Past President or the Rotary Club of North Raleigh, Steven Nelson, gave a presentation of the Guatemala Literacy Project (GLP) which our club has been a part of for many years.

1. A
A partnership between Rotary clubs and CoEd
to promote literacy in Guatemala

2. 505 Rotary Clubs
69 Districts
8 Countries
20 Years
The Worldwide GLP Family
The GLP is the largest grass roots, multi-club, multi-district, multi-country initiative in the entire Rotary world that’s
not directed by RI itself.

3. 2016 School Year Stats:
•162,700 students benefited
•184 textbook projects
•43 computer centers
•62 literacy projects (CORP)
•254 scholarships
Textbooks
Computer Centers
Literacy Projects
(CORP)
Scholarships
2017 School Year Stats:
• 172,700 students benefited
• 193 textbook projects
• 45 computer centers
• 70 literacy projects (CORP)
• 353 scholarships

4. + Tools
+ Training
+ Scholarships
GLP’s Poverty Busting Formula

5. Tools

6. Tools
(1) One of the main issues with education in Guatemala is the lack of tools
kids need, like textbooks and computers, to thrive in school.
90% of rural middle schools in Guatemala don’t have textbooks. Optional:
“Can you imagine going through school without having access to books?”
(2) Teachers have little idea of what to teach at their level;
(3) Majority of class time spent copying – from the board, from teacher’s
dictation, from each other.
The GLP provides four books in the core subjects of math, science,
Spanish language, and social studies. The schools “rent” these books to
their students for a small fee. After five years, enough money is saved to
replace books that wear out.

7. Tools

8. Tools
Computer training is becoming increasingly important in a technology
driven world. 60% of mid level jobs in Guatemala require the use of a
computer. Our computer center program installs computer labs into
rural communities and provides crucial training to the students.
Our computer centers work on the same sustainable model as the
textbooks: Students pay a monthly fee for the right to use the computer
lab and receive training, fees go into a fund, and after six years there’s
enough money to begin replacing the computers. And it produces
results – 95% of the computer center program graduates find jobs or
pursue further education.

9. Sustainability Plan
==
$5
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
+
+$1 $5
Year 5
$1 $1 $1 $1+ + +
+ ++

10. Sustainability Plan
==
$5
Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4
+
+$1 $5
Year 5
$1 $1 $1 $1+ + +
+ ++
The first year, a student will rent the book for $1. The second year, another
student will rent that same book for $1, and so on. After 5 years, how much money
is saved from the book rentals? $5…enough to replace the original book.
All student rental fees for the books and computers go into a fund managed by
CoEd. And once Rotary makes the initial investment, the entire community takes
ownership of the project and it becomes 100% self-sustaining.
Since each person is making a small financial contribution to their school’s project,
they also have a vested interest in its success.
But this model of sustainability isn’t just a theory: over 200 communities have
renewed their books, computers or both.

11. Sustainability
2004 2009 2014
Initial donation of
books by Rotary
School replaces
books with
savings from their
Revolving Fund
Second
replacement of
books from
Revolving Fund
The GLP’s projects are among the most sustainable in the world. Olintepeque School, in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, is a great
example. The GLP donated books in 2004, they replaced their books in 2009 (from their revolving fund), and replaced them again in
2014. GLP Rotarians were present all three times to celebrate these milestones.

12. Training

13. Training
• Not only do we train teachers how to most effectively use textbooks and computers in
their middle school classrooms, but we also emphasize teacher training at the grade
school level.
• Guatemala’s schools are dropout factories. More than 60% never make it past the 6th
grade. [500,000 primary school students in Guatemala drop out or fail the grade
EACH YEAR.] A big problem is that they’re not learning to read, and when school isn’t
worthwhile, the parents pull the kids out to work in the fields. Game over: the cycle of
poverty continues.
• Solution: But we’ve figured out how to combat this – train teachers to teach reading in
a way that is engaging and WORKS to get kids reading by the end of first grade.
• In Guatemala, the average grade school teacher is poorly educated and poorly
trained.
• They have no books in their classroom, and have little idea how to use them
effectively.
• The Culture of Reading Program (CORP) provides a rich classroom library along with
the training necessary to use the books effectively.
• This is Hilda, a third grade teacher. Trained through CORP, she has learned to turn the
book around in order to engage her students by showing them the pictures (without
training, most teachers read to their kids without turning the book around).

14. Training

15. Training
Teachers learn over 100 new teaching strategies to build literacy skills. In
this photo, the teacher is leading a dramatization: kids read a story, then
act it out, a technique that rapidly builds comprehension and mastery of
new vocabulary.
You put CORP in a school:
• kids start scoring 58% better in reading comprehension and
writing [compared to kids at other schools.]
• failure rates drop by a third

16. Scholarships

17. Scholarships
• In Guatemala, 95% of poor, rural kids never graduate from high school. The
GLP provides 6-year scholarships to get kids through middle school and high
school. Studies show that kids need 12 years of education – a high school
diploma – to escape poverty.
• Pictured here is Ancelma Ortiz Monroy.
• We met her when she was a shy sixth grader (when this picture was taken).
• Her mom and dad are both completely illiterate. They live in a small shack on
a mountainside, outhouse alongside, and cornfield in the back
• As a 6th grader, she was in her last year of school because her parents
couldn’t afford to send her on. Then, a life changing event occurred--she was
chosen to receive a scholarship through the GLP. “I was so excited,” she
said, “but my dad wasn’t sure if they could afford to have me in school
instead of working in the fields. He finally let me go, saying I could see how
things went, but if I failed, it wasn’t his problem.”

18. Scholarships

19. Scholarships
• This is Ancelma today.
• She has benefitted from three of GLP’s programs: TB,
Computers. And because of the scholarship program,
she’s first in her family to graduate from middle school,
then high school.
• Because she had excellent computer skills from the GLP
lab, she got a job with a Canadian cell phone company (in
Guatemala).
• When Canadians have trouble with their iPhones and they
call the 800-number, they just might be talking to Ancelma.
• At 22 years old, she makes 4 times what her father earns.
She helps support the family and is paying for her younger
siblings to go to school.

20. Scholarships

21. Scholarships
• This is one of the GLP’s favorite pictures…
• Ancelma, her mom, and her mom’s mom. Three generations of
Guatemalan women.
• From right, point to each: “illiterate, illiterate, high school diploma.”
“desperately poor, desperately poor, solidly middle class.” In one
generation, we’ve broken the cycle of poverty. This is what we can
accomplish when we work together and put SERVICE ABOVE SELF.

22. Scholarships

23. Scholarships
Here is our first graduating class back in 2010. Every one of these kids
comes from a family whose parents have less than a 6th grade education.
And every kid now has a high school diploma, which is like a train ticket,
carrying them out of poverty.
All are professionals now (point to each student as you say their name)
(from left) Magdalena is now pursuing a degree in psychology and works
with an Early Childhood Development program; Silvia is a teacher; and
here’s Anselma (four from left).
Statistically, all of these graduates will now ensure their children are
educated to the same level as they are, or higher. That is breaking the
cycle of poverty through education!

24. Change another life—
sponsor a scholarship student

25. Change your life—
experience Guatemala
July 18-23, 2017
February 3-11, 2018

27. We invite you to join us in this effort to break the cycle of poverty
through education—whether it be through joining us on a tour,
encouraging your club to make a contribution, or sponsoring a
scholarship student. We want to give these students opportunities
to have a brighter future. Because these kids, once educated, will
help pull their communities, their regions, and ultimately the entire
country of Guatemala permanently out of poverty: that’s our vision.

28. Principal/founder Monte Cristo School
Sponsored School

29. The school has a music program
Sponsored School

30. Sewing where they learn to make clothes
Sponsored School

31. Blacksmith to create iron furniture and
more!
Sponsored School

32. Woodworking where they recycle materials
to make furniture
Sponsored School

33. Graphic Art Classes
Sponsored School

34. Commercial kitchen: Feeds students 2
times a day and bake goods
Sponsored School

35. Farm: Students utilize modern technology
including drip irrigation
Sponsored School

36. Recycling efforts: Building material from 2
liter soda bottles
Sponsored School

37. Questions?
Contact us at:
glp@northraleighrotary.org