The Miguel Angel Asturias Academy is a non-profit school in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala that breaks cycles of poverty, racism and sexism through popular education. These are stories from the ground. Although a school in Guatemala isn't directly related to US politics, our stories touch on themes of immigration, education and economic justice.
Because of the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) it is now politically popular to talk about how we need to get the world's population to the $2 a day level. Currently, in Guatemala 80% are at or below the $2 level. What does this look like in regards to education and human rights? More on the flip.
In Guatemala there is no free public education. Yes, there is "free" public education--but "free" does not include fees, buying uniforms, and other costs. Also, there are not nearly enough schools. In my city of ~150,000 roughly half are under the age of 18. There are 51 public schools. Due to space and cost, less than ten percent of the population enters high school.
What does this mean for the $2 a day crowd? It means that there's a large number of children who are living on the edge. Very little money, lots of unemployment, violent streets, families that have been split about due to immigrating to the US as undocumented workers. They are certainly unable to afford the elite schools that charge $200 a month.
According to Article 26 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights everyone has the right to education. Period. By virtue of being a living human being you have the right to go to school and learn. Sadly, for much of the country, these rights are violated.
At the Academy we have roughly one-third of our students on scholarship--a scholarship that is tied to academic achievement so that our students feel proud of being on scholarship and work hard to maintain their award. Before we started offering scholarships there were no such opportunities in all of Quetzaltenango, but now many schools have followed our lead in opening the doors to low-income students.
While I feel that we are moving in the right direction, there are still visible signs to the contrary: large numbers of children working as shoe-shiners, sticker sellers, bus assistants, newspaper vendors. It's heartbreaking seeing potential future leaders stuck in cycles of poverty, racism and sexism.
As we move forward at the Academy, offering education on a sliding scale from free to fifteen dollars, we anticipate starting many campuses throughout the country and opening up access to education to thousands of Guatemalans. This is something we would like to do in partnership with those who want to help us change the world--whether through throwing in some money or simply spreading the word. Questions, comments, critiques are all welcome.
NEXT TIME: A profile on Ashoka fellow and Academy founder Jorge Chojolan.