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| Click on the photo to see our 2009 classes at the Scheel Center. |
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| Give a donation to the kids of the Scheel Center! |
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| Find out more information on Scheel Center Technical Training Courses |
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Known for its beauty, culture, and history, the Panchoy Valley also has its marginal zones where homeless families and street children live. In these areas the unemployment rate is high, adolescents lack education, crime is prevalent, alcoholism is rampant, and familial violence is widespread.
Taking these problems into mind, the idea of opening a specialized technical school amidst the Victorias, Bella Vista, and Papalillo neighborhoods of Jocotenango, Guatemala, may have seemed like a risk, but it was also the long-standing dream of Patrick Atkinson, Founder and Executive Director of the GOD'S CHILD Project (GCP). In his own words, "It is the PERFECT place for the GOD'S CHILD Project to be."
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| 2009 School Year |
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Construction of the school was completed December 6, 2007, and classes began in
January of 2008. The
Scheel Center’s goal is to be a catalyst for community change on a large scale
by giving hope to impoverished families, abused or abandoned children. Hope is given
in three forms: Standard Education, Specialized Technical Training and
Community building.
For much
of the modern world, formal education starts around the ages of 4, 5 or 6. By
the time a child enters first grade they have often had several years of
academic enrichment to better prepare them to learn. Students at the Scheel
Center come from a very different world. Many of the students who study at the Center
have been robbed of their childhood in various ways. They have not had time to
play and learn. Many have not had access basic necessities such as adequate
food, clean water, shelter or medical care. For these and other reasons,
the Scheel Center students have grown up without an opportunity to learn.
Before a
student is in a position to successfully learn any subject, their basic needs
must be met. Scheel Center students are provided with two filling and
nutritious meals a day. For many of them this is the only food they will
receive.
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