Amigos de Patzún (ADP) is a 501 3(c) non–profit which creates educational opportunities for impoverished students in rural Guatemala. They offer competitive scholarships to middle and high school students who would not be able to continue their education past sixth grade. In 2008, ADP also added a teacher training program focused on improving literacy skills in rural primary schools.
Amigos de Patzún is predicated on the belief that education is a basic human right, and can be a catalyst of systemic change and development. ADP was founded in 2001 by three Peace Corps Volunteers teaching in rural Patzún: Karen Towers, Paul Butki, and Jessica Daly. All three were struck by the lack of opportunity for rural students and worked with a local teacher, Anacleto Catu, to start ADP. Amigos de Patzun’s programs now include:
Middle School and High School Scholarships
In Guatemala, less than 5% of rural students will complete primary school and less than 5% of those that do graduate will continue onto middle school or high school. Consequently, ADP provides scholarships for middle and high school students from the rural areas of Patzún, Guatemala who would like to continue their studies beyond the 6th grade. Students are selected through a competitive process that weighs academic achievement, demonstrated financial needs, and teacher recommendations.
ADP scholarships include:
- Full tuition and fees
- Transportation – the bulk of a student’s cost
- Uniforms
- Books and supplies
- Medical Exams
Scholars also receive special tutoring from Peace Corps Volunteers, and participate in an internship program in which they shadow professionals working in their fields of interest. In addition, as part of the terms of the scholarship, Amigos de Patzún scholars give back to their communities. All scholars elect service projects they feel would most benefit their communities. ADP scholars plant trees in deforested areas, plant and cultivate school gardens, and tutor students in their local elementary schools. ADP strives to go beyond the academic needs of the scholars and helps address hardships faced by the families and the larger community. They are making a difference in many rural communities and they are growing every year.
Teacher Training Program
We at ADP recognize that the ability to recruit competitive students from rural communities into a scholarship program operating in highly demanding urban settings is fundamentally dependent on the quality of education rural students receive. Only 2.6% of Guatemala’s GDP is spent on education and rural schools are hurting for materials and support1. Teachers in rural areas receive very little in-service training and often do not receive quality materials or text books for their classrooms. In addition, teachers working in these rural communities almost exclusively live in urban Patzún.
To help address this disparity, ADP is working with a partner NGO, Miracles in Action, on a teacher training project that will equip rural teachers with skills and materials to improve didactic practices, including literacy, and provide certification to improve their professional development. The training includes a rigorous design with input from local teachers recognized for excellence by the Ministry of Education; instructional tool kits; continuous follow-up; and monitoring and evaluation. In addition, in January 2010, Miracles in Action and ADP helped teachers in Patzún launch a teacher resource center which will allow teachers to check out teaching materials to use in the classroom.
The first pilot training took place in July 2008 in two rural communities, El Cojobal and La Pila, and has since expanded to cover more than fifteen rural villages. The program has been a great success and the Ministry of Education has asked ADP and Miracles in Action to expand this program to cover all of Patzún’s rural primary schools.
1 World Bank Education Statistics, Guatemala, 2008.
To learn more about this group, please visit its website. Click here to read about one of this group’s partner organizations, Miracles in Action.