María and Olga are not your typical Vida elementary school students.
“When I was young, women were only kept at home to do household chores,” says María. “I’ve never gone to school before. It was not a priority for women to study.” Olga agrees. As a child, she didn’t learn how to read or write either.
María and Olga are cooks at Vida Purulhá School. They feel blessed to prepare meals for children who are getting the educational opportunities that they never had growing up. But María and Olga are now also Vida students. The Vida Extension Program offers an accelerated elementary program, and María and Olga are finally learning to read!
It started with an announcement at church – although neither woman really paid much attention.
María thought she was too old to start studying, plus she had an ill father-in-law at home to take care of. But when María, full of doubts, tentatively broached the subject with her husband, he gave her his full support! He even stepped in to help with the household chores while María studied – a big deal in Guatemalan culture.
Olga wasn’t convinced either. She never imagined that she would go to school at this stage in her life. But she was encouraged to know that other women, like María, would be studying as well, and she decided to give it a try. Now, she is so excited to be attending classes on the weekend.
Every Saturday, María and Olga arrive with great enthusiasm to learn something new! They start the day with devotions, and they’ve had their first experience with computers. Teacher Dámaris supports them as they work through the elementary school curriculum.
Learning to read and write helps María read and share the Word of God in the small group that she and her husband lead. And Olga? She’s now in the same grade as her son – and she can help him with his school work!
Please pray for these brave women who have taken on this huge challenge. And pray for all our students, young and older, that their studies would draw them closer to the Lord.
Thank you for helping to break the cycle of illiteracy in Guatemala!
(The fact that Olga was at church at all to hear the announcement about the Vida Extension Program was a miracle in itself. When Olga’s children started school, the family didn’t attend church at all. But through the years, Olga accepted the Lord and started praying earnestly for her husband to come to know God too. The wait was long, but God answered those prayers! The whole family now attends church together, and Olga and her husband have become leaders in the Purulhá congregation.)