The Blue Q Book Project Partnership
Author Dennis Avelar and Guatemala Service Projects team up for lasting change in rural Guatemala…
The Project: School Expansion and Adult Training Center
There are only two classrooms to serve six grades!
In Panimache Quinto Bajo there is an elementary school with only two classrooms. All six grades are taught within those walls, with one teacher responsible for all. As you can imagine, it is very difficult for one teacher to teach six grades at once. We want to add on to the school and provide a third classroom (and thus incentive for the Ministry of Education to supply two more teachers) so that the resources can be more evenly spread and the teaching and learning environment more streamlined. Think of the reduction in idle time… kids will not have to wait for their teacher to finish lessons with multiple other groups of students before being attentive to them! Thank you for helping us improve the learning environment for these kids!
Phase 2 — Dreams Beyond 6th Grade!
In this community, there is an elementary school, but nothing else. Students stop attending school after 6th grade because the next closest 7th grade classroom is too far away and there are no affordable means of transportation. Life skills and vocational opportunities typically learned in a post-elementary environment are non-existent. To address this concern, our expansion project is separated in two phases: the first is simply to build a 3rd classroom so that each elementary classroom only contains two grades and the second is to also create a space where one or both of the following is possible: “básico” students (7th-9th grade) can receive instruction OR Vo-tech classes can be taught.
In order to make Phase 2 viable, we are going to construct the 3rd classroom and training center in a manner which leaves a concrete roof and rebar extensions. A 2nd story can be added to the 1st level at a point in the future where additional funding becomes available. This will also expand the training center to include space for additional educational and vocational pursuits. It is our dream that the community of Panimaché Quinto Bajo becomes fully self-sufficient. The community needs some educated professionals, as right now the men are mostly day-laborers and only work when the work is available. We want to “teach them how to fish” so they can eat every day!*
*If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. But, when you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime!
The Author: Dennis Avelar
Dennis Avelar wrote “The Blue Q: The World as I See It” with a mission to inspire young people to see the power and possibilities inside themselves, and to use creativity to uniquely show their true colors. This can come in any form! When people work together, profound greatness can be achieved!
The Book: The Blue Q / Quetzal Azul
The Earth itself is truly a remarkable place. It flows with life in every direction, and no one appreciates the joys of being alive more than Dionisio Sedano – a teenage orphan whose greatest passions include his love of learning, his desire to experience every adventure the world has to offer, and the never-ending wonders found in the Land of Eternal Spring.
Story Genre: Fiction; young adult fiction; nature and natural environment
Grade Level: 6 – 10
Reading Level: Age 12 and up
Total Word Count: 178,010
Paperback Dimensions: 6in x 1.26in x 9in
Total Pages (Paperback): 556
Language: English
Worldwide literacy and a safer, healthier planet are high on the list of objectives for Mr. Avelar. Education and health are the exact two pillars of every project that Guatemala Service Projects does in Guatemala!
It is no wonder why we have excitedly decided to partner and work on accomplishing our goals as a team!
The Partnership and Fundraiser
The Blue Q author and Guatemala Service Projects have successfully completed two projects and are now working on a third. Dennis Avelar had graciously authorized a fundraiser where the profits of 100 books will support a computer lab for the elementary school in Panimache Quinto Alto — a rural village that belongs to the municipality of Chichicastenango in the Quiché department of Guatemala. The computer lab consisted of 10 laptops, a shared printer, and a RACHEL server — the brilliant device that connects them all when the internet is not accessible.
With much delight and excitement we are proud to say that our joint fundraising efforts were successful and in June of 2021 Dennis Avelar was able to visit Panimache Quinto Alto, interact with the students, and celebrate the opening of the computer lab!
With this initial achievement, we have expanded our partnership to also raise funds for another similar project, with technology being donated to EORM Cantón Xabillaguach, a primary school within the municipality of Chichicastenango in the Quiché department. That similar project also received major support from the Mukwonago Area School District in Wisconsin and was a technology lab for another primary school, this one featuring a set of Chromebooks and another RACHEL server.
Welcome to Panimache Quinto Alto
The “right” opportunity arose when I learned about a travel opportunity for adoptive families which would include volunteer work and cultural sightseeing. Being members of that team had a profound impact on me, Lillian and Andrew. Not only were we able to make a real connection to our son’s birthplace, but we met incredibly warm and generous people, all of whom we now consider to be a part of our “family.” In addition to the volunteer work I shared with the Team, I also was able to “give back” by performing as my alter ego, “Farfel the Clown” at a barbecue for children of The Backyard School. It will remain one the proudest and happiest memories of my life.