School Visits
By Annelise & Alex Taylor
Our first stop was at the free daycare in Talnique, which has capacity for 22 kids ages 2-7, but currently has 18 enrolled. Government support, both federal and municipal pay for nutritious lunches and staffing expenses. We provided some colorful art supplies, toys and books for the kids, which the kids were really excited about.
Our next stop was at the local school in Talnique, it was a bright, friendly environment with limited space for grades 1-12. 350 kids are currently enrolled, but the kids are on break and will be back to school next Monday. The younger students and older students attend at different times during the day due to the limited space. We provided lots of notebooks, pens, pencils, markers and craft supplies, all of which were much appreciated.
Finally, we headed to another school to bring some money for paint, which was collected from our donations, and we found the conditions far worse than we found in Talnique. Consequently we could see first hand the difference that Rotary International can make. There are more than 1000 students and 14 teachers, and the teachers only earn a small amount of money each month and often will work evenings and weekends to supplement their income. Rotary has donated the funds to equip the school with a computer lab, which is wonderful, but clearly more help is needed.
Today we went to the Ignacio Ellacuria Public School in Zapotitan. A region in the Municipality of Cuidad Arce within the Department of La Libertad.