15 Years of El Patojismo (and a matching donation challenge!)
Today, El Patojismo and JustWorld celebrate 15 years of building brighter futures.
From a small, after-school program established modestly in the founder’s home to a fully accredited educational institution that provides quality education and life-saving resources for thousands of youth and families in Guatemala… this is the transformation of El Patojismo.
The support from the JustWorld community has helped create incredible opportunities for at-risk children in a troubled country. They are graduating, entering university, and securing career-based jobs. JustWorld donors are fracturing a cycle of poverty.
To celebrate this anniversary, and because of the success of the JustWorld mission, we are happy to announce the groundbreaking for a secondary school, Centro de Oportunidades.
A very generous, anonymous donor has pledged to match your donation, up to $100,000, toward the construction of this much-needed facility.
This is your opportunity to provide the bricks and mortar that will frame new classrooms where young minds will forever be positively impacted.
This is your opportunity to outfit each classroom with the desks and materials students desperately need.
Because of this gift, more children will graduate with a quality education, ready to enter university or prepared to secure career-based jobs.
Your donation to this matching capital campaign will create a lasting, measurable impact in a country with very little resources.
About El Patojismo and the Centro de Oportunidades
The original school at El Patojismo was designed for primary students only; it is now overflowing with students from Kindergarten to Grade 11. continue the progress of the educational model JustWorld has helped to format, the next step in the plan is to build a secondary school designed for the educational needs of upper school students from grades 7 to 11. The new school will continue to provide the same supportive, inspiring community all within the familiar, safe learning environment that has allowed so many at-risk children to thrive within for the past 15 years.
The History of El Patojismo
2006
While working as a teacher in Guatemala, Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes saw his students struggling with drugs and gangs, issues that his own generation had faced. Therefore, at the age of twenty-three, Juan Pablo turned part of his family's home into a community center in Jocotenango, Guatemala. His intention, by opening his doors to children, was to create a shelter away from the everyday street violence, drug dealing and illegal activities that continue to plague a country recovering from a civil war.
“I created a safe place for them to realize that they actually can change bad aspects in their lives and their community. I wanted to give them a better present in order to attain a brighter future.”
Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes, El Patetismo Founder
Juan Pablo began tutoring and mentoring a handful of kids after school. Word spread quickly, and children from all over the community joined the group.
2008
JustWorld began working with El Patojismo in 2008, providing funding to help Juan Pablo take his vision and grow. With the support of JustWorld and the global equestrian community, a new school was built to serve more children.
El Patojismo, an accredited alternative education institution for hundreds of students in Pre-Kindergarten-Grade 11, incorporates a holistic approach by including a nutrition and health program as part of its daily offerings. At El Patojismo, hundreds of students study in a modern, progressive learning environment, develop valuable skills, and learn how to start their own businesses and careers.
Thanks to JustWorld donors, The Samuel-Sanford Family, The Samuel-Sanford Family Performance Hall at El Patojismo serves as a healthy outlet for children to express themselves and to learn new trades such as music, dance and art, and the chance to perform in front of the entire community. The onsite clinic provides basic services such as check-ups, preventative care, and prescribed treatments.
2014
Recognizing the immeasurable impact El Patojismo has on its community, CNN awarded Juan Pablo as a CNN Top 10 Hero from thousands of candidates in 2014. Earmarking a page in history for El Patojismo and JustWorld, this award symbolized the positive change being made for children in Guatemala.
2020
Although El Patojismo facility was closed to students due to COVID-19 for 11 months in the 2020 school year, the work did not stop. Students who were fortunate to have access to Wi-Fi received online instruction. The remaining students who did not have the resources to access technology, participated in socially-distanced, face-to-face teacher visits weekly. Because of the valiant efforts of staff members and thanks to the support from JustWorld donors, teachers were able to continue to educate students using innovative techniques, and were able to provide essential resources in a country where such things were extremely scarce. El Patojismo staff and teachers supplied food, clean drinking water, vital healthcare and delivered “dignified packages” directly to children and their families; a lifeline source which included nutritional relief, medical supplies, and educational materials.
Through the COVID-19 pandemic...
- a graduation ceremony took place at the JustWorld school in Guatemala to celebrate the first graduating class. Each of these students are equipped to either be accepted into university or employed with a career-based job.
- “La Casa,” a new program focused on creating additional safe spaces and opportunities for female students was launched.
- El Patojismo was selected by The Ministry of Health to administer vaccinations for the cities of Jocotenango and Antigua.
Today
As El Patojismo and JustWorld celebrate the fifteenth anniversary, they plan to expand their reach in the community. The original school was designed for primary students only; it is now overflowing with students from Grades 1 to 11. The plan for sustainable growth for El Patojismo is to build a secondary school, “Centro De Oportunidades." This new school is designed for the educational needs of senior students and will continue to provide a supportive, inspiring community with a safe learning environment off the streets. The new school will provide a quality education with a core curriculum, which includes Math, Science, Accounting, Technology, and English as a second language, coupled with vocational training. Students will receive project-based learning with hands-on training in the areas of tourism, business development, and the food and service industry.
El Patojismo is transforming not only the children of Guatemala, but entire families as well. As we expand, we are able to provide powerful tools for future leaders to learn skills necessary to graduate, attend university and obtain careers.
Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes, El Patojismo Founder
More children will have the opportunity to graduate, pursue careers, and build a brighter future for themselves. And now thanks to a very generous donor who has pledged to match all donations through 2021, your gift today can go even further in helping fracture a cycle of poverty and helping students succeed.