Tag Archives: education

Probigua celebrates 25 years in the service of Guatemalan education

I love that there are still some people in this world that manage to change their bits of universe for the better. One of these determined people is Don Rigoberto Zamora Charuc, director and founder of Probigua. I’ve told you about Probigua before and my experience in Antigua working for them. Besides being an Academy of Spanish Studies in Antigua, Probigua is a non profit organisation that does more for guatemaltecos than their own government, some say. This year they are celebrating 25 years of existence and work in the field of education in Guatemala.
The results are impressive:
-12 schools built
-16 libraries added to schools that had no such facilities
-2 bibliobuses or library buses that travel on a specific schedule in many of the villages and communities so that the children have access to books at least for some hours every 2 weeks.

Taking advantage of a talented student’s presence in the school, Zach Martinez, Don Rigoberto suggested we do a video presentation of Probigua’s efforts. It was lovely visiting many of the communities they have been working in, taking interviews, interacting with the children, teachers, librarians and volunteers from all over the country. I can’t wait to see Zach’s hard work in putting together all the bits and parts of these colourful lives we’ve witnessed.

In Nahuala, the children had no desks or seats, they were sitting on concrete blocks from construction sites, on pieces of wood or simply on the floor. We broght 350 desks to their school and they were so happy and grateful! They had a ceremony prepared so that we can see a bit of their traditions they follow during La cuaresma (the 40 days before Easter time). Also, we heard live marimba thanks to a band that came to greet us.

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San Pedro Yepocapa. This is where it all started back in the year 1989. With his brother, Luis Pedro Zamora Charuc, Don Rigoberto opened the first library in the entire rural area of Chimaltenango. Where? In their own house. The people were so surprised. Many wanted to buy the books, not knowing how a library actually works.

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We went visiting this community and found out Probigua has built a wonderful school for the children here. So colourful and happy! We interrupted their schedule to tell them about Probigua and its celebration. Don Rigoberto took the lead. He presented us, students: Lori viene de Rumania, Zach de los Estados Unidos. Thanks to these past weeks of studying Spanish with Gladys, I was able to hold a 10 minute motivational speech about the importance of education and the great opportunity the students have when such a blessing comes upon them. Let me make it clear, I was on a stage, with a microphone, in front of all the students of the school. I said mint instead of mind once, but otherwise, not many funny errors (menta y mente). Multi-talented Zach also prepared some songs for his audience and the kids loved him! At the end they came running towards us only to ask us more about our origins, our countries or other cultural differences.

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I love this country. If you guys want to help Probigua continue its fantastic work in Guatemala, you can do it here.

Probigua. The Spanish School with a purpose

Con permiso, let me just tell you about my work here in Antigua, Guatemala. I signed up for AIESEC last year to be able to travel somewhere to Latin America. I didn’t have much trouble deciding which project to pick, the team from AIESEC Guatemala are very professional and did a great job in the invitations and decription emails. It is called “Ambassadors of Guatemala”. Who wouldn’t want to feel that kind of recognition for their experiences in another country? I was hooked. Guatemala is one of the most beautiful countries in Central America and I couldn’t wait to see what it has to offer. AIESEC together with the Govermental Insititution of Tourism and reputed Spanish schools are showing Guatemala’s beauty through all the participants’ eyes. Besides working in a volunteer project in my school, they are also offering me 2 hours of Spanish classes every day! How wonderful is that? 🙂

This is my sharp, gorgeous and very open-minded teacher, Gladys. I love our long conversations about the culture of Guatemala. ♥ Gracias.
Gladys

Academia de Español ProbiguaProyectos Bibliotecas Guatemala is where I work, learn Spanish and teach English to my Spanish teachers. Probigua is a non profit organisation that has two main goals: teaching Spanish and helping education reach poor communities in Guatemala. I find this so incredibly interesting and such an unique experience because I have also worked on a similar situation in Romania through OvidiuRO. The Spanish taught to the students of Probigua comes with an intensive, total-immersion experience, featuring 3 to 7 hours of one-on-one classes daily plus the opportunity of living with a Guatemalan family to learn about the culture and broaden language skills! I am so lucky to be one of these students and to be integrated into such a nice family. Not only is Sonia a great cook, but she also has a lot of patience and helps us, chicos, with the language during meals. My room is great and I have a perfect view from my terrace.

Probigua aims high and thinks big. They are helping the children of Guatemala by donating the school’s profits to maintain the Library Bus. Additionally, they establish and preserve libraries in the many rural places whereby there is no access to books. I was heartbroken while travelling with el Bibliobus to two of the poor communities close to Antigua: Magdalena Milpas Altas – a village on Volcan de Agua and Alotenango – a village at the bottom of the active Volcan de Fuego, which actually errupted on Saturday covering Antigua with ashes for many days.

This is el Bibliobus (the Library Bus) in front of La Merced church.
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Magdalena Milpas Altas
The kids had an earthquake evacuation drill and the lucky ones got to ride with the ambulance/firemen, los bomberos. It was also the school’s anniversary so the all the kids had activities in the yard and participated in a football competition.

The bullies stand aside but keep an eye out for some new victims.

It is incredible to be here and see children that RUN for the bus.They are super excited to see books and try to keep calm although you can see their sparkles of joy in their eyes while waiting for their teacher’s instructions and the librarian’s offerings ♥

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I sit down with them and tell them about my country. Most of them haven’t heard of it and ask me if I am a gringo. I then switch to fairytales like Count Dracula and Transylvania as the heart of Romania and they listen carefully. 🙂 One of them, Carlos, the kid with sad eyes but a kind smile actually knows where Romania is on the map. I’m very much impressed. He pays much attention to my stories and corrects my Spanish. He then buys some sweets with his 1 Quetzal only so I can try it. He is first on the left.

We have a group picture and the kids ask me for my facebook or twitter. 🙂

At the bottom of Volcan de Fuego lies the village Alotenango. The volcano shows a bit of anxiety as we approach, it exhales fumes every now and then and some of the forests lower from the crater are burning. The people of Alotenango live in harsh conditions of poverty and lack of water. The women usually gather in the main square to wash their clothes at the local lavatorium. Their kids wander around playing with boxes in the dust. They are happy, but shy at the sight of foreigners.

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Life is calm out here. Very tranquila. The time is not rushing anywhere and the people seem to know that very well. We park the 3000 book carrying bus by the main park and wait for new students to come in and ask to read something interesting.

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This cutie saw me climbing el Bibliobus and decided to join. He goes in to do some basic maths practice afterwards. He is 8 and didn’t go to school that day because he hadn’t done his homework, he says. He can’t read that well, but he is good with numbers.

Out of curiosity we also visit some classes in the nearby school and find the children practicing their sewing on patterned tablecloths. They are happy to tell us the few words they know in English and then show us their masterpieces. When the picture time comes, they goof around. Kids will be kids. 🙂

Most of the children around the lavatorium are curious about us ‘gringos’ but too shy to interact.  I sit down since I’m actually quite tall here and start presenting myself and shaking hands to make them feel more at ease.


My days are full here and I always wake up with a smile upon my face. I am grateful for this experience. Nothing you do for children is ever wasted.

If anyone is interested in joining the projects of Aiesec Guatemala, you can find more information here 🙂
Until next time, keep on smiling!