Less than 30 percent of Maya children living in remote villages in northwestern Guatemala complete primary school. Most Indigenous girls attend only two or three years of schooling. Rural primary schools have few educational resources; most have no books.

 

​Because Indigenous children in this region of Guatemala speak only their local Mayan language, the Bilingual Early Literacy Program focuses on teaching the child to read and write in Spanish, the official curriculum language in Guatemalan schools. It prepares Indigenous children for academic success from first grade and beyond.

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Our Bilingual Early Literacy Program

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To provide Mayan-speaking preschool children with a bilingual language program where they will begin to learn the second language of Spanish.

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Bilingual Early Literacy Goals:

 

• Create opportunities for children to be successful in primary school and beyond by introducing the Spanish language to them. 

• Promote pride in the children’s language by assisting them in retaining their native tongue and culture.

• Teach reading readiness skills.

• Provide age-appropriate numeracy education.

• Facilitate nutritional strategies with village parents that include “mini chicken-laying” programs and growing vegetable gardens with their children. 

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Health and Nutrition play a vital part in learning

 

Sick kids can’t learn. Nor can hungry kids. That’s why health and good nutrition have been incorporated into our teaching.

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Four of our village programs now offer children the opportunity to learn organic vegetable gardening and care for their own small flock of laying chickens. In this region of chronic child malnutrition, these preschoolers benefit from the fresh produce and eggs that add vital protein and vitamins to their meals.  

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How you can help

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School supplies, books and educational games in literacy and numeracy are needed. Funding for seeds, organic fertilizer, fencing, and egg-laying chickens are needed to support the nutritional sector of our training.  Your gift, large or small, has the power to transform a Maya child’s life through the magic of reading, numeracy, and life learning skills. 

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To make a donation in support of Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala's Bilingual Early Literacy Program, click here.

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