See us in the Globe & Mail:
Check out Margaret Wente’s article in the Globe and Mail newspaper on February 27, 2010: Is there life after retirement?
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Why Guatemala:
In Guatemala, the wealthiest 10% of the population receives almost one-half of all income; the top 20% receives two-thirds of all income. As a result, about 80% of the population lives in poverty, and two-thirds of that number –or 7.6 million people– live in extreme poverty. Guatemala’s social development indicators, such as infant mortality and illiteracy, are among the worst in the hemisphere. Chronic malnutrition among the rural poor worsened with the onset of the crisis in the world economy. About 50% of the urban population and less than 30% of the rural population, have access to infrastructure such as schools and hospitals, and only about one-third of the adult inhabitants are employed in the formal sector. The national illiteracy rate, 44%, is among the Central America’s highest, with the majority of the illiterate living in rural areas.
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What we do:
Developing Scholars is a registered Canadian charity created to provide opportunities for Guatemalan children living in disadvantaged areas of the country to attend school.
Mission statement: We endeavor to increase educational opportunities in rural areas of Guatemala so that indigenous people living in poverty can attend school, receive quality instruction, and obtain the skills they need to improve their lives.
Our work: In remote areas of Guatemala, we work with community leaders to identify and support projects, such as school teacher salaries, academic material acquisition, and training workshops. We also provide scholarships to academically qualified students from disadvantaged backgrounds, and work closely with the students and their families to ensure their continued success. Sourcing and managing our projects effectively requires a strong local presence which is provided for Developing Scholars by our agent, Alice Lee So Fong.