El Tejar, Guatemala

The Foundation for the Integral Development of El Tejar/Fundación para Desarrollo Integral de El Tejar (FUNDIT) encourages the healthy development of children and their families by providing opportunities for education and self-improvement.

El Tejar (pop. 9,000) is located in the lush highlands of Guatemala, about an hour’s drive from the capital. The principle industry is brick making as the area is abundant with natural clay. Small, family-run tile and brick enterprises hire local children as young as 6 or 7 years of age to mix clay with their feet. From there, the children graduate to forming bricks and working the wood-fired kilns. Nearby manufacturing maquiladoras (factories) employ El Tejar children to package vegetables for export.

Like many indigenous children in Guatemala, the children of El Tejar (most from the Kaqchikel Maya ethnic group) tend to enroll in school later and drop out earlier primarily due to economic reasons. Many area children are unable to attend school because their parents simply cannot afford the US$30-40 per year for tuition and books, having instead to work in the home, field and factories to help support the family.

FUNDIT’s community programs include:

Nancy Rittmaster de España Biblioteca Municipal de El Tejar/The Nancy Rittmaster de España Public Library of El Tejar:  Serving more than 25,000 visitors in El Tejar and surrounding villages, the El Tejar Public Library enables those without access to books enjoy the magic of reading. In addition to books, the library houses a community computer center, where children and adults can use the machines for schoolwork, business and personal development. Located in the town’s main plaza, the library also holds all the books used in the local schools so that the many children whose families cannot afford to buy textbooks, still have access to learning.

Programa Becas/Scholarship Program:  In Guatemala, where children attend only three years of school on average, having an education is the key to moving out of poverty. To this end, FUNDIT’s scholarship program enables more than 100 students annually to attend grade school rather than work. Each FUNDIT scholarship finances school registration fees, uniforms, school supplies, shoes and textbooks, and when necessary, transportation costs and health care for a year.

Centro de Desarrollo Infantile/The Center for Infant Development (CEDIN):  In El Tejar, many mothers are faced with the difficult decision of leaving their very young children home alone during the day or in the supervision of an older sibling because they must work outside the home. Many of these children are malnourished and suffer from various chronic illnesses. To address this problem, FUNDIT’s CEDIN preschool provides a Montessori-style education, music classes, daycare services and nutritious meals to more than 70 toddlers annually.

Cusamuj Ixoqui/Women’s Group:  Comprised mainly of mothers with children in the CEDIN or scholarship programs, the focus of this group is to build self-esteem, encourage self-expression and help the mothers better parent their children. Participants in this group have learned the basics of first aid, reproductive health, how to build a fuel-efficient stove and furniture building. The women also organize and participate in various public health campaigns such as screening for women’s cancers.

Click here to learn how Maricela went to school.

Click here to sponsor a child in El Tejar today.