Sugar Creek educators teach peers in Guatemala

Educators from Sugar Creek Elementary School were so inspired by their summer mission trip to Guatemala they’ve decided to go back and find ways to help more of the people there.

Principal Michelle Gritz and six teachers spent a week in Guatemala City hosting workshops to give educators there new tools to teach students.

“We really didn’t know on what level of teaching the teachers were; you had kids who were teachers at 17 years old because they took a high school class and were deemed teachers,” Gritz said.

That was just one of the challenges the group encountered during the June trip. Another was the language barrier.

“To teach and have to stop and have someone translate for you, you definitely felt like you couldn’t be as in depth because it took double the time,” Gritz said.

For that reason, Gritz said her group, which plans to return to participate in the Give and Teach program next year, will pair up with Guatemalan teachers throughout the coming year.

“We will email, we will Skype, we will share ideas so that when we go to them you’ll basically have your partner that you’ve built a relationship with all year,” she said.

The group also spent time all week building a house for a Guatemalan family and touring schools in the area.

Gritz said one of the schools was rural, and conditions there were eye-opening.

“Four wooden walls and drapes, but the kids were happy, the kids loved school,” she said.

The group from Sugar Creek decided to get students and families in Fort Mill involved. Gritz said they’ll partner with the school’s PTO to collect new and gently used shoes to give to the Guatemalan children when the group returns next summer.

The overall goal, Gritz said, is to connect globally and show children here in Fort Mill what it means to have compassion for people who come from an entirely different background.

Give and Teach aims to eliminate poverty in Guatemala. The organization not only helps improve teaching standards, and therefore the future earning potential of students, but also helps build homes, chicken coops, and stoves. The organization also helps provide food, eye exams and water filtration systems to families in need.

This story was originally published October 7, 2015 at 2:37 PM with the headline "Sugar Creek educators teach peers in Guatemala."