Inequality creates cycles of poverty around the world, and Random Acts staff member Madison Petro found this was true in a Mayan community near Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Known more commonly as Xela, Madison studied Spanish in the country’s second-largest city, nestled in the mountainous west of Guatemala. She chose the Kamalbe Spanish School, a non-profit organization where a portion of the attendance fees fund volunteer work in local Mayan communities. Students and school volunteers also help out with initiatives like tutoring younger children, and the free dental care program.
Helping the Helpers
Many people in poorer communities in Guatemala decide to have larger families so that children can contribute to the family income. This could be by working from a young age or taking on the role of looking after younger siblings. At the same time, large young families require more basic resources like food. Consequently, most children do not complete primary school education, let alone go on to secondary school or university. Inadequate education then contributes to the difficulty of escaping the cycle of disadvantage. The Kamalbe Spanish School’s program of assistance hopes to encourage attendance by helping families, providing meals and school supplies, holding an annual dental care event, and funding repairs and upgrades to community school buildings and homes. It was here Madison saw an opportunity to use her staff act to increase this impact.
Goodie Bags Doing Good
Working with David, the owner of the Kamalbe School, Madison planned to use her annual staff act to stock and make goodie bags for the annual Christmas event held by the school. By assembling bags of toys, food, and toothpaste–one of the most expensive essential items–Madison hoped the Kamalbe School’s limited fund could focus on the parents and important projects like installing solar power for the local school. With 200 children in the community, even this small addition of holiday caring and kindness delivered with purpose helped spread a wider impact.
