Students visit sister schools in Guatemala

A group of Manatee students and parents recently returned from a visit to the central highlands of Guatemala, where they interacted with Guatemalan students and completed service projects.

“It was truly amazing to see the lives of students who lack even basic electricity, and how they still work hard,” said Southeast High School junior Kyle Jewell, who helped install solar lights in students’ homes. “It truly makes you appreciate everything that you take for granted.”

The trip was part of the Sister Schools Project, a program that matches International Baccalaureate Schools in Manatee with schools in Guatemala. The trip included students from Wakeland Elementary, Johnson Middle and Southeast and Manatee high schools, according to a press release from the Manatee Riverside Rotary Club. The Rotary Club supported their trip, and five Rotary members joined the students and parents.

The Sister Schools Project began in 2007, and has provided two classrooms for students in the highlands, materials to build a middle school and funding to build a high school, along with scholarships for indigenous children in the mountaintop village of Chiquic.

This story was originally published July 18, 2017 at 10:36 AM with the headline "Students visit sister schools in Guatemala."