The Rotary Club of Kenilworth has returned from a tour of Guatemala where they visited the Guatemala Literacy Project (GLP). The GLP was initiated in 1998 to break the cycle of poverty in Guatemala through literacy and education, typically in Mayan communities and is supported by the Kenilworth Rotarians.
With the help of a Rotary Global Grant and a contribution from 115 Rotary clubs and districts, GLP runs programmes which provide text books, scholarships, culture of reading and computer centres. In a convoy of minibuses, the Rotarians and GLP staff visited 15 schools to see presentations on each of the literacy programmes.
At each location, they distributed pencils, erasers and pencil sharpeners and the children in turn presented them with hand made gifts. A number of Rotarians were on the visit to maintain contact with students to whom they have committed to supporting in individual schools or by providing scholarships.
John Stanton of the Rotary Club of Kenilworth said: “We visited the Centro Infantil Bellota which our club has supported for several years. It provides early stage learning for underprivileged children and always needs Rotary support. I wanted to see how our money was spent and was very impressed by the smooth efficiency and delivery of the aims of the project. I believe the GLP to be a huge success and worthy of much wider Rotary support.”
