March 2026 Newsletter
A Note from the Board Chairs
The new school year started in January in Guatemala. This year we are sponsoring 8 students in college Two are studying law, two are studying to be teachers, two are studying to be doctors, one is studying to be a nurse and one is studying construction.
This year we are assisting 34 “pequenos”--kindergarten and elementary school students–by purchasing backpacks, shoes and school supplies for them. This is up from 22 last year. In junior high, we currently sponsor 18 students, and we sponsor 17 attending high school. This brings us to a total of 77 students, up slightly from last year’s total of 68.
We continue to share an office with Banco de Comida, the Food Bank. In June, we will need to find another space, hopefully large enough so all the families and students can gather for monthly meetings. We have some financial assistance promised from Find the Change Foundation to help with this, and the Atitlan Alliance will also contribute. Rosa, our Program Director in San Pedro, is currently exploring options.
So much gratitude for all your help with our community endeavors in San Pedro!
The Gift of School Supplies
Excitement was in the air as children and parents gathered at the Atitlan Alliance office to receive the items needed for school–shoes, backpacks and school supplies. Rosa had previously recorded each child’s shoe size and placed an order from a store in Guatemala City. The kids were delighted with these gifts and their parents were grateful that these essentials meant their children could attend school. Although elementary school is tuition-free in San Pedro, some kids never start school because they lack shoes or other supplies. Thanks to your support, these 34 children are able to go to school this year!
New Students
This year, we have 10 new students in our scholarship program (Junior High through University levels.) We are pleased to introduce two of them here:
Ana Gonzales is 15 years old, and she just started high school where she is studying business administration. Her goal is to become an accountant. She lives with her single mom and two younger brothers. Her mother supports the family by making simple food that she sells on the
street close to their home. Ana helps her mother make tortillas when she isn’t at school or studying.
Azucena Gonzales, age 23, is the oldest student in our program. She is in the 4th year of university where she is studying for a degree in secondary education. She is already qualified to teach primary school and currently works as a substitute teacher for the younger grades. Her university classes take place on the weekend in Quetzaltenango, about a two-hour drive northwest of San Pedro. During the week, she lives in San Pedro with her parents and 3 siblings. Although her parents have paid tuition until now, it has become increasingly hard for them. Her father is having difficulty working due to his age and physical condition, and her mother is unemployed. Azucena is happy that her Atitlan Alliance scholarship is enabling her to continue her studies.
What’s New in San Pedro
San Pedro has been slowly recovering from the devastating effects Covid had on the community. The city government, headed by a female mayor, has made many improvements to the town in order to attract more tourists, thereby improving the quality of life for all its citizens. In addition to making some streets pedestrian-only and making all beaches public, the city has built some scenic viewpoints. The most recent is in the shape of a giant crab, “El Congrejo.”
NOvember 2022 Newsletter
In Guatemala, the school year has just ended. Our students are now enjoying a two-month break before school starts again in mid-January. We are so pleased to report that all students in the Atitlan Alliance sponsorship program have graduated from their grade. We are proud of their hard work and the support they have received from their families–and, most especially, from you, their sponsors and our donors. Without your help, most if not all of them, would not have attended school this year. Felicidades, alumnos! Congratulations, students!
In Guatemala, the school year has just ended. Our students are now enjoying a two-month break before school starts again in mid-January. We are so pleased to report that all students in the Atitlan Alliance sponsorship program have graduated from their grade. We are proud of their hard work and the support they have received from their families–and, most especially, from you, their sponsors and our donors. Without your help, most if not all of them, would not have attended school this year. Felicidades, alumnos! Congratulations, students!
Our High School Graduates
Three of our sponsored students have graduated high school! Ana Maria has graduated with a degree in economics and math. She plans to attend the university in the neighboring community of Santiago where she will study to become an auditor.
(photo of Ana Maria)
Damaris has completed a 2-year high school program. She has decided to study English at the university is Sololá, about an hour’s commute from San Pedro.
(photo of Damaris)
Suzly just finished her high school program in pre-nursing. Starting in January, Suzly will plans to attend nursing school in the same institution where she attended high school.
(photo of Suzly)
A Trip to Guatemala
In August, three Atitlan Alliance board members traveled to San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala. Laura and Bill Emery and Ellen Craine worked with our Program Director, Rosa Cumes, to streamline administrative systems. Rosa escorted us around the community, visiting many of the students in their homes. These visits gave us a better understanding of the conditions of poverty in which they live. We enjoyed seeing family members in action–younger brothers hamming it up for the camera, a grandmother caring for her two orphaned grandsons, a mother weaving intricate patterns on her backstrap loom, another mother, severely disabled, sitting in a dark corner of the house, no longer able to support her family. We learned that the majority of families in our program are headed by a single mother. Many parents lack fluency in Spanish so Rosa translated our Spanish into the Mayan dialect, Tz’utujil, spoken in San Pedro.
(photo of weaving mom, Fatima’s family)
Laura and BIll had a good meeting with the principal and staff of the school that the majority of our students attend. The principal expressed his desire to work with us and Rosa to identify students most in need of financial support.
On the last day of our trip, the families threw an incredible party for us, complete with speeches, dancing, songs, homemade tamales and gifts for us to take home to the students’ sponsors. We felt overwhelmed by their warm outpouring of gratitude, and we assured them that we would pass on their thanks to you. !
Donor Appreciation Party
Shortly after our return from Guatemala, we held a Donor Appreciation party at the home of Laura and BIll Emery. Current donors and interested friends were invited. Twenty guests viewed slides of our trip and learned more about our program. From this event, several people signed up to be new sponsors.
Plans for the 2023 School Year
This past school year, 21 students were paired up with a sponsor from the United States. Sponsors covered the costs of all school expenses: registration, tuition, uniform and school supplies. The students in our program ranged in age and grade level– 4 in primary school, 10 in middle school, 6 in high school and 1 in university. The Atitlan Alliance Board decided to set a goal of 30 sponsored students in 2023. We have met that goal! We’re so delighted to welcome 13 new donors into our sponsorship program.
Additionally, we are grateful to those who make donations into our general fund. Last year, the general fund was used to purchase school supplies for all the siblings of our sponsored students. We anticipate using it for unexpected expenses, such as costs for field trips, internships, specialized supplies, etc.
Last year, we charged each sponsor a different amount, based on each individual student’s specific school expenses. This made for a bookkeeping challenge since costs varied depending on which school and grade level a student was in–and even which size uniform the student required!
For 2023, there will be one sponsorship fee for all students, $395. The average of school expenses last year was $350. On top of that, we are attaching a 10% administrative fee to cover the stipend we pay our Program Director, Rosa Cumes, as well as our costs of maintaining a website, mailbox, etc.
This year, all money will remain in our stateside bank account until Rosa requests funds for specific purposes. This will make tracking expenses much easier for our Treasurer.
If you plan to sponsor a child in 2023, please send in your sponsorship fee by December 1 so that we have funds in place for the start of the school year in January. This is when Rosa will need to pay the bulk of each student’s school expense–registration fee, uniform, school supplies and three months of tuition. You are also welcome to pay $200 now and $195 by the end of May. We already have received payment from many 2023 sponsors. Thank you so much! We are looking forward to another extraordinary year!