OUR HARD-WORKING PARTNERS
WE SUPPORT PROMISING SMALL, GRASSROOTS ORGANIZATIONS THAT FOCUS ON EDUCATION, PRIMARILY IN GUATEMALA AND VIETNAM.
GUATEMALA
We partner with three small, grassroots organizations to support education in Guatemala, through university sponsorships for young women and funding for after-school tutoring, homework help and a computer literacy lab for elementary and middle school students. Our Guatemalan partners operate in two regions with large indigenous Maya populations: Antigua and Lake Atitlan villages. Historically, the Maya living in Guatemala have experienced discrimination and continue to live in extreme poverty.
Amigos de Santa Cruz supports the communities of Santa Cruz la Laguna, located on Lake Atitlan. Executive Director Jessie Cohen and a dedicated staff comprised almost entirely of local women and men operate education and youth programs to equip future leaders with the tools they need to improve their own communities.
Asociación Juntos Podemos (Together We Can) gives educational chances to children in an underserved Maya community near Antigua. Structured after-school programs foster critical thinking, reading comprehension and academic confidence, empowering students to thrive in school.
PROGRESA, an organization based in Parramos (just outside of Antigua), provides university sponsorships for impoverished Maya youth, especially from rural areas. Very few of these students are able to obtain a higher education in their communities. Sponsorships pay for tuition, room and board. Access to higher education brings choice into the lives of young women and the opportunity to be social change agents in their country’s growth and economic development.
VIETNAM
CCI’s program partners in Vietnam grew their organizations organically: each founder saw a glaring need and started an educational program to address it. The Children’s Education Foundation (CEF) provides sponsorships and mentoring for girls from primary school through university; the Phu Ninh Children's Home fosters 22 children whose parents are unable to care for them due to poverty. CCI supports education costs so that the school-aged children there can attend school.
CEF enables girls living in poverty to attend school, boosting their chances of a life with meaningful choices and expanded opportunities. Education in Vietnam is free but the price of school fees, uniforms and required “extra tuition” tutoring classes prevents many young girls from ever entering the schoolhouse.
Twenty-two young children without a place called “home” live at the Phu Ninh Children’s Home, children there live in a safe environment with adequate nutrition and care. Children attend schools nearby and engage in other activities such as English classes and educational events.