- pedrera@cx.edu.gt
- 502 3997 6461
- Office hours: 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
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Wayne Hess, founder of la Pedrera School Project NGO greeting students from this community.
In December 1996, Wayne Hess and his wife, Barbara, visited Guatemala for the first time. His daughter, Tea, worked with the Mayan people in the western highlands as a Peace Corps nurse. Guatemala was just coming out of a civil war that had lasted for over thirty years. Much of the indigenous population had been displaced by the war. Wayne was struck by the very generous nature of these people and resolved to be of some assistance.
Seven years later, Wayne was able to return to Guatemala with a Habitat for Humanity team. While there he was introduced to the school at La Pedrera, a one-room cement block structure with no running water. It was poorly equipped by US standards, but the children received a basic education.
The Mayan community at La Pedrera live in poverty. Lacking formal skills or an education, they work menial and labor intensive tasks to make a living, but they maintain the hope that their children will have an opportunity for an education and a better way of life. After visiting the school and meeting the children, Wayne knew he could make a difference.
La Pedrera School Project was founded as a non-government organization in the United States by Wayne Hess in 2004. With the help of friends, relatives, and generous supporters, we have been able to provide the school with supplies, clothing, text books, computers, internet access. In June 2007, we dedicated a second story classroom, making it a two room school.
Teresa de Leon, the director of la Pedrera School Project, has been the teacher since 2007. She has been working with the students in the afternoon providing them academic support with homework and educating the parents about how to improve their life in order to obtain better skills to have the opportunity to get better paid jobs in the city.
La Pedrera is a community of indigenous Mayans displaced by the Guatemalan civil war. Most are single parents trying to sustain their families on the meager income they earn through manual labor. They live in extreme poverty and hope for a better life for their children.
In Guatemala, all children may attend school, but families must be able to pay for school uniforms, books and other educational materials in order to attend. For the children of La Pedrera, this hurdle often prevents them from attending school. The families in La Pedrera often don't have enough to eat, let alone have the money it takes to send their children to school.
