Community

Education Projects abound in Zihuatanejo, here’s a few philanthropic endeavors that are showing results (3).

The Nueva Creación School
By Lawrence Marbut

Up a winding, dirt road, high in the hills above beautiful Zihuatanejo bay, is the community of Colonia Vicente Guerrero. It is one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city. Most of the residents are families lured here from poor rural villages, indigenous regions and worn-out farms to look for work. Most live in hand-built, one-room houses with dirt floors; many lack electricity, running water and sanitary facilities.

Although not rich in any material sense, the families of Vicente Guerrero possess a wealth of dignity and pride, combined with a strong community spirit.

Like parents the world over, their primary concern was for the future of their children. They recognized that the only realistic way to break the cycle of poverty is education. Regrettably, no government school funding was available. If a school were to be built, they would have to build it themselves.

The parents held meetings, recruited volunteers and formed work teams. Using picks and shovels, they cut away and leveled two rocky patches of steep hillside land unofficially donated by a sympathetic government agency. One plot for the school; the other for a small children’s play area.

In the fall of 1999, with scavenged and donated materials, the parents worked evenings and weekends to realize their common dream. They improved the dirt road and built a lighted walkway to make it easier for the children to climb the steep hill. Within a few months, a makeshift, four-room schoolhouse, furnished with a few handmade and used desks and donated blackboards, was ready to receive their 87 bright-eyed, young scholars.

The mayor of Zihuatanejo, impressed by their commitment, contributed partial salaries to hire three idealistic, young teachers. Three other teachers work as unpaid volunteers.

The deservedly proud parents named the school Nueva Creación, which means new creation. News of this new school spread like wildfire, and the enrollment quickly swelled from 87 to 102 and now, 152, eager children. The classes are growing by two or three new children every month. The parents are overwhelmed and need your help.

Sadly, the school has an appalling shortage of every resource necessary to educate these deserving children. They desperately need books, school supplies, desks, uniforms, sanitation, shoes for barefoot kids, nutrition, classrooms, salaries for additional teachers, athletic equipment. The list goes on.

Por Los Niños de Zihuatanejo, in partnership with SailFest, the city of Zihuatanejo, Los Niños Incorporated and the Zihua Rotary Club International, has established the “Nueva Creación Building Fund” to help build a new, permanent primary school for the children on 5,000 sq. meters of safe, nearly-level land donated by the city. You can find additional information at: www.losninos.us

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