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Since 2001, Acceso International has supported the establishment of twelve bilingual pre-school and daycare classrooms in Guatemala.
In 2001 and 2002, Acceso International provided educational materials for “The Children’s Garden” which is located in the heart of the San Felipe slum just outside of Antigua.
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The Children's Garden Pre-School in the San Felipe Slum of Antigua |
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Since 2003, Acceso International has been helping to provide educational resources for a daycare within a weaver's co-operative in the remote mountain village of Sacala. The widowed Mayan women in the war-torn village of Sacala have organized a weaver’s cooperative that allows them to sustain themselves economically and culturally. Our support of this project enriches the safe educational space where the women’s children can learn and play while they themselves are training and working at the cooperative. This project is among many of Acceso International’s efforts to ensure that fellow human beings can benefit from the educational initiatives and experiences to which they are entitled. The access to learning that these children have experienced has been very uplifting and meaningful.
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Daycare and primary school in Sacala |
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Since 2004 Acceso International has been supporting the establishment and maintenance of a pre-school in the mountain village of Tioxya, as well as two pre-school classrooms within the Camino Seguro school which is located outside the Guatemala City dump.
Between 2005 and 2007, Acceso International partnered with Oneness Through Mission to fully furnish and equip 6 pre-school classrooms in a new “Early Intervention Centre” managed by Camino Seguro. The facility opened in 2007 just outside the Guatemala City dump.
Acceso International’s partnership with Oneness Through Mission and Camino Seguro has helped to provide significant life-changing opportunities for children who work along side their parents who harvest the Guatemala City dump for survival. The hope is that through education many children may have the opportunity to live their life outside the walls of the dump. The pre-school classrooms provide safe, healthy, enriching and stimulating ‘head-start’ learning environments for the marginalized children.
The aforementioned programs were established in response to a need for educational reform. In addition to a lack of access to education, there are insufficient funds allocated to the education system. Classrooms are frequently overcrowded, supplies are scarce and the teaching methods and learning experiences are often fragmentary.
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Pre-school Centre “The English Garden” in Antigua |
Story time with bilingual books donated by Acceso International |
Opening day of school in Sacala |
All of the pre-school and daycare initiatives supported by Acceso International and designed by Oneness Through Mission implement the official Guatemalan educational curriculum through a very dynamic method of teaching and learning. The projects recognize each child as a unique individual who is valued for who she/he is, and sets up developmentally appropriate programs, which promote critical thinking and problem solving skills and, most importantly, build a sense of self esteem and personal worth.
These programs place a strong emphasis on creativity and the acceptance of children's ideas. Central to the philosophy is a caring attitude towards their classmates, family and the community. Issues of equality and human rights are addressed throughout the programs. The pre-school’s activity centers enhance a hands-on learning approach and children enjoy "learning through play."
“We continue to believe that the only way this world is ever going to change, is by teaching children to love themselves and care about others from the earliest possible years. They need to learn to think, and to problem-solve, and to create, so that they can bring their generation into a whole new way of being in this world …a way of freedom …a way of peace … and a way of love.” Project Coordinators in Guatemala
