About two blocks from our house is a little blue elementary school. This school serves many of the poor children in our community and has about 75 elementary students.
Even with free public education some parents here in Guatemala struggle to pay for required uniforms, school supplies and other fees that come along with the public education of their children, so when it comes to adding technology or other special areas of study to the school curriculum, there are not many resources to go around.
Over the last 11 years, we’ve helped provide scholarship money to some of the needy families who’s children attend the little blue school. We’ve provided school supplies to students and teachers and planned activities to encourage the teachers who work there. Nearly every week a teacher from the school brings her class to play in our yard during their break time. We’ve also been welcomed to share the Gospel with students and parents through this school.
In 2015 the director told us there was a need for computers so the students could learn some basic computer skills. We presented this need to several churches and friends responded. With the generous help of friends, a church in Michigan, and a businessman from Kansas we were able to outfit the school with 12 laptops for their computer lab. The students and teachers were very grateful and invited us to a dedication ceremony for the computer lab.
Now we are about 8 years later and class after class of students used those laptops to learn about typing and computer basics.
Recently the director and two parents from the school visited us asking for help with two projects. One of those was for new computers. The laptops they had have worn out. They asked for desktop computers that can be easily updated and allow for keyboards and peripherals to be replaced as needed so the computers can serve at the school for as long as possible.
We’d like to help refresh the computer lab with computers when the students return from their break in June.
Technology here in Guatemala typically costs more than the same thing in the US.
I checked prices for a desktop computer with monitor, keyboard, mouse and battery backup here in Guatemala and found:
A decent used computer and basics cost about US$550 ea.
A new computer and basics cost about US$1,075 ea.
To get 15 computers, we’d need between US$8,250 and US$16,125.
Would you help us equip the little blue school and other schools with technology and resources for their students?
If you’d like to help us outfit the school computer lab, consider donating below.
Donate for SchoolsHere are photos of some of the students with computers that we helped provide to Guatemalan schools, thanks to the generous support from churches and friends in the USA
Helping keep kids in school
