About this program for girls
Villa de las Niñas
Villa de las Niñas is a school started by Father Schwartz, an American missionary priest, and the Sisters of Mary in South Korea. This model school, located outside Mexico City in the town of Chalco, became Villa de las Niñas in 1991. Today there are sister schools in the Philippines, Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Brazil and Tanzania.
The Villa in Chalco is a boarding school of 3,500 girls, spread across a 35-hectare (86-acre) campus with classrooms, dormitories, two gymnasiums, an Olympic-sized pool, basketball courts, football fields and more. The girls mostly come from at-risk, low-income villages and disadvantaged families. Applicants must have finished primaria (but not yet started secundaria) and pass an entrance exam proving they're ready for a first-rate education.
At the Villa:
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All school expenses are covered, except transportation to and from the school, twice a year. (The bus trip to the school takes around 7 hours - and then the parent returns the same day.)
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Classes are demanding and routines are strict, with firm guidelines throughout.
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The girls live in dormitories alongside girls from all over Mexico.
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Caring nuns and teachers guide and teach them.
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Alongside academics, girls receive vocational training in cooking, baking, sewing and computers, plus sports, art and cultural opportunities.
The girls become role models, planting seeds of hope in their villages. Graduates of Villa de las Niñas, armed with education and skills, can return to work in their villages, work in Guadalajara or anywhere they choose. Some previous graduates are now training to become nurses. Others are working in IT. Now we are helping some of the 4th and 5th year students, we will follow their careers forward with great interest.
How Poco a Poco is helping
Since 2024, we've helped pay for the transportation girls need to attend Villa de las Niñas. Anita Torres explains the details to parents and girls and helps them through the registration process — transportation is the only cost families have to cover, and for many families around San Pedro Itzicán and Mezcala, even that is out of reach.
In 2024, with help from wonderful sponsors, we paid the transportation for 12 girls. In September 2025, with more sponsors and support from the Rainbow Alliance, we covered the transport cost for 21 students (plus a parent or guardian, since each girl must be signed in and out on every trip). They return home for two weeks at Christmas and two weeks in July for summer break.
Our cost estimate has risen since March 2026 — the way the school now accepts new student entries pushed the price up, and diesel prices for the buses have climbed too. We now estimate 8,600–9,000 pesos per girl for the year.
In August 2026, we found sponsors for 36 girls — 17 new students, 19 returning for their second year, and 8 senior students who also asked for help. In total, we're now trying to support 44 girls.
Some photos of the girls and their parent, when the sponsors met them in August 2026.
How can you help?
Your gift helps us keep paying for these girls' transportation home for Christmas and next summer.
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Contribute toward the group's bus fare, or
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Sponsor a specific girl — write to us if you'd like more information on a girl who could use your support.
Sponsors receive updates on their girl's progress and grades, and have the opportunity to meet her when she returns home at Christmas.