Education for the Children Foundation

I have volunteered at The School of Hope four times now and am already planning my return. I could go on and on all day about how wonderful Education for the Children and The School of Hope are. The foundation provides so much more than just an education to the students and the local community and volunteering with them it is such an eye opening and life changing experience. The bilingual program allows for individuals like myself with minimal Spanish to still form genuine connections with the students and staff. I absolutely love this school and the students and would highly recommend it to anybody!

My favorite experience has been taking the students that me and my family sponsor out to lunch and to the market to buy necessities like shoes and coats. It is so great to know that your donations truly go to benefit the students and you can make life-long memories and relationships with them. Additionally, the school is located right outside of Antigua which is a beautiful city with so much to offer.

An amazing experience ! I'm amazed how the EFTC foundation doesn't just provide an education, it provides delicious food, health care, counselling and so much love for the children. I came to Guatemala hoping to give or change something for the kids ( a little naive) but I feel like the children have given me so much more! I'm going to miss all the amazing teachers and all the children. Guatemala is a beautiful country, the food is delicious and lots of things to visit and see ! Thank you for this wonderful experience !

I'm sitting in class, next to Miss Paola, and it's 09:45 which means snack time is just in 15 minutes. That's about right as my stomach's starting to make more noise, which is surprisingly audible through all of the hectic stuff thats going on. When I look up I see that the queue of adorable sparks of sunshine is pretty long, all of the prepa 5 y/olds want their drawings to be checked off so they can continue on the next one. As soon as I put down my stamp of approval on the table, one of them grabs it and starts to put stamps anywhere thats physically possible. *THUD* *THUD* *THUD*, I look at the class and see that Bryan's completely distracted from his tasks again, bumping his chair into the other kids and the table. Time to get him back engaged into drawing! Snack time was delicious, and now its time to get them letters and numbers cracking. Naomi still has trouble writing the 5, so we'll add some focus to that today. At around 15:00, after all of the kids have left, it's time to wrap up and head back home. Exhausted and fulfilled I let myself fall down to bed. Time to plan that trip for next weekend!

So, EFTC's a pretty wonderful school. They provide food, healthcare, housing and education for hundreds of kids. I've enjoyed the experience immensely and learned a lot about Guatemala's local life, teaching kids and the relativity of just about anything. My housing at a homestay greatly improved my Spanish and I was delighted with nutritious meals every day. That reminds me, EFTC does an amazing job at that, providing tasty and nutritious snacks and meals to roughly 500 kids every day. For some that's their only food of the day! Can you imagine?

This summer I spent 10 weeks in Guatemala volunteering at Education For the Children Foundation and had a fantastic time! It was my first time in the country and at the foundation, everyone is so friendly that I felt settled very quickly. I started helping out in English classes for 6th-9th grade but have also had the opportunity to help out in the office, helping in the younger classes, making display board and help create new activities which can be used in lessons. There are lots of opportunities to help out in a variety of ways at the project which I have loved, you are then able to apply your skills in lots of different ways. All the staff and volunteers at the foundation are extremely passionate about what they do and what they want to achieve. If you have the opportunity I really recommend visiting other places in Guatemala whilst you are here as it is such an interesting and beautiful country! I am looking forward to returning one day! :)

Volunteering is a great experience that anyone should do at least once, no matter for how long. Doing even small things for the community makes it so much better.
EFTC is a great place to volunteer. A place that really helps the children and give them the hope and the chance for a brighter future and I was glad to be part of it for a bit. Every actions, every events at the school are made to provide not only the best education but also to improve all the children's health habbits.
And you will not only help them, but it will also help you : help you with a better knowledge of yourself and of the world with the discovery of a new culture and the understanding of global issues.
So I can assure you that you would have the best experience here in Guatemala with the EFTC.

My first time in Guatemala I came to learn spanish and do some volunteer work. I signed up to volunteer at Escuela Esperanza and now I´m currently back for the third time. This project is hands down amazing! It´s giving kids a chance of a better life and a path out of their world impacted by poverty, abuse, crime and drugs. You will quickly get attached to the kids and you will feel appreciated. The school staff, both teachers and the administration, are friendly and welcoming and will show you respect and will value your contribution and help. You will also have a volunteer coordinator that will be able to help you out with whatever questions you might have and every Tuesday the coordinator holds a meeting for all the volunteers to reflect and bond with the rest of the volunteers. This makes me feel like I´m a part of a team.

This manner of travelling will in my opinion give you so much more in terms of understanding a different culture and language than just getting all the tipical tourism experiences. I highly recommend it to people of all nationalities, ages and occupations. This will be a great experience that will fill your heart up with memories you will keep forever. I fell completely in love with the school, the kids, Antigua and the Guatemalan culture, and that is why I´ve been coming back over and over to this place. Maybe you will do the same.