Guatemala is a country of breathtaking volcanoes, verdant hillsides, tight-knit families, traditions and pride. It also is a victim of civil war, hunger, prejudice, poverty and ignorance. Generally speaking, Guatemalan children do not begin their schooling until the age of six or seven, and few attend past 6th grade. Many stop their studies by 2nd grade, and others never attend at all. Guatemala’s literacy rate is approximately 69%.

Public schools have as many as 50 students in one classroom, with only one teacher. Absenteeism is alarmingly high among public school teachers, and when absent, children are left unsupervised. The average wage for high school-educated Guatemalan teachers is about $300.00 per month.

New School Project: Help expand our current school in Santa Maria de Jesus by donating to our New School Building Project that will provide 3 additional grades with larger classroom and small class sizes. For a full list of additional benefits our new school will provide our students, please see below:

Our New School will be constructed of 15,000sq feet covering 3 floors and will include additional and expanded benefits than what we currently provide our students in our rented building in Santa Maria de Jesus. Escuela Kemna'oj is completely funded by From Houses to Homes. Children who attend Escuela Kemna'oj receive a totally FREE EDUCATION thanks to the care, support and generosity of our donors.

• Totally free Education, rare in Private Schools in Guatemala and unheard of in the Guatemalan Public School System.
• Larger Classrooms, 20 x 20 feet for a class of 20 or fewer children.
  
• One teacher and one assistant teacher for each grade.
• 3 Additional Grades – 4th, 5th and 6th grades.
• Larger Cafeteria with seating for 120 children.
• Larger Kitchen
• Larger Storage Room for storage of additional donated supplies
• Larger Principal’s Office
• Larger Psychologist’s Office
• Two Clinic Rooms for use by Doctors from our San Jose Medical Clinic in Pastores.
• Additional Bathrooms on every floor.
• Recreational Area on second floor – we currently transport the children to a park in town for their daily exercise.
• Computer Lab – we currently transport the children to an Internet Café in town.
• Library – Many of the books will be in English as well as bilingual (Spanish & English). There will be a system installed where the children at Kemna'oj will be able to check out these books and take them home, which is rare the Guatemala school system. (Books to be supplied by volunteers and by a student at The Westminster Schools in Atlanta as his Eagle Scout project and will be supported by The Westminster School's teachers and students.)
• Teacher Conference Room
• Multipurpose Room for plastic arts and music. (Musical Instruments will be donated by The Rockley Family Foundation of Lakewood, CO through the help of FHTH Board member Thomas Bergwall.)
• Solar Panels providing back up electricity, heating hot water for showers, sinks in bathrooms and kitchen and supplying power for the water pumps.
• Cistern holding 18,000 gallons of water. In our current school, we have to bring in water or catch rainwater in large containers.
• Rain Harvesting System which will provide water during our 6 months of the rainy season. There is a great need for water currently in Santa Maria as the community only has it turned on for several hours only on certain days per week.

The design of the new school will feature a number of passive and active sustainable strategies. Solar orientation will be carefully considered in order to orient the classrooms to maximize solar gain in the cooler months while minimizing it in the summer months, especially during the morning hours when children are in school. Throughout the year, natural ventilation will be employed in order to vent or trap hot air as needed. Accessible green roofs will also insulate the building against weather conditions, while providing children with a fun and beautiful outdoor space in which to play and learn. Rainwater collection cisterns and a greywater re-use system will help meet the school's water needs and decrease the burden on the community’s already taxed water supply. In addition, rooftop photovoltaic panels will absorb and convert solar energy to provide for the electrical needs of the school space in which to play and learn.

Please consider becoming a sponsor to these aspiring young scholars.

Would you consider sponsoring one of these students for $60 per month? Two individual donors can sponsor one child for $30.00 each per month. We will send you a photograph of the student, and a quarterly report of how “your” student is doing. Here are some of the happy faces that brighten the classrooms every day.

The school was originally named, “Andy’s School”, in memory of Andrew Gaffney, the son of Phillip Gaffney of Morristown, NJ. We will continue to remember Andy, and our two Preschool classes at Kemna’oj will bear the name Andy’s Preschool. Here are our students:

 

 

 

 

 

Vilma Sponsored for 2012

 

Jose Sponsored for 2012---------------------------Karla Sponsored for 2012--------------------Guilmer Sponsored for 2012

 

 

 

First grade students below:

 

 

 

Edwin Sponsored for 2012

Sherlyn Sponsored for 2012

Laura Sponsored for 2012 ______Yaquelin Sponsored for 2012

 

Second grade students below:

 

Maria Sponsored for 2012 by the Baker Family

 

 

 

 

Third grade students below:

Martina Sponsored for 2012

 

Ana Sponsored for 2012

Alicia Sponsored for 2012