Guatemala Tomorrow Fund
Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club Supports Guatemala Tomorrow Fund
The Father Tom Moran Education Center in Izabal, Guatemala has a study program for middle school aged children, and the Mesa Sunrise Rotary Club is sponsoring a female student, Zoila, a 7th grader at the school. The majority of the students come from isolated, indigenous villages and most lack electricity, potable water and roads in their villages. Family income is often around $500 per year and many villages have no middle schools or high schools.
Zoila is 17 years old and has 3 brothers and 3 sisters and her parents and family live about an hour's drive from the school (girl in pink top in photo above with Mesa Sunrise Rotarian Soo Stevens-Clarke). Students help support their studies by performing regular maintenance at the school such as cutting firewood for cooking, gardening and other duties. Each student contributes a total of 8 hours per week. The school curriculum includes 3,000 hours of on-the-job training in on-site kitchen restaurants, handicraft shops and other skill training centers, teaching the children practical knowledge they can use when they complete the program, receive their diploma and return to their villages. Children visit their families every 2 months.
"Girls who leave school marry young, have large families and face a life of poverty. It is proven that when girls are educated, poverty decreases and family health improves, and they make sure their children are educated."
Father Tom Moran Education Center