Village of Chipoxlac School Project
Village Overview
Village of Chipoxlac
Locate 17 miles from downtown Barillas and nestled in the foothills is the village of Chipoxlac. The scenic two-hour ride will take you through some of the most beautiful places in this rugged part of rural Guatemala. As families moved from the village of Yula San Juan in 1969 they came to this site and settled families on the land. The land was considered government land at the time. The village worked with the government and were granted full ownership of their parcels.
Current School
Land ready for School
Today there are 120 homes, 150 families and 778 people that live in Chipoxlac.
The current school in the village has 6 classrooms for 180 students and 6 teachers. Because the village has decided that education beyond the sixth grade is important, the school is used for the “middle school” students as well. With so many students and conflicting schedules the middle school students have classes canceled due to space, equipment or supply issues.
The new 3 room school will provide the necessary space for the middle school for not only the village of Chipoxlac but for the villages of Canton Maravillas and as far away as El Porvenir, which is a 45-minute walk.
Chipoxlac has set aside a piece of land that will be used to build the middle school. The village has agreed to partner with HFPF and work hard to make this project possible.
The average daily wage in the village, when there are opportunities to work, is $5.40 per day. They average $108 a month when the work is steady. When harvest or work is difficult to find then they have to travel almost a day to the city of Ixcan to find income sources.
Gathering firewood
In this village there is a spring and there are areas where people gather water, not every home has running water. During the dry season villagers have to walk more than half an hour downhill to another spring to collect water.
In this village, villagers don’t have medical persons. Only two midwives take care of pregnant women.
Some families cook on open fires. 60 families still need stoves in this village.
Villagers must walk from 45 minutes to 1 hour to collect firewood. Some families must purchase firewood and spend up to $ 20.00 just for firewood.
BUDGET
1 school with 3 classrooms and 1 principal´s office = $ 32,000.00
60 families X $ 225.00 per stove = $ 13,500.00
Total $ 45,500.00