Escuela Kemna’oj de Santa Maria de Jesus

From Houses to Homes has been supporting the Cambiando Vidas Project of Pastores, Guatemala since the organization began in 2008. In 2009, From Houses to Homes built a new school for the Cambiando Vidas Project and they opened their new school in September 2009. We continue to support their school in Pastores and have supported their school in Santa Maria de Jesus as well. Recently, Cambiando Vidas and From Houses to Homes, have come to the decision that Cambiando Vidas will put their focus exclusively on the needs of the children in Pastores and have agreed that From Houses to Homes will operate the school in Santa Maria de Jesus. We certainly should acknowledge the fine job that the teaching staff of Cambiando Vidas did educating the children. Anyone who visited the school is a witness to the success of the school as the children demonstrated such excitement and commitment to their education. Clearly, the children are extremely happy and thriving. From Houses to Homes will continue using the same curriculum and will retain the same teachers and staff in Escuela Kemna’oj, their new school in Santa Maria de Jesus.

The name of the new school, Kemna’oj means, “weaving minds" or "weaving knowledge” in the Kaqchikel language, one of 29 languages spoken by Mayan people in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras. Board Member, Dr. Darron Collins, who graduated from the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine and received his post graduate degrees from Tulane University conferred with his colleague, Dr. Judith Maxwell, a Professor of Anthropology & the Mayan Kaqchikel language at Tulane, for a name for the school. The two believe that naming the school Escuela Kemna'oj de Santa Maria de Jesus demonstrates an important sense of respect for language, culture and community in Santa Maria.

The school presently is named, “Andy’s School”, in memory of Andrew Gaffney, the son of Phillip Gaffney of Morristown, NJ. We will continue to remember Andy, and our two Preschool classes at Kemna’oj will bear the name “Andy’s Preschool”. Other classrooms can be named for someone for a donation to our new school of $25,000.00.

Guatemala’s literacy rate is approximately 69 percent. There is no question that the ability to read opens up many doors. If you would like to consider donating books for the children to read in school, or take home, or for the library, please go to http://www.bilingualbooks.com, or a similar website, and have them shipped to From Houses to Homes, PO Box 85, Mt. Tabor, NJ 07878-0085.

The design of the new school will feature a number of passive and active sustainable strategies. Solar orientation will be carefully considered in order to orient the classrooms to maximize solar gain in the cooler months while minimizing it in the summer months, especially during the morning hours when children are in school. Throughout the year, natural ventilation will be employed in order to vent or trap hot air as needed. Accessible green roofs will also insulate the building against weather conditions, while providing children with a fun and beautiful outdoor space in which to play and learn. Rainwater collection cisterns and a greywater re-use system will help meet the school's water needs and decrease the burden on the community’s already taxed water supply. In addition, rooftop photovoltaic panels will absorb and convert solar energy to provide for the electrical needs of the school space in which to play and learn.

From Houses to Homes has purchased land to build the new school and has started to fundraise for this important project. There are a number of former From Houses to Homes volunteers that have already held successful fundraising events. To date, we have raised approximately $250,000.00 for the school. If you are interested in supporting this effort please send your donation to From Houses to Homes, PO Box 85, Mt. Tabor, NJ 07878-0085.

PLEASE READ THIS WONDERFUL AND INSPIRING LETTER FROM MARTHA JULIA GARCIA-SELLERS, PH.D., TUFTS UNIVERSITY.

October 1, 2011

To those interested in supporting and learning about Escuela Kemna'oj de Santa Maria de Jesus in Guatemala.

It is with great pleasure that I write this letter on behalf of the Escuela Kemna'oj. This school will offer education to children from the community of Santa Maria de Jesus. Its mission and educational approach are the same as those developed by the Association Cambiando Vidas in the community of Pastores, Sacatepequez, Guatemala in which they impart exceptional education to young children while supporting their families. Despite the scarce resources available to the staff, they provide exemplary service that equals or surpasses that of educational programs that I, as a professional in the field, have observed in the United States and elsewhere.

Cambiando Vidas and Escuela Kemna'oj are devoted to promoting children's educational achievement, providing a bilingual (Spanish and English) learning environment, reinforced by empowerment of their parents. It is based on a comprehensive "home-school connection" model that is faithful to the cultural needs of this rural Guatemalan community while at the same time elevating parents' values and aspirations so that they recognize the importance their children's educational accomplishments.

In conjunction with the classroom learning experience, psychologists visit the children's homes regularly and work with parents on activities related to the school; they provide guidance regarding children's development, family nutrition, physical health, and other topics relevant to the family's welfare. Cambiando Vidas and Escuela Kemna'oj deal skillfully with children's and parents' present needs while at the same time envisioning longer term goals and building a step-by-step path for them to succeed and, one hopes, pursue higher education.

I became acquainted with Cambiando Vidas during my working visits to Antigua. My initial conversations with Janeth Cuellar, the Association Director, awakened my interest in the program's goals and approach. Further conversations with Mrs. Cuellar and the program staff at the school confirmed my initial impression of the outstanding value of their work.

Since my initial contacts 4 years ago, I have become more involved with Cambiando Vidas and now with the Escuela Kemna'oj. During the last 3 years I contribute consultation and participate as a member of the Cambiando Vidas Advisory Board. Every year I look forward to my trips to Antigua with the expectation of hearing about their recent accomplishments and anticipation of participating in different program activities. To date I have advised on educational planning, curriculum and psychological services with the children and families; I have also provided training workshops on academic content and special pedagogical needs in the classroom to improve children's school adaptation and refine teaching practices.

Speaking of recent accomplishments, I would like to call attention to how skillfully Mrs. Cuellar and her staff have handled the expansion of Cambiando Vidas and the efforts of Joe Collins to make a reality the establishment of these two schools. Their exceptional dedication has been rewarded with vigorous support from De Casa a Hogares and multiple donors who made possible the construction of beautiful buildings with facilities to accommodate students from preschool to 6th grade.

They started with a group of preschool children, most of whom are now enrolled in 3rd grade, while 3 new cohorts are attending the preschool, kindergarten and 1st grade classrooms. This has required hiring and training new teachers and a school principal. These changes have been accomplished while taking into account all the details required to achieve a successful transition faithful to the program's mission to offer high quality education to children and support to their parents.

Of all the activities that I have been involved in, I enjoy classroom observations the most. It is true pleasure to watch the teachers, whose abilities and dedication I admire, as they guide their pupils with extraordinary skill through a developmental curriculum that is sensitive to, and builds on, students' individual differences. In conjunction with the basic learning content required for each academic grade, teachers expose students to a variety of arts and extracurricular activities that instill collaboration as a primary social value. As I witness students in the process of realizing their learning potential, creativity and intellectual curiosity, I recognize that this is a true reflection of their teachers 'masterful efforts.

Earlier this year, I visited Cambiando Vidas accompanied by two colleagues who are renowned pediatricians, Drs. Berry Brazelton and Josh Sparrow, from the Touchpoints Institute at Harvard's Children's Hospital. Their eyes glowed watching at the children and their accomplishments as much as their recognition of the degree of commitment of the directors and teachers. Afterwards, Dr. Brazelton sent as a remembrance two paintings he had made inspired by his visit to Cambiando Vidas.

As a university professor and a clinician in the field of Child Development, I have devoted many years to studying and teaching about children's development and education. Very seldom have I come across a program that so effectively promotes at school and at home children's own abilities and learning, as does Cambiando Vidas and the Escuela Kemna'oj. The fact that they have blossomed in a fairly remote, Guatemalan town lacking the resources of a more privileged setting is even more remarkable. Cambiando Vidas has already had an impact on my life. Whatever contribution made by those of us who support their efforts will be multiplied many times and lead to significant changes for children and their families in Pastores and Santa Maria de Jesus.

Let me close this letter by mentioning that a significant part of the success of Cambiando Vidas should be credited to the endless efforts and enthusiasm that Mr. Joe Collins, Mrs. Cuellar, teachers and staff have devoted to these communities as well as all the caring donors who have made their dreams possible. Both schools are truly inspiring!

Sincerely,

Martha Julia Garcia-Sellers, Ph.D.
Developmental Psychologist
Assistant Professor and Senior Research Scientist
Tufts University
School of Arts and Sciences
Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Development

Please consider becoming a sponsor to these aspiring young scholars.

Would you consider sponsoring one of these students for $60 per month? Two individual donors can sponsor one child for $30.00 each per month. We will send you a photograph of the student, and a quarterly report of how “your” student is doing. Here are some of the happy faces that brighten the classrooms every day.

There are two classes in "Andy's Preschool".

These are the children in the first grade:

These are the children in the second grade:

And to the Technical Director, the Psychologist, and to all the teachers who make it happen. Thank you.