Update from Guatemala! See the difference YOU, Esperanza's supporters, are making!
Updated: Oct 13
I’m writing this immediately on my return from Quetzaltenango (October 8, 2026), our base while in Guatemala in addition to two days of travel and five amazing, long, and productive days.
Please read this entire message; it will be worth your while!
There is much to share about the trip, but this email is all about our scholarship program and the excellent ripple effect that is happening in the village of Nimasac, Guatemala because of it.
I share this first because we have just started our annual campaign for SCHOLARSHIP FUNDS. If you ever wondered if your donation was making a difference, the answer is YES!
It shows up in two ways.
Student success:
On Sunday we met with a packed room of scholarship students, ages 12 – 48. To a person, they spoke with such heartfelt gratitude of you, their sponsors, for the opportunity to take a further step to improving their lives.
The challenges are great but the results are greater. Time after time, students expressed that they couldn’t go to school without your help. Instead, they are aiming for being a professor of art, owning a mechanic business, using math in work, studying to be an architect, a CPA, an Internist, a professional musician, and more. Eight years ago, this was rare or impossible. Today it’s happening.
We were treated to a demonstration of medical techniques by the nursing and medical students, with detailed explanations of the reasons why they were to be done in specific ways.
The medical student and a student who is graduating with an RN degree next month, demonstrated the procedure for injections, using Vitamin B as the ‘medicine.’ The students themselves arranged all this, chose ‘patients’ to ‘care for’ and asked to present this to us to show the impact of your support!
The music students likewise offered special music in the worship service on Sunday, and one student offered words of thanks in English, pushing through the anxiety of speaking in public.
Students were animated, eager to talk about their educational experience and success! Those of us who were privileged to be there were all smiles and were part of the conversations.
The students present wrote letters to their sponsors. Not all could be present; some students were already taking finals in specific courses, even on a Sunday morning!
School Success
Note: there are four schools in Nimasac. All schools meet either from from 8-12 am, or, 1-5 pm; almost no non-academic activities shorten the time, and lunch is at home:
the morning elementary school- population 425
the afternoon elementary school – population 375
the Pacomun elementary school-population 200
the middle school (called a Basico)- population 150; last year: 137.
As we approached the morning school, a band of students wearing band shirts played their recorders, accompanied by a teacher playing a marimba and a student playing drums. The principal thanked us for our donation of the recorders last year and said the program was a bonus to them, as they had not had a music program before. They were thrilled when Esperanza delivered a requested public address system, saying it will help with organizing physical education activities as well as the burgeoning music group, and agreed that presenting consumable supplies such as markers and paper, would be delivered in February as the new school year begins.
The afternoon school received its requested computer, and were thrilled to learn about the supplies to arrive in February. We were able to engage with all the teachers, as well as the students. They asked questions like: Are you from the United States? [Yes, in North Carolina. Response: Whoa.] Wow, you have blue eyes? How did you get blue eyes! [Yes, from my mother, and I gave them to my son. Response: Ohhhh.]
We presented the Pacomun school with a printer and extra ink, and the promise of further supplies in February. The principal was very pleased. We mingled with the teachers, as the students had just left for the day. As we passed many of them, they said, very deliberately, “Hello, how are you?” in English and were so pleased when we said, “Well, thank you! Good English speaking!” back. Here they are leaving for the day.
The staff is very proud of a newly remodeled kitchen in the school. It looks great!
But…the best part is what is going on with the middle school!
We began by presenting them with 2 laptops for teachers and an LCD projector. We will also provide them with requested supplies in the new school year (Feb). They were so appreciative of those, as well as our help in the past.
WOW! There is another new classroom at the middle school, but even better, another one ready to be built because of Esperanza’s connection to Herencia Viva, (who is operating our Economic Empowerment Project).
There is also a new ‘cancha,’ the Spanish word for pitch (soccer) or court (basketball or free play), built through the efforts of another nonprofit, underscoring the principal’s efforts for constant improvement.
Further, they now have a large kitchen for the ‘snacks,’ or small meals, that the government requires. The 3-bowl sink that we gave the school last year is set up and ready to go.
Finally, there is a dedicated and secure computer lab where all the computers are currently on loan from another nonprofit, with the possibility of being donated to the school in the future. On Saturdays, there is a class for the younger children. The teachers are the middle school students!
EDUCATION is Esperanza’s #1 priority.
We are thrilled, and I know you are, too, to hear the good news about the Scholarship program and its widening effects.
To donate to the Scholarship mission in any amount, or to sponsor a student at one of these levels, or a partial amount, consider:
$150 middle school or partial share for another level
$300 for government schools further away, or partial
$600 for vocational students (fewer students)
$900 for middle & high schools students in private schools in the city, or partial
$1000 for a university student, or partial
OR CLICK on the GIVE button at the top of the screen, scroll down to SCHOLARSHIPS.
Thank you for making a difference! I hope you are as inspired as I was by the good going on in Nimasac these days.
Medora Hix, President/CEO
Comments