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AMÉRICA MAYA Get the Children in School Program Meeting the needs of children and giving them and their families future opportunities are the main missions for the America Maya Foundation. On an individual basis, the foundation has been able to help families obtain birth certificates for their home born children and enroll them in public school. Public education is available
for students if they have the proper documentation to enter schools, which include a valid birth
certificate and their vaccinations. Although these simple requirements seem easy
to meet, it is not so for those families who have limited education and
resources coupled with fear of authorities. Also the cost of school supplies, uniforms and shoes is impossible for them to meet and they require economic aid. For example, in Playa del
Carmen we have many families coming from the mountains of Chiapas seeking
employment as maids, gardeners, dishwashers, etc. They come with their
children who are left in their one room shanties and palapas to fend for themselves while
their parents are at work. It is not uncommon for maids to lock their young
children, from 2 years old and up, for six to eight hours while they leave to
earn $200 USD per month. Many of these children could be
in school but their parents do not have their birth certificates or the vaccinations records
from their home towns, if they exist at all. Also, the process just to get them
can be intimidating for them and therefore their
children remain locked in their cycle of ignorance and poverty. In order to implement this program on a larger scale, donations are needed to cover the annual costs of a Coordinator for this program including administrative costs of obtaining birth certificates. To implement a larger scale program, it would take a sponsorship of $1200 USD per month. |
América Maya students enjoying learning through CyberCreativity |