El Nahual Community Center was founded in 2004 in order to address shortcomings in the Guatemalan national education system, particularly in Quetzaltenango and its surrounding communities. El Nahual is located on the outskirts of Quetzaltenango in a sector called Pacajá. This location, which straddles urban and rural areas, was chosen to allow El Nahual to serve as a hub of support for the often marginalized communities outside the city center.
El Nahual is a fully licensed non-profit organization funded by its Spanish language school. They are unique in that they require the individuals who choose to study with them to donate their time to volunteer in the low-income communities they serve. Their volunteers often take classes in the mornings and then get involved in their service projects, the bulk of which involve helping out with their educational programs for children and adults:
- Manos de Colores Niños: Their programs for children, “Manos de Colores” (Colored Hands), founded in 2004, provide instruction in English, art, music, theater, and others—subjects which most children would not otherwise receive in the Guatemalan public school system. Manos de Colores was created by their director, Jaime, after a long period of reflection on the national reality of education in Guatemala.
- Manos de Colores Adultos (Accelerated Primary School): The Accelerated Primary School Program was formed in 2006 to provide adults who never had the opportunity to complete their elementary education with a government-certified primary school diploma. Every Saturday at 8am, the El Nahual Community Center opens its doors to people who come to study Spanish, mathematics, and history taught by Guatemalan teachers. The program is provided at a very low cost and takes two years to complete.
- Padrinos de Colores: is a scholarship program for children, providing financial support to families in need of school registration fees, uniforms, books, required medical visits, and other fees associated with public school inscription. In a country where many people attend school for only three years out of the required six and dropping out to help support one´s family is common, El Nahual Padrinos believe that lack of money for small items such as notebooks and gym shoes should not keep a child from attending school.
Studying with El Nahual
El Nahual Community Center seeks enthusiastic students and volunteers who are motivated to give back to low-income communities in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala´s second largest city. They attract students from all over the world who want to do something meaningful during their travels. Their center is unique in that 100% of the profits from their language school return directly to the communities they serve through their educational programs for children and adults. To that end, they expect a minimum time commitment of volunteer work 4 hours per week from each of their students. The majority of their volunteer projects is educational and involves teaching basic English, arts and crafts, and doing other activities with children in their Manos de Colores programs. Studying Spanish at El Nahual provides students with invaluable international teaching experience while introducing them to grassroots development work and the opportunity to reach out to some of the poorest communities in Quetzaltenango.
Volunteer-only Program
El Nahual is almost entirely staffed by volunteers from Guatemala and abroad. Without the energy, enthusiasm and commitment of their volunteers, their organization could not survive. The work of their volunteers is directly responsible for El Nahual´s continued growth and impact on the communities they serve, and they value the contributions of their staff and volunteers in an atmosphere which fosters creativity, innovation and mutual respect. They are pleased to accept applications for their volunteer-only program for those individuals who want to get involved with El Nahual but do not wish to take Spanish lessons.
For more information about El Nahual, please visit their website.
Comments are closed.