Proven Innovations > The Exploration Center Model
Desired Outcome:
The Centro Explorativo will have provided the tools and resources necessary to develop a love for learning, reading, and research
through exploration and will have created a long-term solution to the long-standing educational inadequacies of the Ixil Region.
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The Need:
There was/is a complete lack of access to appropriate educational techniques, resources and leadership in rural Guatemala. This is
no truer than in the Ixil Region. Children, therefore, do not receive the quality education necessary for them to create opportunities
for themselves and end the cycle of poverty within their family.
In the Ixil region of northwestern Guatemala the reasons most commonly cited for leaving school are, at base, economic: lack of
materials necessary for study, the lack of funds necessary to buy such material and pay tuition, the unavailability or poor quality of
local schools, and lack of time due to the need to work and generate a subsistence income. The poverty of the region thus prevents
its people from receiving an education and yet, as we have already seen, it is this same lack of education that prevents them from
eliminating their poverty, effectively locking them in a vicious cycle.
Public schools are poorly equipped and under funded, often consisting of nothing more than a bare concrete room with a dirt floor
and a couple of desks. There are no computers, no books, and no crayons or markers; often there is not even a chalkboard for the
teacher to write upon. Libraries are even rarer than public schools.
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Our Solution:
The Centro Explorativo is a library/school that provides the
inhabitants of Nebaj, the Ixil region’s major population
center, with access to books, the Internet, high quality
research materials, and after school classes. The
“Exploration Center” has achieved some remarkable
successes over the past several years while providing
computer training and after school classes to hundreds of
local children. In addition, “The Exploration Center” has
provided both internet and library access to thousands of
local young people all while employing three full time local
teachers. However, these successes are only a beginning. If
the “Exploration Center” is to fulfill its mission of effecting
positive change in the Ixil region’s educational environment it
will need to obtain funding to support its current activities
and, ideally, expand its offering of educational services to
other towns and villages in the region.
Through the combined efforts and passion of CE Solutions leadership, motivated local educators who are now owners of the Centro
Explorativo Association that we have established as a long term implementation mechanism and generous donors, what began as
small library has developed into a full service library and education center in the small village of La Pista, Guatemala and a library
and resource center in the town of Nebaj, Guatemala.
A Brief Overview of Our Programs:
After School Program:
The Centro Explorativo’s after school program reinforces basic skills through exercises that engage children’s imagination and
creativity, while teaching them problem solving skills. Reinforcing basic skills at a young age increases the probability that children
will not only continue their education, but that they will succeed as well.
Computer and Internet Literacy Program:
The Centro Explorativo teaches basic computer and Internet skills as well as research skills, which supports the education the youth
receive in their respective schools. Being the only computer and Internet center in the town, the Centro Explorativo is a vital
resource to children as it closes the ever-widening information technology gap, and allows them to fully explore the world of
information.
Library and Resource Centers:
When the proper resources are available, youth have the opportunity to feed their curious minds and explore their own interests.
The Centro Explorativos’ library and resource centers in Nebaj and La Pista empower youth with the opportunity to explore the world
beyond them.
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Benefits:
- Creates a locally administered, responsive and innovative educational institution
- Provides an affordable, accessible and comprehensive library/research center for aspiring students in the Ixil area, making
otherwise prohibitively expensive educational materials available for their use and thereby enhancing the quality of local
education
- Inspires a love of reading in the youth of Nebaj and La Pista
- Imparts basic research and literacy skills through a locally operated library, which also creates long-term local employment
- Provides access to quality computer and Internet technology at a price accessible to the average local citizen
- Provides basic computer and Internet training at a price accessible to the average local citizen
- Furthers the educational ends of the library by helping clients to develop computer skills and Internet research skills with the
ultimate goal of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty by helping the local economy generate its own human capital
- Promotes critical thinking by creating a safe, fun environment where students can learn through exploration
- Increases literacy skills and instill a love of reading through daily read-alouds
- Improves the academic achievement of students through daily enrichment activities in the areas of Reading, Writing, Math,
Science, Social Studies, English, and Art
- Promotes health and hygiene through basic practices such as hand washing and teeth brushing
- Uses local resources and local employees to achieve the aforementioned desired outcome
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