COLEGIO MAYA and SAFE PASSAGE

Colegio Maya and Safe Passage have enjoyed a long and mutually prosperous relationship.  Since 2004,  Colegio Maya has teamed with Safe Passage in support of their programs. This connection work has included shoe and backpack drives and donations, working on new construction projects, teacher/staff training, play days and student-shared activities amongst other. In 2007, Colegio Maya collaborated with Safe Passage in a screening of “Recycled Life,” an Oscar nominated film that has brought a massive amount of attention to the plight of the people surviving off of Guatemala City’s garbage dump, the very community that Safe Passage serves. For the future, Colegio Maya and Safe Passage will continue to find ways to collaborate in bringing together the children and staff of each. More information regarding Safe Passage may be found below, as well as contact information.

SAFE PASSAGE

535 children attend Safe Passage’s various programs.  Social development professionals, child psychologists, social workers, teachers and volunteers all play an important role in supporting the connection between the children’s home and family, school and the Safe Passage programs.

Safe Passage has the following structure of programs (complete information on all of these projects, programs and means of support can be found on safepassage.org)-

• The Reinforcement Center, or main project building, plays host to 448 of the 535 children that Safe Passage serves.  The children range in age from 6-21 years of age.  The children attend classes at the Reinforcement Center that are opposite of the schedule in which they attend their public or private school, i.e. if a child attends school in the morning, they are at the Reinforcement Center in the afternoon and vice-versa for children attending school in the afternoon.  Each classroom is staffed by a teacher and a volunteer that carry out individual lesson plans as well as educational reinforcement (help with homework).  The first hour of each child’s day at the Reinforcement Center involves a combination of Safe Passage’s English Program and Safe Passage’s Social Services Department’s Peace Program, which teaches healthy living models, respect for those around you and healthy life skills.
• Many of the children depend on the hot meal and snack they receive from Safe Passage each day. For some, it is their only meal of the day.  Safe Passage provides their children with a hot, balanced meal of vegetables, beans, rice and meat. The children also receive two snacks each day.  Another aspect of the nutritional support of the children is the food bag program. At the end of each month each child is able to earn a large food bag consisting of: rice, beans, pasta, soup mix, cooking oil, detergent soap, sugar and salt based on their regular attendance in the educational reinforcement program and their public school. This extra food support is a tremendous help and contribution to the family’s basic needs.
• In July 2005, Safe Passage opened a clinic on its third floor with the support of Bayer Pharmaceutics. The clinic provides on-site care for the children attending Safe Passage, as well as their direct family members. Many of the children suffer from health issues such as: respiratory infections, skin disorders and stomach/intestinal ailments due to the constant exposure to the pollution and toxins in their living environment.
• The English Program at Safe Passage started in 2004 with one volunteer tutoring students one on one and in small groups. Today, six volunteers work to ensure that every classroom receives English. For students and staff who want additional practice with their English, one on one and small group tutoring is available. 
• Safe Passage offers clubs for teens as a way for them to receive additional support, be in a safe environment, and to partake in skill building activities and fun excursions. These clubs meet every Saturday.
• The Sports Program is a unique part of Safe Passage in that it is run on a Brazilian Method called the Model of Competence.  This Program includes martial arts, football, basketball, sport leadership, activities for the parents, swimming and dancing. In addition, there are also recreational games that are part of the physical education and different sports that are part of the sport clubs on Saturdays. The break-dance classes at the gym have also been very popular. The break dance students have taken part in different activities including break: 4 per 4, a break dance battle in theater in Zone 1 and also in partnership with Colegio Maya.
• The Social Services program represents a critical link to the children and their families. Safe Passage is committed to working with every child in a comprehensive manner while strengthening family and community partnerships. The Safe Passage social work team works to make sure that every child is healthy, safe and on their way toward self sufficiency.
• The early childhood program (Guarderia) was started in August 2004 to include some of the youngest and most vulnerable children in the environs of the Guatemala City dump with a secure, stimulating and caring environment. This program serves children 1 to 7 years old, enhancing their health and their school readiness, and ensuring the well-being of these children while their parents work.  There are currently 87 children attending the Guarderia.  The children attend the early childhood program from 8:30am-4:30pm. Guatemalan staff and volunteers teach the children through fun interactive activities, singing, dancing and art, based on the Montessori teaching method, meaning learn through play.
• Currently, 41 mothers and grandmothers, ranging in age from fifteen to eighty-four years old, are learning to read and to write. The classes are taught by a local Guatemalan teacher, and by a long-term volunteer. Both are passionate and committed teachers who have developed close working relationships with their students.
• A Men’s Literacy Program has just begun in the Reinforcement Center.  On February 26, 2009 the first Men’s Literacy Program meeting took place.  3 students attended that meeting, 2 of the 3 were husbands of mothers in the Mother’s Literacy Program.  The Men’s Literacy Program will be held every Thursday from 10AM to 12PM and from 2PM to 4PM.  March 5, 2009 was the first actual day of class for the program, 4 students attended.
• Posada Lazos Fuertes is an elegant colonial hotel in the heart of beautiful Antigua, Guatemala. Its mission is to provide guests and support teams with an outstanding hotel experience and to further the charitable aims of Safe Passage. All profits go toward sustaining the hotel and toward Safe Passage’s needs.  More information can be found on the hotel’s website www.posadalazosfuertes.com.
• Safe Passage offers a child sponsorship program.  This program allows anyone to donate $50 per month for a partial sponsorship or $200 per month for a full sponsorship of a child.  This money is used to pay the cost for that child to attend public school for one year, as Safe Passage shoulders that cost for each of its 535 children.  Currently there are 747 active child sponsors, 41 classroom sponsors and 79 children without a sponsor.
• Visiting Safe Passage as a team can be quite rewarding for both the Team and Safe Passage.   A Service Team is a Team that provides a clearly defined, self-designed service to Safe Passage. Partnership Teams are made up of ongoing supporters, rotary members, friend’s groups, corporate partners or a group of people coming to further investigate the needs of Safe Passage for potential funding opportunities. A Support Team is designed with the first time visitor in mind.  The week with a Team offers the opportunity of a hand’s on experience to share what Safe Passage is all about.  It enables the Team to learn about the history of Safe Passage, the present goals, and the many different ways they can participate and be involved in Safe Passage’s future.  Through direct contact with the children, and developing a project to benefit Safe Passage’s children, the beginning of a long lasting relationship will transpire. 
• Volunteers are a vital and essential part of the program. There are currently 42 active volunteers working with Safe Passage.  They work in collaboration with Safe Passage’s Guatemalan staff and other volunteers to provide the educational and emotional support necessary for the children in the project to break free from their surrounding poverty through the power of education.  Both foreigners and Guatemalans are encouraged to volunteer.
• Public tours are held every Thursday, with some exceptions.   Write visitors@safepassage.org to reserve a tour of the Safe Passage project.  Visitors will spend 3-5 hours witnessing the conditions at the Guatemala City garbage dump and the various ways that Safe Passage seeks to change that condition. 

Special Connections:  Below are specific needs that have been expressed:

• Safe Passage is always in need of various donations.  Toiletries, clothing, school supplies, medical supplies and child sponsors are at the top of every need list.
• Volunteers are a vital part of Safe Passage.  Write volunteers@safepassage.org for more info.
• The Guarderia is in constant need of infant and toddler supplies, i.e. baby wipes, lice treatment, baby shampoo, baby powder, etc.
• Safe Passage also accepts donations of food both for its dietary program and its monthly food bag program.