MEXICO

 

Mexico has the highest per capita income in Latin America, but severe inequalities still exist between socioeconomic groups and areas of the country. Mexico’s educational issues include:

  • Poor educational quality: Mexico, with a GNI per capita of $8,340, ranked 127th out of 134 countries for the quality of its math and science educational system.  Vietnam, (GNI per capita of $690) ranked 72nd (World Economic Forum).
  • Literacy: Over 75% of Mexican 15-year-olds tested were incapable of performing even moderately difficult reading tasks on the 2006 PISA (OECD).
  • High drop-out rates: In 2006, only 32% of Mexican adults between the ages of 25 and 64 had obtained a high school degree, versus 88% in the U.S. (OECD).  

 

Mano Amiga Chalco

Location:  Valle de Chalco Solidaridad, State of Mexico

Founded: 1993

Number of Students: 934

  • Mano Amiga Chalco is located just outside of Mexico City in Valle de Chalco Solidaridad, an impoverished community with a population for 275,000 inhabitants. The average monthly family income is less than US$333 and only 36% of adults have completed elementary school.
  • When it was founded in 1993, Mano Amiga Chalco offered preschool and first grade classes. Today, it is educating more than 900 preschool through high school students.
  • In 2007, Mano Amiga Chalco’s elementary school students placed in the 90th percentile in the state on the national ENLACE exams and its middle school students placed in the 97th percentile.
  • Worldfund's grants have funded scholarships, the construction of an auditorium, a baseball field, a soccer field and a playground, and the launch of the Amiga Cartonera program at Mano Amiga Chalco.
  • The school's current needs include scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year and administrative office space.
  • Click here to watch a short video of the 2009 graduation ceremony

Mano Amiga Conkal

Location: Conkal, Yucatán

Founded: 2005

Number of Students: 444

  • Mano Amiga Conkal was founded in the wake of Hurricane Isadore to serve impoverished families in Conkal, a town of 7,500 inhabitants where the average monthly family income is US$270 and only 6% of students complete their high school education.
  • The school was founded in 2005 with 126 preschool through third grade students, and today educates more than 440 preschool through ninth grade students.
  • On Mexico's national standardized test, the ENLACE, Mano Amiga Conkal primary students scored in the top 20th percentile of primary students at public and private schools in the state of Yucatán.
  • Worldfund's grants have funded scholarships, repairs to the buildings' roofs, the construction of middle school classrooms, restrooms and a science lab, and science lab equipment.
  • The school's current needs include scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year and a multi-purpose patio.

Mano Amiga Culiacán

Location: Culiacán, Sinaloa

Founded: 2006

Number of Students: 378

  • Mano Amiga Culiacán is located in a low-income neighborhood in the outskirts of Culiacán, the capitol of the state of Sinaloa on Mexico’s northwest Pacific coast. The average monthly income in Culiacán is US$205 and 45% of adults have not finished primary school.
  • Mano Amiga Culiacán was built by HOMEX, a Mexican construction company which donated the materials and labor, on land donated by the Culiacán city council.
  • When it was founded in 2006, the school provided a preschool through third grade education to 112 students, and it will continue to add an additional grade level each year until it offers a complete preschool through high school education.
  • Worldfund's grants have funded scholarships.
  • The school's current needs include scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year and additional classroom space.

Mano Amiga Puebla

Location:  San Pablo Xochimehuacán, Puebla

Founded: 2006

Number of Students: 414

  • Mano Amiga Puebla was founded over two years ago in San Pablo Xochimehuacán, an impoverished town where fewer than half of households have running water and a significant percentage of the population is indigenous. 
  • In response to the great need for a high-quality school in the community, Mano Amiga Puebla began operating in an old factory rather than waiting until the funds could be raised for the construction of new facilities.
  • The school opened with 135 preschool and first grade students, and now educates preschool through third grade students. 
  • Mano Amiga Puebla is working with local supporters to address the medical needs of the students, many of whom suffer from malnutirition and chronic respiratory infections.
  • Worldfund has provided funding for scholarships and the construction of the preschool and primary school buildings.
  • Mano Amiga Puebla's current needs include scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year, classroom space, and administrative offices.

Mano Amiga Tijuana

Location: Tijuana, Baja California

Opened: 2008

Number of Students: 339

  • Mano Amiga Tijuana opened its doors in August 2008 to 280 underprivileged students.
  • The school was built by HOMEX, a Mexican construction company which donated the materials and labor, on land donated by the Tijuana city council. 
  • Worldfund's first grant to the school provided funding for classroom furniture.
  • Mano Amiga Tijuana's current needs include scholarships for the 2009-2010 academic year and additional classroom space.

Mano Amiga (Helping Hand) schools were first founded by a Catholic priest in Mexico City in 1963 in response to the grave financial, educational and social problems of impoverished neighborhoods throughout Latin America. Today, there are 31 schools in the Mano Amiga network, serving more than 19,000 students living in underprivileged communities in Latin America.