Escuela Taller Niño Obrero

The Escuela Taller Nino Obrero project is a Guatemalan, non-governmental organization. It was founded on March 14th, 1993 by Carlos Toledo and it is located in Antigua.

The purpose of the program is to provide education, nutrition and recreation to children who come from families with little means. The goal of the program is to instill good hygiene, good habits, and to keep youth away from the dangers of the streets.

The Escuela Taller Niño Obrero supplies an alternative to life on the streets for at risk children. Children of poor families normally are not able to attend school due to lack of funds and instead need to work in order to help their families with money for food and rent.

Currently, there are 60 children between 4 and 17 years of age at school. The majority of them come from single parent families. The school offers Pre-School and Elementary, and registration is completely free. When it is possible, the program also supplies school supplies for the children. Many children are behind in their grade level and are older for their age in their classes (due to lack of money for school and not being able to study).

During the main break, the school provides free “atol” (a typical hot drink in Guatemala); beforehand they gave bread, but now there are no funds for a snack. At noon, all the children receive lunch, since their families are not always able to provide sufficient nutrition at home. 30 children participate in afternoon activities.

Volunteers are welcome as assistant teachers, English teachers, assisting with recreation activities (handcrafts, creativity, games, sports), and to help children with homework. It is necessary for volunteers to take initiative with activities. Ages in classes differ and teachers and volunteers need to organize well. For this work, it is important that you are able to be authoritative and able to control children. Volunteers need a high level of Spanish in order to understand other teachers. If you have desire to work, it will be a pleasure for the project to welcome you.

Due to financial problems in 2002, the program now asks volunteers for a contribution of US $25.00. If you do not wish to give the donation in money, you can give it in form of learning material or food (the most necessary); clothes, shoes or any other donation is welcome too. The Escuela Taller Niño Obrero will be thankful for your help.