Meet Yennerith

Yennerith came to us in first grade. Her sisters, Angeline and Ashlyn, were entering preschool and third grade. Yennerith and Ashlyn had been in a local public school where, quite frankly, they had slipped through the cracks. We suspected that both girls had a learning disability. Both girls were starting first grade and third grade from zero. They did not know even the basics in Spanish. Letters, numbers, colors, shapes – everything was completely new to them. We also suspected that all three girls were suffering from malnutrition, a factor that can contribute to learning difficulties as well.

Education has been a challenge for all three girls, with a combination of their home life and their learning difficulties complicating their learning process. Ashlyn has worked very hard to overcome her challenges, while Yennerith often gets frustrated and lacks self-confidence in her own abilities. Our teachers have worked very hard over the last three years to accommodate the girls, work individually with them, and adjust assignments to their levels. But the pandemic hit the family hard.

Both parents were out of work for a period of time. They live with several other families of their extended family and all families pooled resources to make it through the difficult times. When we began helping with food bags and nutritional supplements, they shared this food with everyone. Sadly, one of the families lost a baby during the pandemic, an event that hit them all hard. But they continued fighting to keep moving forward.

The pandemic has also presented educational challenges for the three girls. Their parents only have very basic education and have struggled to help the girls with their distance learning assignments. Yennerith had not yet learned to read in first grade with us. Since our school year runs from January to October, her second grade year was cut short in March of 2020 by the pandemic. And her parents did not have the tools or education to teach her to read at home. Week after week, Yennerith became frustrated with her homework and didn’t even want to try. Often her parents or her older sister, Ashlyn, ended up doing her homework assignments for her, something we have continually addressed with the family.

In 2021, the Guatemalan government has lifted some of the more strict rules from the pandemic. While students are still not allowed in the classrooms, we have hired a child psychologist to work one-on-one with some of our students who are struggling extensively with the effects of the pandemic. He has been working tirelessly with Yennerith and her parents, using different techniques and activities to help her advance in her learning.

We are proud to announce that this month, in third grade, Yennerith started reading! She can now sound out words and read and write them. Her life and her future is now transformed, thanks to the support of donors like you.