There is a little village located two hours south from Cancún in the state of Quintana Roo in México and the name of this village is Akumal Pueblo. It is a town where the people who live there come from different parts of Yucatán, Quintana Roo and other states of México. These people came looking for the opportunity to make money with the tourist industry, to feed their families and to help support their relatives back in their hometowns.

Some of the people who live in Akumal Pueblo are very poor. They live in tarpaper homes and they have just enough money to pay the rent and buy food. There is little or no money to buy school materials, uniforms, shoes, etc. for their children’s education.

The basic education in México is very deficient. The government constructs the school and pays the teacher, but it does not provide any of the didactic materials that the students need to learn.

A group of women from the United States started a scholarship program for two students in the Akumal Pueblo. Some people from Bill-in-Tulsa’s message board joined in and together they gave the following students $20.00 USD per month for the school year.

Magdalena Neftali Ramírez Carranza: She is five years old and in Kindergarten; her family of five children came from Yucatán. Her mother and father work to feed the family and to pay rent for the tarpaper home where they all live. Magdalena is a very enthusiastic and intelligent little girl, and her teacher chose her as a really good applicant to receive the scholarship. She will be moving up to the first grade next school year. The money from the scholarship each month helps her parents to buy all the materials that she needs at school, such as uniforms, shoes and food for her lunch. They really appreciate Magdalena’s scholarship, because for them this is a great help and support.

Magdalena de los Santos is nine years old, and she and her family come from a little village, Tabasco, in another state in México., Magdalena and her brother have to walk to their school every day because their house is located 2 km away from school. A few months ago Magdalena had a terrible accident. She was run over in the highway while she was coming back from the beach where she was spending the day with her family. She was in coma for a month in a hospital located in Mérida, Yucatán. Now she is back home in her house but she is still unable to go to school because she has blackouts, and during them she does not remember her family, house, or anything. The scholarship was transferred to her brother Valentin de los Santos, who is eight years old and is in the 3rd grade. He is a good student who is doing his best, but he had a very bad school education in his hometown prior to moving to Akumal, so he has to repeat 3rd grade. His teacher says that he is working really hard but he is just learning how to read. The family uses the scholarship money to buy Valentin’s materials, uniforms, shoes and some food for his lunch.

We are talking to the local teachers to see what other students may be recipients for the scholarship in the future and they already have some thoughts about what children would really benefit from the scholarship money next year. Both of the principals of the primary and the kindergarten are very happy and they think that this program was a great help for the kids whose families do not have enough money. Also the students feel better because now they are able to bring their materials, uniforms and lunches like the other ones.

THANK YOU!!!!

To learn more about the scholarship program please click here and
click here.

Scholarship continues for second year.