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The monthly visits by Spanish students to the Adult Education and Support in the Preventative Center for Women of Quetzaltenango give us the opportunity to understand through direct experience the serious problems the women face. In addition to the loss of personal freedom, they suffer from lack of education and family support, the effects of the economic crisis in the country, and low self-esteem.

The initial contacts with the prison motivated the school's NGO to design a formal program to address these needs. As a result we formed an education project, for the inmates as well as their children, who often must live with their mothers in the prison during their incarceration.

What Does the Project Consist of?

Our project is an adult education program directed specifically to women incarcerated in the Women's Preventative Center of the city of Quetzaltenango. In addition, depending on the desires and interests of the women and volunteers we have offered: an educational program for the children of the women; yoga classes; basketball classes; art and collage classes; jewellery and sewing classes.

The project was designed to directly address the problems outlined above. The problems, including lack of education, recreation, and family support, and low self-esteem among the inmates, are addressed through direct assistance offered to the women during their incarceration in the prison.

Goals:

The goals of the project are:

1. To form an adult education center in the preventative center;
2. To develop social-cultural programs for the inmates;
3. To involve nationals and foreigners in addressing the problems that affect the women inmates; and
4. To improve the general knowledge of the inmates.

Staffing

The prison project includes the following employees:

General Coordinator of Projects (permanent): One of ICAmigos' three staff members, with the specific function of applying for the required authorization to conduct the adult education project. A coordinator is responsible for the current project, including planning the activities, which are carried out in conjunction with the administrative personnel of the prison, and coordinating the work of the volunteers. Other responsibilities include scheduling and distribution of educational materials and supplies for activities, such as plays, snacks, games, and holiday celebrations (Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, Christmas, etc.)

Volunteer Assistant Coordinators (temporary): This project is made possible thanks to the valuable work offered by our volunteers, all women due to the prison's requirements. These volunteers are foreigners from various countries, some of them students in I.C.A., and others sponsored by foreign sister organizations promoting volunteer work in our country. The teachers at I.C.A. also help plan and carry out the recreational activities offered by the school.

Material Resources:

The program has access to educational materials for the use of the volunteers in their classes. The materials available are: posters, blackboards, chalk, blackboard erasers, notebooks, pencils, pencil sharpener, pencil erasers, pens and Math and Spanish exercise books for each student. Additionally, snacks, small gifts and party supplies are usually available.

Funding and Financing

It is important to emphasize that the NGO ICAmigos is responsible for providing adequate financing for each program it sponsors. ICAmigos obtains funds from the following sources:

1. Percentage of the fee paid by each student in I.C.A.
2. Weekly donation by each I.C.A. teacher
3. Donations of students and former students
4. Donations of national and foreign organizations