When the school year starts, Wilmer is still out in the fields. His family needs him to earn money for a full three months before they can afford to lose his income while he’s in class, so he usually starts his grade a month late.
Even during the school year, the 13-year-old needs to balance his studies with contributing to the family finances. His dad doesn’t have a steady job, so on weekends, Wilmer works harvesting tomatoes or chilis or clearing neighbouring land. During the week, he attends Grade 7 at Vida Mocohán school, and after class, Wilmer heads to the mountains to cut firewood to sell. It’s a two-hour process – and he does it twice if he also needs to collect firewood for his mom. At night, he finally has time to work on his schoolwork and prepare his lessons for the next day.
In May, we celebrate sponsorship at Impact Ministries. Wilmer is still in school because of his sponsors. He thanks his sponsors for the help and prayers they have given to get him this far. And we’re so thankful for each one of you who sponsors a child or a class in Guatemala!
Wilmer is so very grateful for the opportunity to study, and he dreams of being a teacher one day. He loves the morning devotions – that’s where he first encountered God. He’s learning lots at school and thoroughly enjoys the breakfast that is served before class.
Wilmer is just one of the 28 students in the Grade 7 class at Vida Mocohán. Many of them have equally heart wrenching stories. “We realize this is the reality of our students’ lives,” says Wilmer’s teacher. Children who need to work, not for spending money, but for their families’ survival.
Will you help us find a sponsor a day for the month of May? Here’s all our kids and classes still waiting for sponsors:
Impact’s biggest need right now is for sponsors to support a class. Will you come alongside Wilmer and his classmates? Or do you know someone who might? Sponsoring a whole class of kids in Guatemala costs just $50/month:
You’ll be providing school supplies, educational resources, and appropriate facilities – things that are desperately needed to provide a great education for disadvantaged kids. And you’ll be providing a teacher who cares for these students and is teaching them how much God loves them – something that Wilmer learned for the very first time when he started attending Vida schools.
“Thank you for everything that you are already doing,” says one of our principals, “Every year there are more students and more families that are being blessed. And sponsors really mean a lot to us. Many of the students don’t have support, they don’t have financial opportunities to study. Just by the fact that they can come to school and be able to study is such a blessing.”
Thank you for your heart for children and families in Guatemala, and we look forward to celebrating sponsorship with you throughout the month of May! Join us on Facebook, Instagram or YouTube for stories and videos of the difference child and class sponsorship makes in the lives of children in Guatemala!