About FUNDIT GUATEMALA
FUNDIT is a certified nonprofit under Guatemalan law. FUNDIT´s mission is to educate the children of El Tejar, a community in the rural highlands of Guatemala. El Tejar is close to the worst fighting of the 36 year civil war in Guatemala, which ended in 1996. But the people still suffer the after-effects: poverty, lack of running water and electricity in homes, and educational opportunity for the children. We believe that education will alleviate many of these problems, and YOUR support is critically needed.
The organization started informally at the end of the 1980s. Nancy Rittmaster de España, together with a group of women and the Municipality of El Tejar, organized a library that officially opened in May 1992.
Nancy began helping several children with school supplies; that effort later transformed into a scholarship program. Children who come from extreme poverty do best when they start their education early. So, Nancy and FUNDIT´s board, with a gift from the wife of the out-going president of Guatemala, founded a pre-school to give the children the chance to have a better live.
From 1997 children between 2 and 6 years old, especially those with working mothers, could attend CEDIN. In 2003 the foundation started running music classes for the children from the community. FUNDIT continued to support women in all their activities.
Mission
Promote development of the El Tejar community through education for children and youth with emphasis upon girls and young women.
Vision
Give all the families the opportunity to access good quality education, preparing girls and boys to be good citizens who value human dignity.
FUNDIT programs
Currently FUNDIT runs four programs; hundreds of children, youth and adults of the El Tejar municipality attend yearly.
Nancy Rittmaster de España Municipal Library
Nancy Rittmaster de España Municipal Library is a joint project of FUNDIT and El Tejar Municipality. It has around 20,000 users annually, from pre-primary children to university students. The library has about 12,000 books and is considered to be the best library in the Department of Chimaltenango that implements reading activities. There are different programs run in the library during the school year:
* Book lending
* Reading activities with students from local primary schools
* Tutoring for primary, secondary, and high school students
* Reading Adventures – reading activities for pre-primary and primary school students during vacation time
Hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 a.m.-12:00 and 2:00-5:00 p.m.
Early Education Center CEDIN
Child Integral Development Center is an early education center accredited by the Ministry of Education that serves children 4 to 6 years old. It offers a Montessori-oriented education with play-work areas, and focuses on moral, human, civic and ethical development.
From Monday to Friday, 7:45 a.m.-1:00 p.m., CEDIN gives 115 children the opportunity to grow in a safe, clean, secure and enjoyable environment.
With the support of international and national donors, we can serve children from disadvantaged families, giving them quality pre-primary education.
Music Program
The music program contributes to students’ development, ensuring that both the cultural values and the arts of music-making are passed down to future generations.
The program offers courses in flute, guitar, mandolin, marimba, keyboard and violin as well as rhythm, music theory and music history. The hours are: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 2:00-6:00 p.m., Saturday 8:00 a.m.-12:00. Classes are run in CEDIN.
Our students have the opportunity to participate in cultural exchanges with students from other countries at the LEAF Music Festival in Asheville, North Carolina.
Ethical Bean Scholarship Program
The program supports 54 students from disadvantaged families in attending primary, secondary and high school.
When students apply, we run a socioeconomic study to help us target families with the most need and ensure the students’ interest in continuing their education. The scholarship covers tuition, school supplies, books and typing courses.
Our students participate in workshops, receive tutoring and complete a volunteer program. The scholarship program offers workshops for their parents as well. In the past 20 years the program has benefited hundreds of El Tejar children, many of whom are now professionals. The current CEDIN principal is a former beneficiary of the scholarship program!