Guatemala Mechanical Training
Country: Guatemala
City/Town: Chimaltenango
CarePoint: My Special Treasure Education Center
People Impacted: 60 children/youth
Total Cost: $16,712.50
Estimated time to complete: 3 years
Area of Transformation
Education
Project Description
Chimaltenango is a community with a high level of poverty, where there is danger due to gang involvement and lack of opportunities. My Special Treasure Education Center’s goal is to be able to present to the children a solid moral and ethical basis for life, providing them with the opportunity to have access to education. In this way, they will become people who will impact their generation, and will become the agents of change for Chimaltenango and Guatemala.
Creating opportunities through vocational training will give the children a brighter future. This project will directly impact 20 children/youth per year and a total of 60 children/youth over three years.
We want to adequately equip a mechanical workshop facility for vocational training to be used by 20 students per year, who will be trained over the period of a full year in basic mechanical management and learning to use equipment and tools.
Historical Background
My Special Treasure Christian Education Center was created with the purpose of supporting children in living extreme poverty, suffering from different illnesses, and children whose families have the need to work in the Chimaltenango garbage dump. Many of these children face daily challenges or a lack of education and attention from their parents at home. At My Special Treasure Educational Center, they are taught about the love of God, and about the importance of having Jesus in their hearts. At this school, a high quality of education is provided. The leadership of the school is constantly looking for different teaching methodologies to improve the learning process of the children. Several of them come from troubled families, or suffered different types of abuse. To help with this, the school also provides counseling and psychological assistance with the main purpose of restoring the children in a holistic way.
Return on Investment Potential
The outcome of an investment in mechanical training is that students can start their own small businesses in the future, they can become hired and earn income to support themselves and their families, and they can maintain the CarePoint’s vehicle and reduce the CarePoint’s expenses.
Additional Impacts
Beyond economic impact, the project provides the opportunity to also train community members in the mechanical industry which strengthens collaboration and increases capacity, creates the opportunity to connect the students with various industries for other learning opportunities, and increases their confidence and self-esteem through learning a new skill.
Volunteer and Travel Opportunities
Donors and travelers with mechanical skills could travel to the CarePoint and provide training to students, receive regular updates on students participating in the training, and can attend the participants’ graduation ceremony.
