Friday night’s benefit show at Portland’s World Famous Kenton Club was not only a hootin’ good time (by 1am, it seemed like half the crowd was on stage dancing with the band!) it was a big success as well. The event raised $1,215 which will go directly to Las Canoas’ library. Las Canoas is a […] Continue Reading
Child Aid News
Outreach Made Easy
Kristen Anderson, our program coordinator in Guatemala, recently emailed the office here in Portland about the community of Granados. Peace Corps volunteers are working there to set up a community library, and Child Aid was able to assist them by donating books for the project. The really exciting part is this: a volunteer at the Granados library […] Continue Reading
With So Many Mayan Languages in Guatemala, Sometimes Teaching Takes Two
Guatemala is a country with 22 distinct languages. Some think that the Maya languages are closely related and that they share many of the same words. The reality is that there are more Spanish words in common than shared Maya words. Child Aid works in regions where different Maya languages are spoken. In the Lake Atitlán region, several […] Continue Reading
Las Canoas Benefit Show
Portland people – put Friday, June 19 on your calendars! Portland rockers Pink Widower, Chores and the all new Tine will play a benefit show at The World Famous Kenton Club to help the community of Las Canoas, Guatemala. Local musician/youth development activist, Ivy Ross, organized the event, which promises to be four hours of loud and very danceable rock-and-roll! Proceeds from the […] Continue Reading
Counting in Kaqchikel
Have you ever tried to calm a bunch of kids who just ran into the classroom after recess? This teacher in Santo Domingo Xenacoj, Guatemala, has her 3rd grade students sing a song before they sit down to listen to a story, just to release any extra energy. In this song they are counting to […] Continue Reading
Los mejores días en la escuela (The Best Days in School)
Esta pequeña historia está relacionada con el programa de animación a la lectura. La maestra Magali Castillo es la madre de alumna Andrea Hernández Castillo de 11 años de edad y quien estudia en la escuela cantonal de El Tejar, Chimaltenango, cursando el quinto grado. Hace algunos días tuve la oportunidad de platicar con ella […] Continue Reading
So, how do you like the blog?
OK, we’ve been blogging about Child Aid for about three months now, and I can’t help myself from asking … What do you think about the blog? Is it giving you a better sense of the day-to-day work we’re doing? Is there anything we’re missing, things you’d like us to tell you about that we’re […] Continue Reading
Historia de viaje a Santiago Atitlán
Viajando el día 20 de abril, hacia la biblioteca de Santiago Atitlán en una cantón que le denominan ‘Tzanchaj’. Para llegar tengo que cruzar el Lago Atitlán, tomando la lancha en el Municipio de Panajachel. Durante el día todo fue muy bien en el desarrollo de nuestra actividad, apoyando al bibliotecario del lugar con forma de orientación […] Continue Reading
A Librarian with Passion and a Dream
How does she do it? I am talking about Blanca Esquina, the fiery librarian in Chicacao who works tirelessly to help the children in her community receive an education. The library has more than 1,500 users a month. At times it overflows with students, and many wait outside until there is space available for them […] Continue Reading
Measuring Success: Reading Programs in Guatemala
Kristen Anderson, one of our program coordinators in Guatemala, recently took this photo of a group of elementary school students taking a test. The test was part of a pilot program we’re working on to gauge the success of our reading programs. We see the positive effects of our programs every day, (as do communities […] Continue Reading