International School Project
We are traveling as educators for the International School Project, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ.
We have been invited by the National and Local Guatemalan Ministry of Education to conduct a teacher-training seminar in Guatemala City.
The overall purpose for this trip is to:
1) give the public school teachers a curriculum that they will use to teach their students about Christ and Christian ethics. 2) The Leadership Development Conference allows the invited, previously trained teachers, to discuss & share together how the ISP curriculum is changing their students’ lives, how they might develop more lessons, and how they might grow spiritually at a personal level.
All of these elements in combination give the teachers the encouragement and tools they need to have greater impact for Christ in their classrooms and communities.
Education
The government runs a number of public elementary and secondary-level schools. These schools are free, though the cost of uniforms, books, supplies, and transportation makes them less accessible to the poorer segments of society and significant numbers of poor children do not attend school. Many middle and upper-class children go to private schools. Only 69.1% of the population aged 15 and over are literate, the lowest literacy rate in Central America.
Economy
According to the World Bank, Guatemala has one of the most unequal income distributions in the hemisphere. The wealthiest 20% of the population consumes 51% of Guatemala’s GDP. As a result, about 51% of the population lives on less than $2 a day and 15% on less than $1 a day. Guatemala's social development indicators, such as infant mortality, chronic child malnutrition, and illiteracy, are among the worst in the hemisphere.
USA--Guatemalan Relations
Most U.S. assistance to Guatemala is provided through the U.S. Agency for International Development's (USAID) offices for Guatemala. USAID/Guatemala's current program builds on the gains of the peace process that followed the signing of the peace accords in December 1996, as well as on the achievements of its 1997-2004 peace program. The current program works to advance U.S. foreign policy objectives by focusing on Guatemala's potential as Central America's largest economy and trading partner of the United States, but also recognizes the country's lagging social indicators and high rate of poverty. The three areas of focus for USAID/Guatemala's program are modeled after the Millennium Challenge Account areas--ruling justly, economic freedom, and investing in people, and are as follows:
More responsive, transparent governance, through:- Strengthened justice
- Greater transparency and accountability of governments.
Open, diversified and expanding economies, through:
- Laws, policies, and regulations that promote trade and investment;
- More competitive, market-oriented private enterprises
- Broader access to financial markets and services.
Healthier, better educated people, through:
- Increased and improved quality of social sector (health and education) investments
- Increased use of quality maternal-child and reproductive health services, particularly in rural areas.
Travel to Zacapa for Convocation
Today the team travels to Zacapa, the city where the convocation will be held. We will be leaving Guatemala City at 10:00 CST/8:00 PST. I look forward to telling you about the bus and the journey to Zacapa. I am told it will only be a 3.5 hour trip, but it's always an adventure when one takes a trip on a bus in a foreign country.
Learning a little more about the people here has been interesting. They are very receptive and love Americans. That has been refreshing. Some of the teachers are on strike at this time and it's been a sight to see them in their demonstrations which seem to be nonexistent compared to some of the ones state side. They basically set up tents and tarps. They look more like squatters rather than teachers on strike. Most of the students in Guatemala try to go to school as far as 5th or 6th grade before they have to enter the workforce because the family needs the funds. It is so important to make the most of those first few years as they may be the only ones some of these children will receive.
Please pray: for safe travels, rest/relaxation for entire team; getting to know one another & unity of combined teams.
Natural Disasters
Guatemala's location between the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean makes it a target for hurricanes, such as Hurricane Mitch in 1998 and Hurricane Stan in October 2005, which killed more than 1,500 people. The damage was not wind related, but rather due to significant flooding and resulting mudslides.
A town along the Pan-American Highway and in close proximity to a volcanic crater Guatemala's highlands lie along the Motagua Fault, part of the boundary between the Caribbean and North American tectonic plates. This fault has been responsible for several major earthquakes in historic times, including a 7.5 magnitude tremor on February 4, 1976 which killed more than 25,000 people. In addition, the Middle America Trench, a major subduction zone lies off the Pacific coast. Here, the Cocos Plate is sinking beneath the Caribbean Plate, producing volcanic activity inland of the coast. Guatemala has 37 volcanoes, four of them are active:Pacaya, Santiaguito, Fuego and Tacaná. Fuego and Pacaya erupted in 2010.
Natural disasters have a long history in this geologically active part of the world. For example, two of the three moves of the capital of Guatemala have been due to volcanic mudflows in 1541 and earthquakes in 1773.
Volcano Pacaya
On Thursday May 27, 2010 (05-27-2010) the Pacaya volcano started erupting lava and rocks on Thursday afternoon, blanketing Guatemala City with black sand (and forcing the closure of the international airport). It was declared a "state of calamity." The Pacaya volcano left about 8 Centimeters of ash and sand through all of Guatemala City. Cleaning works are in progress.
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