Aldea El Vergel, Guatemala

The Challenge

Previously, the Aldea El Vergel school had one formal classroom and three provisional classrooms. The provisional classrooms had walls made out of wood and makeshift floors made out of dirt.

Because of the structural aspects of these classrooms, the provisional classrooms were inherently dark, causing difficulty for both students and teachers. In addition to the poor structural conditions, over 50 students were trying to squeeze into these classrooms.

This overcrowding was significantly concerning for student engagement, as well as unsafe for student safety.

The Solution

Thanks to your support, PoP and the Aldea El Vergel community built a new three-classroom school that has the capacity to safely house all students.

The community members, parents and teachers fully supported the project, contributing up to 20 percent of the labor and resources necessary to complete the build.

Dedication: This school is dedicated to my parents – Jim and Merrilee Runyon – who always believed in me and supported my impossible challenges.

This school was built as part of the 777 Project initiative.