By Nancy Press Ph.D., Child Aid CEO

I’ve returned from Guatemala and have so much to share with you!

At the start of my trip, we asked you to submit questions about anything you were curious about, and you did not disappoint! Not surprisingly, many of you asked me about the children, and I won’t sugarcoat it: Most kids are struggling. 

When I toured schools in Patzicía, Chimaltenango and San Cristobal, Totonicapán, I saw how far behind many of the children are and how hard teachers are working to get kids caught up. Because COVID remains such a threat, classes are staggered and many children are coming to school for only a few hours per week.

Kids who were last in school as first-graders now find themselves in third grade but without having learned any foundational reading and writing skills. What does that mean? Many current third graders don’t know their alphabet or how to sound out words or what simple punctuation means. Now, these same children can’t begin to make sense of the third-grade curriculum they are expected to learn. 

Can you imagine how scary and frustrating that would be for a kid? 

I’m so proud of my organization for leaning into this crisis and arming teachers with the skills they need to help kids make up for the learning they’ve lost.

Here’s some of what Child Aid is doing now:

• We’re coaching teachers in how to evaluate where kids are academically.
• We’re helping teachers learn how to group children at the same level into small groups for easier intervention.
• We’re providing online webinars for educators so they can quickly and efficiently learn classroom skills.
• We’re broadcasting weekly educational radio programs that reach thousands of children in their homes.  
• We’re distributing life-saving food to communities on the brink of starvation.

Working from Guatemala for the last month and a half has invigorated me. There is so much to be done, and we’re doing it! 

Child Aid is filling a critical need that truly improves the lives of children. 

Soon, you’ll get a chance to help us out. Next month, Child Aid kicks off our annual book drive, and you’ll be asked to fill a backpack full of high-quality books for students in Guatemala who would otherwise have nothing to read. We hope you’ll join our effort. 

Nancy