We are excited to welcome 12 partners to our new RECARGA initiative. 

Global Fund for Children, through a collaboration with six other funders, is supporting a cohort of 12 civil society organizations in Guatemala and Honduras that advance the recovery, renewal, and improvement of learning environments for children who have faced diverse barriers to accessing education and that empower these children to reach their full potential. 

Called RECARGA – Recuperando la Educación en Centroamérica: Activando Redes y Grupos Asociados (Educational Recovery in Central America: Supporting the Critical Role of Civil Society Organizations) – this new initiative is a collaboration between GFC, the Tinker Foundation, The Summit Foundation, International Community Foundation, the Luis von Ahn Foundation, Focus Central America, and Vibrant Village Foundation. 

The three-year initiative supports local organizations to complement public education systems through innovation and technical leadership and by directly filling gaps to broaden inclusion, providing support to students, and advocating for expanded access to quality education for all children.  

Through RECARGA, each partner organization receives annual funding and organizational capacity-strengthening support to continue its education-related work, with a particular emphasis on increasing organizational influence and impact beyond direct service delivery. 

[image_caption caption=”Partners and GFC staff taking part in the closing session of the RECARGA convening held in Guatemala. ” float=””][/image_caption]

Meet the RECARGA partners:  

ACCIÓN HONDURAS 

Honduras | Lepaterique 

Acción Honduras focuses on generating positive and lasting changes in rural Honduras by inspiring and empowering communities to take action to improve the conditions of people living in vulnerable circumstances through sustainable development and systemic change. The organization has a special focus on children, adolescents, and youth. 

ASOCIACIÓN DE ESTUDIOS Y PROYECTOS DE ESFUERZO POPULAR 

Guatemala | San Juan Sacatepéquez 

Asociación de Estudios y Proyectos de Esfuerzo Popular (EPRODEP) provides formal education, personal accompaniment, and opportunities for artistic expression to children and adolescents who have been excluded from public schools, including children with disabilities and youth with behavioral challenges. 

ASOCIACIÓN PUERTA DE ESPERANZA 

Guatemala | Guatemala City  

Asociación Puerta de Esperanza provides alternative education and literacy programs to children and youth who live in and around Guatemala City’s largest public market. 

CENTRO INDIGENISTA DE CAPACITACIÓN ARTESANAL INTIBUCANO 

Honduras | Intibucá 

Centro Indigenista de Capacitación Artesanal Intibucano (CICAI) provides middle school education and technical training in a variety of traditional handicrafts to young people from Lenca Indigenous communities, offering academic opportunities while advancing cultural knowledge. 

CHISPA PROJECT 

Honduras | Tegucigalpa  

Chispa Project brings books directly to schools, seeding and invigorating libraries inside established local educational institutions while training teachers and parents to jointly manage and creatively use the donated books in ways that enliven learning. 

ESCUELA BILINGÜE INTERCULTURAL COMUNITARIA 

Guatemala | Rabinal 

Escuela Bilingüe Intercultural Comunitaria, run by Fundación Nueva Esperanza Río Negro, serves Achí and Q’eqchi’ Indigenous adolescents from rural areas through its secondary school, which specializes in sustainable ecology and agriculture and preserving historical memory. 

INSTITUTO COMUNITARIO LA ESPERANZA 

Guatemala | Chimaltenango 

Instituto Comunitario La Esperanza provides accelerated primary and middle school education, with a focus on violence prevention, primarily to adolescents who have migrated from the Guatemalan Highlands to Chimaltenango, one of the country’s fastest-growing urban centers. 

[image_caption caption=”GFC staff preparing for sessions at the RECARGA convening in Guatemala.” float=””]

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PERONIA ADOLESCENTE 

Guatemala | Villa Nueva 

Peronia Adolescente provides tutoring and psychosocial support, alongside and integrated with the arts, to children and adolescents in peri-urban areas struggling with violence. 

PROGRAMA SOCIOEDUCATIVO PASO A PASO 

Honduras | San Pedro Sula 

Programa Socioeducativo Paso a Paso is an education and community development center that offers both academic and holistic support to children, youth, and families in San Pedro Sula’s Rivera Hernández neighborhood through playful learning and by advancing nutrition, livelihoods, environmental care, and wellbeing. 

PROYECTO UREMU 

Honduras | San Pedro Sula  

Proyecto Uremu provides free music education in marginalized communities in the city of San Pedro Sula to encourage children to practice the arts and to offer them alternatives to environments that put them at social risk. 

TIERRA NUEVA 

Guatemala | Huehuetenango 

Tierra Nueva promotes the expansion of alternative education opportunities for children and adolescents in rural areas of western Guatemala through a pilot program and training for public primary and secondary school teachers. 

YO’O GUATEMALA 

Guatemala | Purulhá 

Yo’o Guatemala offers literacy programs for Poqomchi’ and Q’eqchi’ Indigenous children in rural areas and encourages them to enjoy reading by providing them with access to a dynamic community library.  

Header image: Guatemalan partners and GFC staff at the RECARGA convening held in Guatemala. © GFC