Parent support was essential in getting a computer lab set up at the 18 de Marzo elementary school in Huajuapan. 18 de Marzo has a strong PTA that actively supports the school.
This woman is responsible for getting the new building set up. The new building houses a computer lab, library, teacher’s room, gym office and storage space and an office for the psychiatrist.
During her tenure the school got donated bricks and cement. The parents build the building that now houses the computer lab, the library, the teachers room, a storage room for the gym and an office for the psychiatrist.
If you are wondering why they need a psychiatrist, these kids face a lot of challenges. One of the main ones is that many of them have one or both parents in the United States, working to send money home.
The previous PTA president (above) has three sons in the United States. Many families here have one or both parents gone for long periods of time working in the US. It’s hard on the kids.
Her daughter (right) is the current president of the PTA. While we were there, parents were hard at work building tables for the computer lab and the new library.
One day The PTA president gave us a ride home and she showed us her son’s school and said she was going to pick him up at 8:00pm! When I expressed surprise at the time, she said that his school is a school for working kids. They work in the morning to help their families out and then they go to school from 3:30-8:00pm. Her son works in a “bottle store”, a store that sells water, coke and other drinks.
The parents also made lunch for all of us everyday.
The parents of 18 de Marzo are a hard working group and they worked very hard to get their kids access to a library and a computer lab. It wouldn’t have happened without them.
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