Our goals for 2024
We will continue with the scholarship programme aiming to help around one hundred secondary and college students. Thanks to the scholarships even more girls are continuing their studies and we aim to have half and half in 2024.
School materials will be purchased for primary school students who cannot afford the basics, in spite of the government providing some items at the beginning of the school year. Our local teacher will continue to work in the communities, offering help with homework and advice as well as managing the sustainable plans.
We hope to expand Plan Costura (sewing business) to help single mothers and University students cover extra costs of their education. Plan Huerto (school vegetable gardens) will provide food in the schools and Plan Reforestation aims to offset the carbon footprint of The Phoenix Projects.
How we are achieving our goals in 2024
December 2024
Meetings are underway with teachers in the local schools to discuss this year’s exam results of our scholarship students and also identifying those in most need for 2025.
November 2024
The school year has come to a close with graduations for some of our scholarship students taking place during the month.
We provide scholarships for students in secondary school and college which is a total of six years education.
Twenty of the college students graduated in accountancy and computing and many already have jobs lined up for 2025.
Our primary school students who received materials scholarships at the start of the year stayed in school and successfully passed their exams. We will be increasing the number of primary school materials scholarships to three hundred in 2025.
September 2024
The final couple of months are underway for all our scholarship students, some of whom are seen here.
July 2024
Each year many cultural events are undertaken around the lake which our scholarship students get involved with to ensure that these beliefs and customs are not forgotten.
Our scholarship students were once again involved in our reforestation programme to make the most of the rainy season.
Over the past twenty years we have planted hundreds of thousands of trees to offset all of The Phoenix Projects’ carbon footprint. Our scholarship students are leading the way by showing awareness of the need to reforest, not deforest, for a better future.
As well as studying the students get to participate in inter-school football tournaments. This teamwork and competition is another benefit of staying in school which the scholarships provide.
June 2024
Our scholarship students are always involved in cultural celebrations in the school and in the community. With so many outside influences in today’s world, culture can often be forgotten so it is very important to keep these events relevant.
Our scholarship students were involved in another litter clearing day around the community of San Pedro and the shore of the lake.
Over the course of the day they filled dozens of bags of rubbish which is then sent to the Municipal landfill site. Recycling is still a work in progress…
May 2024
Our scholarship students continue to work hard this month. Gaspar has been making regular visits to the schools to make sure that all is well and helping out the students with homework when needed.
As the school year enters its fourth month we continue to identify which children are at most risk of dropping out due to lack of school materials. The supplies from the government handed out at the start of the year begin to run out now, or have been lost, so it is critical to give the children the tools to continue.
Each year we plant hundreds of trees in Guatemala to offset our carbon footprint from The Phoenix Projects. This includes international flights for the charity challenges and the Impington School trip to Perú as well as daily transport taken by the local teachers.
Our scholarship students, their parents and other members of the community are all involved to ensure that the trees are cared for during the first stages of growth.
From the young to the old, members of the community turn up to get involved. The elderly remember when the mountains were covered in trees and have seen first hand the extent of the extreme deforestation in Guatemala. They are only too keen to reestablish the environment for future generations.
April 2024
Many of our scholarship students were involved in a team-building day climbing Tolimán Volcano. These events not only allow them to see parts of the country they otherwise wouldn’t have though it also shows them what they can achieve personally and as part of a group.
March 2024
During the month we have handed out educational materials scholarships to one hundred children in primary school in various villages around the lake. The government provides the basics at the start of the school year though very often these run out quickly and the poorest families cannot purchase replacements leading to the children leaving education.
The classroom materials are not just for the younger children entering education. They are also for older students who had dropped out of primary school due to lack of money to buy these materials. They now have the chance to continue their education, graduate primary school and enter secondary school with our scholarship programme.
As has always been the case, education tends to be the first sacrifice when there is no money. Many days over the past two months have been spent visiting families in several villages and hamlets around the lake to find those in the most need and who are willing to continue their studies. Many have underlying health issues which have taken precedence too though with the necessary tools they can now continue their studies.
February 2024
This year we want to continue to emphasise the importance of team sports in the schools and our scholarship students got stuck into a football competition.
Parents of our scholarship students got together in San Pablo to clean the shores of the lake. In total they filled thirty sacks with discarded plastic and other litter. This will be repeated at the end of the month/beginning of March.
The communities around the lake are taking more responsibility themselves to clean up the ever-growing piles of rubbish that wash up on the shores and come down from the mountains in the rainy season. For Phoenix it is important to support these groups so they continue their work in their own communities rather than waiting for someone else to do it, if ever!
January 2024
As part of the scholarship programme, we supported a community-led scheme to clean the lake’s shore around Santiago Atitlán where our scholarship students filled thirty-five sacks with plastic and other rubbish. There will be another litter collection day at the end of February.
Our current and new scholarship students started the new school year this month. Our students come from several communities around the lake attending the main schools in San Pablo and Santiago Atitlán.
Meetings are underway with the headteachers in the schools to discuss the needs of the schools and the students. They are often the people who know the communities the best so their input is essential.
How we achieved our goals in 2023
November 2023
There were some very proud parents at the graduation ceremonies, especially for those with daughters. Many of our graduates have already secured good paying work which will help their families for years to come.
More ceremonies were held at the end of the month with some our scholarship students graduating in Business Administration.
Some of our college scholarship students celebrated their graduations early in November.
One of the successes of the scholarship programme is seeing so many more girls staying in education past primary school and going on to graduate from both secondary school and then college.
October 2023
The school year has come to an end for all our scholarship students with graduations due to be held during November. We hope to enroll more secondary school and college students for 2024.
September 2023
Independence Day was celebrated with various festivities and cultural events at the lake. Here are some of our college students getting involved.
All our secondary school and college scholarship students played a large part in the day’s events having spent the previous day planting trees.
Our scholarship students were involved in our annual reforestation programme, planting six hundred trees, which aims to neutralise our carbon footprint from our work in Latin America including flights taken by participants for charity challenges and transport in-country.
One thousand seven hundred trees will be planted this year in previously deforested areas. By buying and planting the trees ourselves along with the communities we can ensure that the reforestation is being undertaken responsibly.
August 2023
This year one of our students was chosen to participate in Riiy Rumaam Tz’utujil Po’p, the election of the community queen. She came second.
July 2023
Our scholarship students were involved in inter-school sports competitions and came out winners in several categories.
The Inca Trail Charity Challenge in Perú was undertaken with some great funds raised for the projects. If you are interested in joining us on a Charity Challenge in 2024 please follow the link on the right hand side of your screen!
June 2023
Whilst our priority is for secondary school and college education, there is still a huge need for primary school help with school materials. We have spent the last few months seeking out the families in the most need and supplying educational materials so they remain in school.
May 2023
Work has begun preparing the ground for a Plan Huerta (vegetable garden) in a local school in one of the communities where our scholarship students live. The harvests will go towards daily meals in the school and any extra shared amongst the families, especially the elderly.
Communication with the scholarship students’ parents is key to the success of the programme. Regular meetings are held to discuss education and issues.
As part of the scholarship programme the parents of the students get involved in community work including litter clearing during the year. The local Police even got involved to do their part in the most recent cleaning day!
The Lost City Charity Challenge was undertaken in Colombia raising funds for Guatemala, trekking a total of 105km (65 miles) during the week. For information on our charity challenges in 2024 please follow this link.
April 2023
We have started to hand out school supplies to dozens of primary school students from the poorest families in the region where we work.
The government has supplied basic materials for several years for primary school though they tend to run out quickly and the parents have to purchase more.
Primary students from the poorest backgrounds tend to miss out on full education due to not having the materials as their parents simply cannot afford the basics.
Without this extra cost the families can use what little income they have on buying food or medicines knowing their children have sufficient school supplies.
March 2023
This year we have expanded our scholarship programme to a new school in Santiago Atitlán on the other side of the lake, concentrating on “diversificado”, similar to college education.
February 2023
This year we are helping primary school students from very poor backgrounds with extra utensils and workbooks. Whilst the government now provides basic supplies there is always the need for more which is difficult for many families living in rural areas to provide. It is hoped that these students will then become part of our scholarship programme in the future rather than losing interest and dropping out just because they didn’t have sufficient school supplies. This is one of the primary school students doing her homework whilst working selling vegetables in the street.
January 2023
Local teacher meeting to discuss our scholarship students’ needs and how the new students are getting on after their first few days in class.
To thank all the teachers who have done a fantastic job with our scholarship students we invited them all out for a celebratory dinner for all they have done during 2022 and looking forward to 2023.
