Education Situation

The educational system in Guatemala is different from that in Belize, in that the government provides secondary level schools, but they are limited in enrollment. Once again there are more children desiring to improve themselves than there are facilities. There are private schools available, but that leaves out the impoverished.

In the city of Flores, ROWKIDS has found a private Christian school, which focuses on educating children who cannot afford the higher priced schools and who did not make the enrollment into the government schools. Centro Educativo Cristiano con orientacion Universitavia “El Shaddai” or The Christian Education Center “El Shaddai” was founded by brothers, Blus David Burelo Soza and Enrique Burelo Soza, and Byron Armando Burelo in 2004.

These men saw the need for a private school with low tuition to help the children in Flores. The two brothers began “El Shaddai” in one of their homes and it quickly took over all but one small room in the back of the house where one brother lives with his wife. They began raising money to build a new school building (the large 3-story white building) and add a third floor to the house. They are still working on the fourth floor.

The school is run strictly on donations and the small tuition, which is charged to those that can afford it. The tuition is 100 Quetzal per month or about $15 (US). Their enrollment has grown to over 1000 students enrolled in the 2007-08 school year. No child is turned away from attending. They attend one of three sessions available, morning, afternoon, or weekends. This allows the school to have a larger enrollment, but is also making it almost impossible for this school to remain open due to rising costs.