Our Project
History
The school is led by Camila Mendoza, who started this initiative with her husband in 1996. Very soon, more classes and, thus, more funding were needed. Unfortunately, the government would not support this private initiative and the poor local community could not pay for private education. When a Belgian group of friends visited the school in 2003, they immediately decided to support the school financially. Finally, in 2007, the association AJPOPOLI VZW was created with the purpose of giving support to this educational project. She is much appreciated by the local community who considers her as a very wise and charismatic person.
Guatemala
Guatemala is “the country of eternal spring”, but remains one of the most poor and violent countries in Latin America. Especially Indian communities, such as the Mayas, live in difficult and poor conditions. Guatemala is a beautiful country, but still has to overcome a lot of political, economic and social issues. The country and its population are slowly recovering from a thirty year civil war, which ended in 1996.
Comalapa
San Juan Comalapa is a small mountain village located 80 km Northwest of the capital. The majority of the population are Maya Indians living in poor conditions. Education is only limited and many people are analphabetic. Most men cultivate vegetables for their own use on small pieces of land. Women often stay at home and try to support their families by creating and selling small linen craftwork on the local markets. As their income is very low, parents cannot afford education for their children. The local language is Kaqchikel, while Spanish is only being taught at school.
De School
De school biedt onderwijs aan ongeveer 300 leerlingen vanaf de derde kleuterklas tot en met het derde middelbaar. 60% van de leerlingen zijn meisjes. Ajpopoli vzw staat in voor de volledige financiering van de school en haar 24 personeelsleden via fondsenwerving. Bij onze bezoeken blijkt telkens weer hoe opvallend en belangrijk de rol is van de directrice: Camila Mendoza Pérez, geboren in 1961. Sinds eind 2005 is zij weduwe van Pantaleon Simón, die de school mee oprichtte. Zij studeerde eerst voor onderwijzeres en volgde nadien een bachelor voor het middelbaar. In 2014 behaalde zij een universiteitsdiploma in Psychologie en Sociale Raadgeving via weekendonderwijs. Haar engagement ten aanzien van de school én van de gezinnen van de leerlingen is erg groot. Zij geniet veel vertrouwen van de ouders, vooral van de alleenstaande moeders. En ze wordt heel vaak gevraagd om pedagogische, psychologische, medische en financiële problemen op te lossen. Voor de lokale gemeenschap is zij een heel wijze en charismatische persoonlijkheid.