Link for Health

Quality education, healthcare, and family development for the region’s poorest children

Known for its beauty, culture, and history, the Panchoy Valley also has its marginal zones where homeless families and street children live.  In these areas the unemployment rate is high, adolescents lack education, crime is prevalent, alcoholism is rampant, and familial violence is widespread.  Taking these problems into mind, the idea of opening a specialized technical school amidst the Victorias, Bella Vista, and Papalillo neighborhoods of Jocotenango, Guatemala, may have seemed like a risk, but it was also the long-standing dream of Patrick Atkinson, Founder and Executive Director of the GOD’S CHILD Project (GCP).  In his own words, “It is the PERFECT place for the GOD’S CHILD Project to be.”

Construction of the school was completed December 6, 2007, and classes began in January of 2008. The Scheel Center’s goal is to be a catalyst for community change on a large scale by giving hope to impoverished families, abused or abandoned children. Hope is given in three forms: Standard Education, Specialized Technical Training and Healthcare. 

Standard Education:  For much of the modern world, formal education starts around the ages of 4, 5 or 6. By the time a child enters first grade they have often had several years of academic enrichment to better prepare them to learn. Students at the Scheel Center come from a very different world.  Many of the students who study at the Center have been robbed of their childhood in various ways. They have not had time to play and learn. Many have not had access basic necessities such as adequate food, clean water, shelter or medical care.  For these and other reasons, the Scheel Center students have grown up without an opportunity to learn.

Before a student is in a position to successfully learn any subject, their basic needs must be met. Scheel Center students are provided with two filling and nutritious meals a day. For many of them this is the only food they will receive.

Specialized Technical Training:  Because of the unique background of the students at the Scheel Center some of them will not be able to continue their academic pursuits after the 8th or 9th grade level, or they will at least need to secure a part time job in order to do so. In an effort to equip all their students for life after school the following technical courses are currently being offered to students when they start their “basico” year. Each course’s objective is to prepare a student with the prerequisite knowledge and skill required to get a job in that field.

• Carpentry:  The carpentry program at the Scheel center began in 2009 and is off to a great start. During the first few months of the program both boys and girls were taught theory and took part in hands on training. First, students built their own workbenches; they then moved on to coat racks, frames for paintings and most recently: study desks, which they will later be able to take home and use for their other studies. (Many of their students do not have any hard surface to do homework on.) 
• Culinary Arts:  The cooking class is a favorite amongst many of the students of the Scheel Center. The cooking class focuses on: 
  • Sanitary cooking practices
  • Use and care of commercial grade cooking equipment
  • Preparation of both basic and advanced entrees and desserts
  • Promoting a love for the culinary arts
• Computer Skills:  Starting in October of 2009, students of the Scheel Center have access to a computer lab to begin acquiring the computer skills to prepare them to succeed in a high tech world.  Computer courses will cover:
  • Basic Computer Skills: typing, navigation of Windows, use of a word processor, use of a spreadsheet, accessing the Internet, using email. 
  • Research skills: performing Internet searches, criteria for a reputable Internet source.

Healthcare: 

• Dunnigan Family Medical Clinic: Made possible by a generous donation from the Dunnigan Family in honor of Dr. Ralph J. Dunnigan & Mrs. Bernadette Dunnigan. The Dunnigan Family Clinic will soon be serving the medical needs of families and children throughout the Vista Hermosa area.
• Dental Clinic: The Scheel Center Dental Clinic will begin by serving the needs of the children and families enrolled at the Scheel Center. The dental clinic is a community education center where The God’s Child project gives dental hygiene education to families from the surrounding areas.  The group expects for the clinic to become operational in March, 2010.
• Psychology Clinic: In operation since February 2009 the Psychology Clinic provides counseling and support for the children of the Scheel Center and their families. Currently run by their on-campus psychologist Leonel Almira, the clinic gives Scheel Students an ear to listen and Christ-focused counsel on how to deal with the challenges of growing up in the slums of Guatemala.

To learn more about The Scheel Center, please visit their website.