Monat: Juli 2021

Recent articles spotlighting the region have presented the exceptional challenges of school closures and slow vaccine rollout. Latin America is facing the longest closure of schools of any region in the world, and 100 million children in the region continue in some form of distance learning.  

Unfortunately, across Guatemala we continue to witness high COVID-19 cases, coupled with low vaccination rates. As of late May, it was reported that at current pace, it would take 10 months to vaccinate the next 10% of the population.

Facing the realities of over 16 months of mandated school closures, our staff are more committed than ever to ensure that students have what they need to continue learning and remain focused on their education. We invite you to read more about the current situation around education and the pandemic across Guatemala and Latin America in the following articles: 

New York Times: 1+1=4? Latin America Confronts a Pandemic Education Crisis.

Devex: Why Guatemala’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign is so slow

Aljazeera: Anger grows in Guatemala over COVID vaccine rollout, corruption

*Guatemala map by Vemaps.com

Dear friends , we hope you had a wonderful spring and are enjoying the beginning of summer! For many, this season has not just brought warmer weather but also eased restrictions. In some places, life is even seemingly back to normal. In Guatemala, however, the situation remains difficult. Coronavirus cases have been rising steadily and are at their highest levels since the pandemic began, with the Reuters COVID-19 Tracker reporting an average daily high of 1,500 infections in the last week. With vaccinations remaining at less than 3% nationwide, due to lack of availability and sufficient resources, it may be some time until things resemble normal in Guatemala. One byproduct of the situation is its impact on education. Many students are struggling with remote learning, while others feel pressure to drop out of school to support their family during this economic crisis. While things may be difficult for those in our community, we are happy to report that most of our students remain dedicated to their studies and our staff in Guatemala are going above and beyond to ensure that they continue to receive the best education and support services possible under the circumstances.Despite the school closure, our families joined us on campus for a moment of joy amidst the challenges to celebrate Family Day. It was wonderful to see our families (socially distanced) and to celebrate their hard work over the past 16 months, while also keeping them motivated and dedicated to their kid’s education amidst ongoing remote learning. Thank you for your continued support of our mission. It has ensured that both the educational needs of our students and the physical and emotional needs of our families are being met, until we can reopen safely.  Many thanks, The Safe Passage Team

During our annual Family Day (Día de la familia), we held our first celebration with our families this year. Strict health protocols were followed and social distancing was maintained throughout the day. Yet, it was both a day reminiscent of pre-COVID, as well as a reminder of why we continue on with our mission. We held a Facebook Live broadcast during the event, which you can watch here.  We are so thankful to our global, extended family for helping us make this event possible. It meant a lot to both our families and staff in Guatemala. During the celebration, our Director of Integral Health Services, Pablo Callejas, put it perfectly when he described how it has been a tough year but having the gathering showed how strong we are as an educational community. Check out more photos from Family Day here.