and her daughters huddle together in a back room, perched on stools and reading in the shadow of a wall hung heavy with pots and pans.[/caption] Each night before bed this family reads together, pausing only to help […] Continue Reading

In a new Ms. Magazine editorial, Child Aid CEO Nancy Press calls on the United States to do better for our children caught in the migration crisis at our borders. Read the article > Continue Reading

“German can’t kick!” The children stood around professor Marco Venicio Sela Girón and stared. The jostling class, normally frenetic with movement, stood still. Nearly thirty elementary-age kids had gathered on the dusty playground at the Rafael Téllez García Elementary School in Sololá, Guatemala, to learn to play kickball and run in the sunshine. Even German. […] Continue Reading

Seven-year-old Josué likes to read and have fun with books. He has a favorite he wants to share with you. It’s a classic: “Giraffe’s Can’t Dance.” Child Aid partners with schools in Guatemala to help kids like Josué become lifetime readers and learners. We stock classroom shelves with colorful, engaging books, train teachers in literacy […] Continue Reading

Heidi Schulz is a wannabe muggle. And don’t get her started on giraffes! This New York Times Bestselling author pens books for children and middle grade readers where she writes about rum-swigging pirates (though she’s never tasted the stuff, herself), and rain puddles with attitude. Now, she’s teamed up with Child Aid as a spokesperson, helping our […] Continue Reading

With training and support from Child Aid’s Reading for Life program, teacher Thomás Bocel has ditched the rote, lecture-based techniques that are standard in elementary classrooms in Guatemala. Now he is using interactive, hands-on modes of learning that get kids out of their seats and raising their hands. See how Thomás has discovered the power […] Continue Reading

Child Aid’s National Program Director, Graciela Landa Pichiya, shares her pride in her indigenous culture and her desire to be an inspiration for young Guatemalan girls. Read Graciela’s Story Continue Reading

In honor of International Women’s Day 2019, Child Aid introduces our new National Program Director Graciela Landa Pichiya. A lawyer, educator, mother and proud indigenous Mayan woman, Graciela battled her way to get the education she wanted for herself. Today, Graciela fights for a quality education for the next generation of Guatemalan children. Here is […] Continue Reading

The Panabaj school is entering the third year of the Reading for Life program. During the first two years, the Panabaj teachers and their Child Aid literacy trainer, Mildred Esquina focused on integrating reading and books into student’s everyday school experience. Teachers learned techniques for reading aloud to students, developing comprehension skills and showing students […] Continue Reading

Cecilia Pos Ajquichí’s eyes light up when she thinks about the possibilities. “My biggest desire is to make this a real library for the school,” the sixth grade teacher says as she rearranges books on a shelf. “At least we’d like to have some little tables for the kids and enough books to read. That […] Continue Reading

Patzún resident Juana Elizabeth Quexinico explains why she started bringing her seven-year-old son Julio to the after school reading sessions at the Child Aid office. She hopes the extra time spent reading will give Julio a stronger start in school. Read the full story > Continue Reading

  It started with a few small faces at the door. Can we see the books? They asked. Child Aid’s new office located in Patzún, Guatemala, had just opened its doors In January 2018 and contained a model school library with books and displays used as a resource and training space for staff and teachers. […] Continue Reading

Josué Cluis, 7, can’t decide which character in his favorite storybooks he would most like to be if he could transform himself.  The boy with twinkly brown eyes concentrates hard before answering. “A dog maybe … or a giraffe,” he laughs. “I read a book about a giraffe who couldn’t dance.” Josué smiles as he […] Continue Reading

In an opinion piece published by Ms. Magazine, CEO Nancy Press argues that nonprofit interventions in the key areas of food security, medicine, education and others are more effective than tear gas at solving some of the root causes of the current migration crisis. Read the article > Continue Reading

By Nancy Press, Ph.D. When American poet Emma Lazarus entreated the world to give us their tired, their poor, their huddled masses yearning to breathe free, I doubt she meant for these same people to inhale the noxious fumes of tear gas. But that bedrock sentiment, etched into a plaque near the feet of lady […] Continue Reading

This #GivingTuesday we’re on a mission to get more books into the hands of kids! Give today and help us reach our goal of stocking 10 new classrooms. #launchalearner. Continue Reading

This #GivingTuesday we’re on a mission to get more books into the hands of kids! Give today and help us reach our goal of stocking 10 new classrooms. #launchalearner Continue Reading

Check out these great photos of World Book Day activities at Child Aid partner schools in April. Thanks to books and support provided by Child Aid, the schools used the annual “Dia del Libro” celebrations to pump up students’ passion about reading. More than 10,000 children participated in activities including read alouds, puzzles, reading games, […] Continue Reading

  Don’t go, they warned him. Something terrible has happened. When the sun rose the morning of October 5, 2005, Pedro Ajcabul left for work in the nearby village of Panabaj, Guatemala, where he taught second grade. His parents tried to stop him. They’d heard that overnight terrible waters had flooded the homes in the […] Continue Reading

In his travels around Guatemala, Andres Galvez Sobral loves to stop to take photos of the country’s beautiful landscapes and people. He says that telling stories through photography is a way to “produce some change and show the diversity, beauty, and kindness of my people. We are a humble, hard-working, family-oriented and community-based society.” Andres, […] Continue Reading

Follow Child Aid books as they journey cross-country from our office in Panajachel to more than 90 different schools, many of them located in small agricultural towns with little contact or resources from the outside world.  Watch our slideshow and see the smiles you helped deliver to Guatemala this year. “¡Los libros están aquí!” Several school-age […] Continue Reading

[embed_video id=’voOzAFji74c’] Luis Vicente Saminez teaches fourth grade at Rafael Tellez Garcia Primary School in Solola, Guatemala. In 2016, Child Aid joined with his school to bring books, teacher training and Literacy Trainer Edgar Garcia, who gives one-on-one support and guidance to Luis and his students. In this video, Luis shares how he and his […] Continue Reading

Luis Vicente Saminez teaches fourth grade at Rafael Tellez Garcia Primary School in Solola, Guatemala. In 2016, Child Aid joined with his school to bring books, teacher training and Literacy Trainer Edgar Garcia, who gives one-on-one support and guidance to Luis and his students. In this video, Luis shares how he and his students have […] Continue Reading

In September, Child Aid added five new literacy trainers to our team, bringing the total Guatemalan staff to 20 people. The additional staffers mean we are on target to help 20,000 students learn to read in 2018. “Our five new employees blew us away with their poise and presence in the interview process,” says Angus Fredenburg, […] Continue Reading

In his 14 years as a teacher and principal, Romeo Sen Quino says he’s been to lots of trainings and generally found them a waste of time. So when he attended his first Child Aid training workshop a few years ago, he came prepared. “I usually prefer to bring something else to keep me busy,” […] Continue Reading

When teachers walk into their first Child Aid workshop, they often don’t know what to expect and their expectations are usually low. That’s because training for Guatemalan teachers is generally of very poor quality. Trainings are conducted in a lecture format with up to 150 to 200 teachers in a session. Presenters talk from a podium […] Continue Reading

Three of Child Aid’s newest Reading for Life schools are also some of the most remote. The tiny communities of Xeatan Alto, Chuinimachicaj, and Chichoy Bajo are located in the mountains high above Lake Atitlan in the state of Chimaltenango. Because of the altitude, it is cold and foggy much of the year, and the […] Continue Reading

Child Aid’s goal is to improve children’s literacy skills so they become strong and independent readers and critical thinkers. Our Reading for Life program follows best practices to provide young readers the basic resources they need to learn and thrive: Skilled and confident teachers, engaging books, and opportunities to read every day, both in and […] Continue Reading

On the first Monday of August last year, the school in the small rural community of Xejolon opened the doors of their school library to students for the first time. The library is set up in a small classroom with a few shelves of books, displays organized into themes and a reading corner. It is […] Continue Reading

This February, we loaded pickup trucks at our office in Panajachel with boxes of books and bookshelves and headed out to deliver them to each of the 68 schools participating in our Reading for Life program this year. Follow the journey of the books from semi truck to the hands of eager readers. Read the […] Continue Reading

At the public school in the rural community of Chuimanzana, a line of eager students reaches up to a truck laden with boxes and large, wooden bookshelves. Students share laughter and shouts as they stagger under the heavy burden of boxes full of books. Their excitement reflects that of the entire Child Aid team. Book delivery […] Continue Reading

Meet some of the teachers, students and staff who are benefiting from your support of literacy and education. Continue Reading

A delivery of new books arrives for the local school in the town of Cerro de Oro, Guatemala. Each school participating in Child Aid’s teacher training and literacy program, Reading for Life, receives a donation of books each year. The books are used in classroom instruction and literacy programs to provide students more opportunities to […] Continue Reading

For a child who is learning how to read, having a skilled and effective teacher is critical to her success. An effective teacher can make reading engaging and fun, uses questions to stimulate conversation and critical thinking and adapts their techniques to the needs of their students. But today, schools in Guatemala face a chronic […] Continue Reading

Visit a teacher training workshop in Guatemala to see how Child Aid is helping teachers learn practical techniques for teaching reading and literacy. Continue Reading

In Guatemalan classrooms, the traditional methods of reading instruction focus on memorization and decoding. Students learn to read simple sentences but often do not understand what they are reading. In this video, see how Child Aid’s teacher training program is transforming how reading and literacy are taught in Guatemala. In our training workshops, teachers learn […] Continue Reading

Reading comprehension and critical thinking skills are vital components of literacy and learning. Without them, students struggle to make the transition from learning to read to reading to learn. But in rural Guatemalan classrooms, most teachers use traditional methods of reading instruction that focus on memorization and the mechanics of reading. Students learn to decode […] Continue Reading

An assortment of cars, pickup trucks and minivans snaked through the fields of the Azotea coffee farm near Antigua a few weeks ago, waiting to pick up boxes of new books. Representatives from 19 schools, libraries and community organizations traveled from around Guatemala to Child Aid’s book warehouse for our Book Distribution Day, a yearly […] Continue Reading

In early July, representatives from 19 schools, libraries and community organizations from around Guatemala came to Antigua for Child Aid’s Book Distribution Day. There was a lot of excitement as attendees participated in a half-day orientation and then lined up at our warehouse to pickup boxes of brand new books to take back to their […] Continue Reading

Established by UNESCO 1995, World Book and Copyright Day celebrates literacy and commemorates the lives of some of the world’s greatest writers. For the past couple of years, the day has also provided an opportunity for Child Aid’s partner libraries to reach out to their local communities and continue their role as ambassadors of literacy. […] Continue Reading

As the district supervisor for the San Antonio Palopo school district, Edwin Yaxón has a big vision for the future. He hopes that someday soon, every student in his district will have the opportunity to break the cycle of illiteracy and learn to read. It’s a tall order in a rural, impoverished district like San […] Continue Reading

When Edwin Yaxón, District Supervisor of the San Antonio Palopo district, sat down to talk with members of the Child Aid board of directors in early 2013, he had many positive things to say about the Reading for Life literacy program. Before becoming a school principal and later District Supervisor, Yaxón had participated in Child Aid […] Continue Reading

The Child Aid staff does a tremendous variety of activities in their work promoting literacy in Guatemala. They run training workshops, distribute books, provide one-on-one support for teachers and librarians, work with students and even pitch in to help label and organize books from time to time. Watch this slide show to see the Child Aid staff […] Continue Reading

[embed_video id=’orEkSz0pDwE’] In the communities of rural Guatemala, storybooks in children’s homes are extremely rare and many parents are illiterate. So when an adult sits down to read a book aloud to a group of kids, it is a time of magic and joy. Kids crowd around the reader, eager to see the pictures and […] Continue Reading

Members of Child Aid’s Literacy Training Team share some of they ways they make story time fun, engaging and educational. Continue Reading

To commemorate another successful year of our school break reading program, last month the Child Aid staff put together it’s first “Adventures in Reading Newspaper.” Articles contributed by both staff and librarians highlighted activities, special events and accomplishments from the 36 school, community and municipal libraries who participated in the program this year. The newspaper […] Continue Reading

After two years of studying to become teachers, the students at the Socorro de Belen school took on their last and most challenging assignment. Last month they returned to their hometowns to set up and run Adventures in Reading, Child Aid’s school break literacy program, in their communities. At the end of the school year, […] Continue Reading

When Literacy Trainer Jeremias Morales walks into a classroom, kids pay attention. Whether he’s reading a story, running an activity or working with a small group of students, Jeremias brings an incredible amount of energy and enthusiasm to his work. He is adept at engaging kids, getting them involved in learning and making the experience […] Continue Reading

As the only librarian in the town of San Miguel Morazán, Gloria Muños Garcia has worked hard to make her small municipal library a resource for her community. “I have learned how to classify and organize books,” she says, describing her accomplishments. “I invited teachers from the local school to bring their students to the […] Continue Reading

One-on-one teacher followup sessions are at the heart of Child Aid’s Reading For Life program and are what distinguishes it from other teacher training programs in Guatemala. Follow Literacy Trainer Jeremias Morales as he helps teachers in Santiago Atitlan, Guatemala apply the techniques and activities they learned in Reading for Life workshops in their classrooms. Continue Reading

Child Aid received and distributed over 50,000 donated books from U.S. publishers and non-profit book consolidators this year. See how we got those books to rural schools and libraries, how they are being used and the difference they are making in the lives of Guatemalan children. Continue Reading

The Guatemalan school year ends in October and as schools begin to wind down, Child Aid staff and partner libraries are getting ready to launch another year of Adventuras de Lectura (Adventures in Reading), Child Aid’s school break reading program. This past week, forty-seven librarians gathered in Antigua for the first of three Adventures in […] Continue Reading

Earlier this year, the tiny school of La Vega near Patzun, Guatemala started something new for their 40 students. Every Friday, a group of student leaders, called the Gobierno Escolar, selects books from the school’s small library and visits classrooms to distribute the books to their fellow students. The students hand in their ID badges […] Continue Reading

When Child Aid Country Director John van Keppel and Library Coordinator Carlos Pos visited the library at the public school in Agua Escondida earlier this month, they were thrilled to see the librarian, Clara Luz Mox Umul, and a group of students huddled around a small plastic box.  They were using a new checkout system, introduced […] Continue Reading

How might a teacher in Guatemala say “good morning, how are you?” to a student as they enter the classroom? In Spanish: “Buenos días, ¿cómo estás?” In Kaqchikel: “Xsaqer, utz awach?” In K’iche: “Saqarik, jasmächa?” In Tz’utujil: “Saqari, utz awach?” Roughly the size of the state of Ohio, Guatemala is home to just over 14 […] Continue Reading

By: John Kin, Child Aid Board Member Judging by the looks of surprise we got along the way, it’s probably not every day that a couple of pickup trucks filled with Americans comes bumping along through the back roads of Guatemala. I was traveling with a group of Child Aid board members and supporters to […] Continue Reading

Erick Patzán Ramírez is a hard worker. Now 17 and in his fifth (or junior) year at Pedro Molina High School, Erick wants to use his academic skills and knowledge to pursue a career in Computer Technology after graduation. The oldest of four siblings, Erick is on track to be the first of his family […] Continue Reading

Last week we kicked off the first of our nine librarian trainings for 2013. Over 40 librarians from 32 libraries throughout central Guatemala participated. During the training, the librarians were very eager to brainstorm ideas with each other on learning activities and ways to make their libraries even better. The librarians showed a lot of […] Continue Reading

Jorge Sanum Buch knows both the importance and the value of education – something that gives him much joy (and smiles) when working with kids in Child Aid’s Reading for Life literacy program. Jorge grew up in the Kaqchikel-speaking village of El Sitio, Guatemala. His childhood was similar to other indigenous Mayan children raised in […] Continue Reading

Child Aid 2012: A Year in Pictures Continue Reading

Back in October, we announced the completion of a new library in the remote village of Xojolá, Guatemala. The project was completed thanks to funds provided by our partner organization, Miracles in Action. With the new facility, the Xojolá library can now host reading programs for more than 110 children a day. The original building […] Continue Reading

When librarian Ivonne Barrientos woke up one morning last week, she was looking forward to a big day. But she didn’t realize just how big it would be. For the past month, Ivonne had been busy coordinating and promoting her library’s new school break program, Adventures in Reading, in the Kaqchikel-speaking village of Tzumpango, Guatemala. […] Continue Reading

Thirty student teachers are leaving Guatemala City today – children’s books in tow – heading to their remote home towns and villages throughout Guatemala. The students are participants in Child Aid’s Reading for Life program and will lead a six-week reading program for children in their home communities. “We’ve been working with these young teachers-to-be […] Continue Reading

When Brenda Hunsberger turned 50 earlier this year, she skipped the presents and decided to use the occasion to make a difference. After reading about our educational work with indigenous children, she contacted Child Aid and set out to raise enough money to support our Reading for Life program in the village of Santa Lucía […] Continue Reading

We just received exiting news from Guatemala. Construction is complete on the new library in Xojolá, a remote K’iché Mayan village southwest of Lake Atitlán. The new library will serve as a hub for learning and literacy for hundreds of children in Xojolá and surrounding villages. For these tiny communities, the facility is a major […] Continue Reading

Today, a grand total of 50,737 children’s books arrived at Child Aid’s book warehouse, near Chimaltenango, Guatemala. And it wasn’t easy getting them there! After shipping them down from the United States, we had to get them through customs in Guatemala, onto the semi-truck and up the steep western slopes of the Sierra Madre mountains. […] Continue Reading

This month, ten teenage musicians from a small town in Guatemala will have the opportunity of a lifetime. They will board a plane and fly to North Carolina to perform at the 35th annual Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF), in the town of Black Mountain. For the Guatemalan teens, who are rarely able to leave […] Continue Reading

If there’s one thing World Teachers’ Day highlights in 2012, it’s the need for more primary school teachers if the planet is to achieve Education for All. According to the United Nations, “new figures indicate that two million new teaching positions will be needed in order to meet the goal of universal primary education by […] Continue Reading

Child Aid was the official charity of the 2012 Portland Color Run. Big thanks to everyone at The Color Run, to all of our amazing volunteers, and to the 15,000 people who came out and made the event a huge success. Proceeds from The Color Run will go to our Reading for Life literacy program […] Continue Reading

Saturday’s Color Run in Portland, Oregon, was a big success! Over 15,000 people, including nearly 100 Child Aid volunteers (Thank you, volunteers!), turned out for the event. Participants young and old ran 5K and got blanketed in brightly colored powder at each of the five Color Zones that were located along the course. A portion […] Continue Reading

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The United Nations estimates that one extra year of schooling increases an individual’s earnings by up to 10%. In Guatemala, experts place that number closer to 13%. Continue Reading

Volcán de Fuego, an active volcano just outside Antigua, Guatemala, began a massive eruption yesterday morning, forcing over 30,000 people to evacuate towns and villages around the mountain. Fortunately, none of the communities where we work have been severely affected, but people in towns closest to the volcano are understandably frightened. Yepocapa and Santa Rosa, […] Continue Reading

Meet Fabiola Chioc, a teacher in training at a school for indigenous women in San Andres, Guatemala. Child Aid works in partnership with Fabiola’s school to help the students learn how to teach and promote reading. Most teachers in rural Guatemala never learn the basics of how to teach children to read, which is one […] Continue Reading

Last week, 46 librarians from villages throughout the Guatemalan Highlands traveled to Antigua for Child Aid’s third group training session of the academic year. For many of the participants, attending the all-day workshop meant leaving home well before dawn and traveling by bus for several hours in order to make the 8:00am start time. Usually, […] Continue Reading

In Guatemala, children in rural areas, especially indigenous children, are in dire need of educational support. We know this not because we bury our heads in statistical reports but because we’ve spent over 18 years working at the village level with children, teachers and librarians. Day in and day out, we see firsthand just how hard it […] Continue Reading

For those of you who didn’t see the photos on our Facebook page showing the new library going up in Xojolá, Guatemala, here they are! Alejandro Guarchaj, the former school director and a member of the library committee, recently sent them to us. Last year, we helped the community convert an old abandoned building into […] Continue Reading

Carlos Pos Ben is a Child Aid literacy trainer and a native speaker of Kaqchikel, one of Guatemala’s 21 indigenous Mayan languages. He works in several remote Kaqchikel communities in Guatemala’s Central Highlands, helping undertrained teachers in neglected schools become better bilingual educators. Most of the more than 50 towns and villages where we work are […] Continue Reading

By John van Keppel, Guatemala National Director I always find it amazing to see what one motivated librarian can accomplish when provided with training, support and resources. I just returned from Patzún, Guatemala, where we recently began our Reading for Life program. Patzún is a small town in the country’s rugged Central Highlands, and most of […] Continue Reading

We believe the ability to read is both personally empowering and essential to a child’s capacity to imagine, pursue and realize a better life. Continue Reading

This is our third year of partnership with the village of Xesampual, a remote K’iché Mayan community in the department of Sololá, Guatemala. The library here has gotten so popular that that the librarian, a woman named Rosenda Yac Escún, regularly has to put tables outside to accommodate all the children who want to use […] Continue Reading

In a remote classroom, K’iché Mayan children hold up books they received through Child Aid’s “Books to Villages” program. Continue Reading

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Gerson Barreno is an elementary school teacher in the remote village of Xecotoj, Guatemala. His classroom has flimsy, corrugated metal walls, dirt floors and no windows. It is dimly lit by a tiny light bulb in the center of the ceiling. In summer it’s like an oven inside. When it rains, he says, it’s so […] Continue Reading

Like many Mayan children in rural Guatemala, Elsa Marina (age 10) lives in a house with a dirt floor and corrugated metal walls. To get to her tiny school, she walks along a narrow, muddy path that passes a dozen or so ramshackle homes like her own. Her parents were refugees from Guatemala’s 36-year civil […] Continue Reading

Although you won’t find anything in the news about it (except passing references in Tulsa World and the Jamaica Observer), today is the 14th anniversary of Bishop Juan Gerardi‘s death. Bishop Gerardi was a major advocate for indigenous people in Guatemala and an ardent proponent of human rights during the country’s bloody civil war. He was […] Continue Reading

Tzantinamit (sawn-teen-ah-MEET) is a tiny village high above Lake Atitlán, in Guatemala. It’s surrounded by dusty fields, forested peaks and a smattering of small adobe houses in various states of disrepair. When we visited last month, the corn had long been harvested, and the fields were barren. It was cold out, and only a few […] Continue Reading

Great news! Child Aid is the official charity for The 2012 Portland Color Run, “the happiest 5K on the planet”. A portion of profits from The Portland Color Run will go to Child Aid and our Reading for Life program. If you haven’t heard of The Color Run, picture something between the Holi Festival of […] Continue Reading

Rosenda Yac Escún is the new librarian in Xesampual, an indigenous K’iché village in Guatemala’s Central Highlands. Each weekday, she walks 45 minutes to the library from her tiny aldea (village), some three miles away. Formerly an elementary schoolteacher, she is now working closely with Child Aid literacy staff to learn the ins and outs […] Continue Reading

Luis Miguel Can is a sixth-grade teacher in the remote village of Chocol, Guatemala. He grew up in a similarly isolated village in the country’s mountainous Central Highlands. Like the majority of indigenous children in Guatemala, he never had access to books. As a child, Mr. Can struggled his way through a neglected educational system, […] Continue Reading

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Today is International Women’s Day, and people everywhere are honoring the political and social achievements women have made throughout the world. We thought this a perfect time to share a few photos of a rural girls club in Guatemala, in a remote village where we recently began working. (See more photos on our Facebook page.) […] Continue Reading

This is one of our favorite photos around the office. It’s of a boy from the town of Jocotenango, Guatemala who is fully engaged in a story his teacher is reading as part of our Reading for Life program. This might seem an ordinary scene for someone who is accustomed to schools in the U.S. […] Continue Reading

Three years ago when Child Aid helped librarian Alberta Guarchaj launch a school-break reading program in her village library, fewer than 10 children showed up. Working closely with Child Aid literacy staff, Ms. Guarchaj tailored the program so that it better fit the needs of her village. She thought about ways to attract more children […] Continue Reading

At five and seven years old, Joselyn and Karen Guarchaj already face the possible reality of living their lives in extreme poverty, just as their family has for generations. But thanks to Child Aid and its supporters, the two sisters also face another possibility: a future in which they know how to read and possess the […] Continue Reading

By Marissa White, Development Associate, Child Aid Recently, I had the immense pleasure of showing three of our Reading for Life program staff members from Guatemala around Portland, Oregon. The purpose of their visit was to spend time shadowing teachers and to share their experiences in literacy work with students, volunteers and Child Aid supporters. […] Continue Reading

It’s National Coffee Day! Guatemala is one of the world’s top producers of coffee, and many of the children involved in our literacy program work seasonally in the coffee industry. Xojolá and Pasaq are just two of several coffee communities that participate in Reading for Life, our flagship literacy program in Guatemala. Help support our […] Continue Reading

“They read the story once,” Graciela said, “and then they read it again, but change some important detail. Then their families have to catch the mistake. It’s a simple comprehension exercise that they’re repeating at home. It’s wonderful to see.” Through innovative and imaginative programs, Child Aid and its supporters are helping indigenous children learn […] Continue Reading

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“Foreign governments should [insist] on more education, more health services and work.”—Óscar Julio Vian Morales, Guatemala’s archbishop This fascinating video reveals the challenges of maternal mortality and high birthrate that many Guatemalan families face. Several organizations are working locally on initiatives to improve the overall health of women in poor communities. However, as the video […] Continue Reading

Child Aid reading and literacy programs do much more than help children learn to read. The literacy trainings we provide are transformative and empowering to librarians and teachers and have rippling effects across local communities. Teachers and librarians learn skills and tools to implement effective reading programs, but they also gain personal confidence with these new abilities. […] Continue Reading

Juan Byron Guarchaj (age 10) lives in the rural town of Pasaq, Guatemala. He goes to school in the morning and spends his afternoons harvesting coffee or bananas to earn money for his family. He chops firewood in the mountains and carries it into town in giant bundles on his back. Around dusk, he spends an hour or two […] Continue Reading

With the New Year upon us, we want to pause and thank you, our supporters, for everything you helped us achieve in 2010. Last year, we served more children than ever before. In Guatemala, 7,414 kids from 26 communities participated in Child Aid literacy programs and, in Mexico, we treated and/or tested more than 2,600 impoverished children […] Continue Reading

For the past 12 years, beginning when he retired from his teaching position at a local school in Tecpán, Guatemala, Don Ramón, as everyone affectionately calls him, has been doing everything he can to make his local library a better resource for children. Year after year, he requested help from the mayor’s office. He pounded […] Continue Reading

We post a lot of photos of the insides of libraries we help create. They tend to be bright, colorful, clean places that create an atmosphere where children want to read. What these photos don’t show are the day-to-day realities children face just outside those walls. Here are a few photos of the communities of […] Continue Reading

Guatemala has the lowest literacy rate in Latin America and for indigenous women, the situation is even worse: As many as 75% of the women in the communities where we work cannot read or write. Child Aid is working to change this by developing partnerships with schools like Socorro de Belén. Socorro, where Child Aid […] Continue Reading

In the rural community of Xojolá, where Child Aid plans to begin work this year, the school director, Alejandro Guarchaj Mas, shared his thoughts with us about his community’s need for educational improvement. Mr. Guarchaj explained that without substantial support from the government, their community has been left without adequate resources in their schools. (To […] Continue Reading

Here is Child Aid’s latest video, which illustrates the human impact of our work. Thank you to all our supporters for helping improve these children’s lives through literacy. Your involvement makes all the difference! Continue Reading

Congratulations to the 25 students who completed Child Aid’s Reading for Life program! Just last week, these kids received diplomas from Child Aid literacy trainers, recognizing all their hard work and dedication to reading. What better way to spend vacation than reading! Before Reading for Life, these kids had virtually no access to books or […] Continue Reading

Last week, Portland-based author Ann Cameron visited Socorro de Belén, a school in Antigua, Guatemala, where Child Aid has been working for many years. Socorro is a school for young indigenous women training to become teachers. Norma Guzmán, a Child Aid literacy trainer, coordinated the visit because she has used Ann Cameron’s books with her students. Needless […] Continue Reading

What a difference time, training and leadership makes. A few years ago the library in Tzumpango, Guatemala was much like any municipal library in the country. It had a few well-guarded books and almost no children’s books. Lending practices were restricted to approved teachers and for students only under very strict guidelines. In other words, […] Continue Reading

We are very proud to announce that Portland Roasting is supporting Child Aid’s literacy work in Guatemala this season! Every time Portland Roasting sells a bag of its special Guatemalan Holiday Blend, it will donate $1 to Child Aid! This means that every time you buy a bag of Guatemalan Holiday Blend coffee, you support Child Aid. The […] Continue Reading

This Saturday, November 20th, join Child Aid by observing Universal Children’s Day. This commemoration marks the day on which the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child in 1959 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989. This convention remains the most widely ratified human rights treaty in the world, […] Continue Reading

This year, the Rotary Club of La Conner, Washington helped raise funds for Child Aid so we could send 53,000 children’s books to Guatemala, and distribute them to over 60 rural communities. Once the books arrived in Guatemala, a group of Rotary volunteers from the La Conner club traveled to the country to help with sorting and […] Continue Reading

Last year, in the highland community of Pasaq, Guatemala, second-grade teacher Andrés Choc noticed a remarkable student with a keen interest and ability in reading. After being impressed by the student’s enthusiasm and skill, Andrés asked the student where he had learned to read so well. The student replied he had spent the school break […] Continue Reading

Tropical Storm Agatha destroyed the dirt road to Chuialajquiajquix, but it didn’t stop the books from getting through. The village, which is as hard to reach as it is to pronounce, lies in a remote region of Guatemala, near the highland town of Santa Lucía Utatlán. It is accessible only by a steep, treacherous road. […] Continue Reading

We just received some photos from our Guatemala Program Director, John van Keppel, of a celebration in one of the communities where Child Aid works. Yesterday, the Kaqchikel community of Las Canoas gathered to inaugurate new furniture, bookshelves and a computer for the library. Thanks to the Planet Wheeler Foundation, the kids now have tables […] Continue Reading

Here’s an excellent and sad video showing how people in Guatemala are still struggling following the devasting Tropical Storm Agatha. Continue Reading

The United Nations just released its highly informative State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples report. Throughout the report, the UN reiterates the fundamental importance of providing greater educational opportunities to indigenous children. For those without the time to hunker down and read all 250 pages of the report, here are a few excerpts that pertain specifically to […] Continue Reading

Once again, childhood malnutrition in Guatemala has made international headlines (read the Miami Herald story here). The drought in Jalapa department, the worst in 30 years, has depleted food supplies and worsened an already existing food shortage among a huge sector of Guatemala’s rural poor. We see the effects of malnutrition on children in Guatemala every […] Continue Reading

Another article about the rampant poverty and malnutrition in Guatemala ran in a top publication, this time in The Atlantic (read it here). The article reports that in some areas of the country “malnutrition levels top 90 percent, among the highest rates in the world.” The author explains that, along with high food costs and zero infrastructure, […] Continue Reading

In a heart wrenching article (here), The Economist reports that, “according to Unicef, almost half of Guatemala’s children are chronically malnourished—the sixth-worst performance in the world.” The article goes on to say that, “In parts of rural Guatemala, where the population is overwhelmingly of Mayan descent, the incidence of child malnutrition reaches 80%.” That’s twice what it […] Continue Reading

Child Aid’s first reading program was based in the library located in El Tejar, a few miles up the mountains from Antigua. The program, Aventuras en Lectura (Adventures in Reading) was designed to help school age kids engage in reading during their school year break. Since then Child Aid has continued to run Adventures in Reading during […] Continue Reading

Reference books like encyclopedias, atlases and other reference materials are extremely rare in rural Guatemala. If a library does have a set of encyclopedias it is often outdated or incomplete. Child Aid recently received a generous donation from Bilingual Educational Services, Inc. of 30 sets of Time Life encyclopedias focusing on different areas of science and […] Continue Reading

The Peace Corps has a strong presence in Guatemala and often works in remote areas that Child Aid does not have easy access to, primarily because we lack the resources, staff and time to get out to these extremely isolated areas. The aldeas (villages) out here have very few books, and the children face incredible […] Continue Reading

Teacher training is a key component of Child Aid’s programs in Guatemala, a country where most rural teachers have only the equivalent of a high school degree. Last week, a teacher approached Elba Arroyo, one of Child Aid’s regional coordinators who was assisting a librarian at the Melotto School, and asked her what is involved […] Continue Reading

Music, art, recreation, story hour and ample personal attention all help to create an environment for growth and development in a child’s life. These constructive outlets and activities are important for all children, but can be especially beneficial for children from extremely poor families, families which lack the time and resources to provide these outlets […] Continue Reading

Friday night’s benefit show at Portland’s World Famous Kenton Club was not only a hootin’ good time (by 1am, it seemed like half the crowd was on stage dancing with the band!) it was a big success as well. The event raised $1,215 which will go directly to Las Canoas’ library. Las Canoas is a […] Continue Reading

Kristen Anderson, our program coordinator in Guatemala, recently emailed the office here in Portland about the community of Granados. Peace Corps volunteers are working there to set up a community library, and Child Aid was able to assist them by donating books for the project. The really exciting part is this: a volunteer at the Granados library […] Continue Reading

Guatemala is a country with 22 distinct languages. Some think that the Maya languages are closely related and that they share many of the same words. The reality is that there are more Spanish words in common than shared Maya words. Child Aid works in regions where different Maya languages are spoken. In the Lake Atitlán region, several […] Continue Reading

Portland people – put Friday, June 19 on your calendars! Portland rockers Pink Widower, Chores and the all new Tine will play a benefit show at The World Famous Kenton Club to help the community of Las Canoas, Guatemala. Local musician/youth development activist, Ivy Ross, organized the event, which promises to be four hours of loud and very danceable rock-and-roll! Proceeds from the […] Continue Reading

Have you ever tried to calm a bunch of kids who just ran into the classroom after recess? This teacher in Santo Domingo Xenacoj, Guatemala, has her 3rd grade students sing a song before they sit down to listen to a story, just to release any extra energy. In this song they are counting to […] Continue Reading

Esta pequeña historia está relacionada con el programa de animación a la lectura. La maestra Magali Castillo es la madre de alumna Andrea Hernández Castillo de 11 años de edad y quien estudia en la escuela cantonal de El Tejar, Chimaltenango, cursando el quinto grado. Hace algunos días tuve la oportunidad de platicar con ella […] Continue Reading

OK, we’ve been blogging about Child Aid for about three months now, and I can’t help myself from asking … What do you think about the blog? Is it giving you a better sense of the day-to-day work we’re doing? Is there anything we’re missing, things you’d like us to tell you about that we’re […] Continue Reading

Viajando el día 20 de abril, hacia la biblioteca de Santiago Atitlán en una cantón que le denominan ‘Tzanchaj’. Para llegar tengo que cruzar el Lago Atitlán, tomando la lancha en el Municipio de Panajachel. Durante el día todo fue muy bien en el desarrollo de nuestra actividad, apoyando al bibliotecario del lugar con forma de orientación […] Continue Reading

How does she do it? I am talking about Blanca Esquina, the fiery librarian in Chicacao who works tirelessly to help the children in her community receive an education. The library has more than 1,500 users a month. At times it overflows with students, and many wait outside until there is space available for them […] Continue Reading

Kristen Anderson, one of our program coordinators in Guatemala, recently took this photo of a group of elementary school students taking a test. The test was part of a pilot program we’re working on to gauge the success of our reading programs. We see the positive effects of our programs every day, (as do communities […] Continue Reading

Today we were working in the Melotto library in Chimaltenango where we have had a weekly reading program there for about 2 years now. One of the 6th graders, Oxim (o-SHEEM), has been a regular borrower in our lending program. It was no surprise when she walked into the library during the recess period to look […] Continue Reading

Great news! Ethical Bean coffee is now available to coffee drinkers in the United States! The Vancouver, BC coffee roaster, owned by Lloyd Bernhardt and Kim Schachte, is a longtime supporter of Child Aid. Every December, for several years now, Ethical Bean has donated $1 for every bag of coffee they sell to Child Aid as part […] Continue Reading

For those of you in the Portland, Oregon area, here’s a small but interesting event you might want to check out. It’s part of the Witness for Peace Northwest Speaker Tour. NAFTA Turns 15: A Look at Free Trade, Food Security and Migration in Oaxaca, Mexico Take a deeper look at the effects of NAFTA, […] Continue Reading

Guatemala has the lowest literacy rate in Latin America. Less than 10% of children enrolled finish high school. Child Aid is working to change that. Check out this great new video that two of our supporters helped us make. Karena O’Riordan ran around Guatemala for days filming numerous Child Aid libraries and interviewing parents, teachers […] Continue Reading

Finally, the books arrived to the Child Aid bodega in Guatemala!! It was a long haul, but our program coordinator, John van Keppel and Child Aid partner Rigoberto Zamora (of PROBIGUA) got them out after they were held up in port for over a month. The shipment of donated books (over $850,000 worth) were trucked […] Continue Reading

¡Bienvenido! Child Aid finally has a blog! We want to keep you up to date on the great things you’re helping us do for children and indigenous communities in Guatemala and Oaxaca, Mexico, and we thought this would be the best way to do it. Now you can check in whenever you want and we […] Continue Reading