EDUCATION
The focus of Poco a Poco San Pedro has always been education. We support, encourage and provide pre-school education, and in some cases, financial support, to help families enroll their children in primary or secondary school.
If these children don't get registered at age 6 in primary school (which is for 6-12 year old's) they will forever fall behind and never catch up, even if they enter school a year or two later (because they get put into their age level grade). We try to help these children with our tutoring program with a professional primary school teacher and teacher assistant.
Five years ago there was a "becca" program offered by the government, then Covid hit, and closed everything down. That becca program was initially to encourage low income families to register their children in school by offering them money to send their children to school. Now the becca program is only for children with good grades, to move upwards into prepa and higher education.
Schools in Mexico are free - but they aren't totally without cost. There is a registration fee (no receipts), a requirement for each child to pay towards maintenance costs of the school (cleaning supplies, water, toilet paper, etc.) - again no receipts. And each child is required to have a complete uniform with shoes, and all the required school supplies - otherwise they are sent home from school. This is financially impossible for many families especially single mothers who are working away from home and the children are being looked after by grandmothers. Some municipalities help by offering free school supplies, but this does not happen in these areas.
When school started in August 2024, we were surprised to learn that many of the children that come to our community center to have healthy food, don't go to school at all. So we frantically raised funds to pay for their enrollment, uniforms and school supplies. Then we found many had no prior "pre-school" education because their grandmothers, who they live with, have limited education themselves, and no money for learning activities or toys.
We asked donors for help and thanks to Steve Cross and Mark Skrivanek - we managed to raise funds to enroll 54 children from 30 families, into school. Some for the first time! These photos are from when the children collected their uniforms, supplies and shoes for school. All organized by Anita and her team.
If children don't get registered at age 6 in primary school (which is for 6-12 year old's), they will forever fall behind and never catch up, even if they enter school a year or two later (because they get put into their age level grade). We try to help these children with our tutoring program being held three mornings a week with a professional primary school teacher and teacher assistant.
Many families in the San Pedro Itzicán area and the smaller villages, cannot afford the cost of outfitting their children to attend school. Some families don't appreciate the value of education, as the did not have it themselves. There is a primary school in all the small towns, and a secondary and high school in San Pedro Itzicán and in Mezcala.
Five years ago there was a "becca" program offered by the government, then Covid hit, and closed everything down. That becca program was initially to encourage low income families to register their children in school by offering them money to send their children to school. Now the becca program is only for children with good grades, to move upwards into prepa (high school) and higher education.
Schools in Mexico are free - but they aren't totally without cost. There is a registration fee (no receipts), a requirement for each child to pay towards maintenance costs of the school (cleaning supplies, water, toilet paper, etc.) - again no receipts. And every child is required to have a complete uniform with shoes, and all the required school supplies - otherwise they are sent home from school.
This is financially impossible for many families especially single mothers who are working away from home and the children are being looked after by grandmothers. Some municipalities help by offering free school supplies, but sadly this does not happen in these areas.
Thanks to some generous donors, in July 2024 we have been able to hire various young women to start working with the children. The children arrive at the San Pedro Community Center around 9:00 am, Monday through Friday, as the Community Center has become a safe place for them to be, to socialize and learn, before they get their lunch.
One young high student, Mercedes, is running the class and works from 9:00 am to 2:00 pm each day - sometimes with over 80 children! Another student, Lupita, works with the 2 to 4 year old children. They sometimes do some stretching exercises, games, as well as activities that help the children develop their motor skills, such as coloring, drawing, as well as teaching them the alphabet and numbers. The children are then organized for lunch; washing their hands before meals, tidying their work area, and getting their meal. The children are also getting life skill lessons that perhaps they are not getting at home.
In July 2025, we held a Gourmet BBQ to raise funds for education. We also receive funds from St Andrew's Outreach Program (the Anglican Church in Riberas, Chapala), to help pay for education costs. The Kanata Rotary Club of Ontario also contributed funds towards education.
September 1st was the first day of school in 2025, but the supplies list wasn't available until that day. So the final supplies that we will need to purchase will only start after 2nd September. These are a few photos from last year's children receiving school supplies.
In September 2024, we hired a primary school teacher and teacher assistant to work with the children who need to catch up with learning the alphabet and numbers now they are in school. They have been working with the children all year, and will continue to help with the new students starting in September 2025. That also meant that we needed a quieter area for these children to study, so we built a covered area above the kitchen and added screens to provide shade. There are usually around 20+ children in these classes held three mornings a week.
In 2024, some generous donors provided financial help for four students to get their high school education. Two students graduated in July 2025 (Mercedes and Lupita). The other two young women took adult prepa classes and finished their exams in July 2024, but as at September 2025, they have still not received their final certificates. Now one of these women had a baby and the other is still deciding on her future. But without final certificates, it's not easy to apply for further education. It's frustrating.
The youth in these areas have many challenges in planning their futures, and the pressure is on them to support their families by working. Their parents can't afford education for their children, and don't always understand the value of education. If a student actually passes the high school exams (prepa), they can't imagine taking a 4 year course in any subject. If they do anything, they opt for shorter college programs. But they still struggle, because their education levels are below urban school levels.
In 2022 and 2023, with the help of some sponsors and Work, Play, Love, we helped five adults with their auxiliary nursing training. But again, the school failed to provide them the final exams and certificates. (One student who passed the exam prior to the others, is now working as a nurse in Chapala! That is wonderful!)