Tour of Ix-canaan Child Development Centre

Welcome to the Ix-canaan Child Development Centre! 

—–

Work is underway to build a path up the hill from the road to the front door.   There are two study/reading/rest areas with benches in the shade of the road side of the property.  Still needed is a gate at the roadway to enter.

—–

Due to the size and layout of the new building, we have been able to expand our services to the children of the village:

—–

1.  Just inside the door to the left is an area for the librarian to sit where she oversees all activities in the main room, and she has control of the equipment for the students to complete their homework assignments … printer/copier, hole punches, paper cutters, stapler, pens, pencils, crayons, paints, scissors, etc.

—–

2.  On the right side of the main door is a Floor Play Area where the younger children can play with cars, blocks, lego and the new train set donated by Dentistry for All.  A bookshelf of English novels that we use in a book exchange program is just to the left of this area.

—–

3.  Straight ahead from the main door is a Work Table where the kids can play games, assemble puzzles or work on their homework (there are other areas as well where the kids can work on homework .. we have lots of children coming to do this as they don’t have a suitable place in their homes).  On the other side of the table is the Computer Center where we now have 8 donated used computers for them to work on homework assignments.  When I took these photos, it was a public holiday here and we still had students coming in all day to use the computers to prepare for classes.  Also, right now, some of the computers have been pushed to one side while a mural is being painted by a local artist who is donating his time for this project.

—–

4.  Just to the left of the computer center we have created a Play House for the younger kids.  To do this, we closed in a closet that was just inside that open door that you see, and opened holes in the wall of the main room for a door and two windows.  We are planning to have this wall painted to represent a house … a shingled roof, shutters on the windows, flowers and grass growing up from the floor, etc.  We would also like to have some small furniture built to put inside .. a little table with chairs, a play fridge and stove, etc.

—–

5.  The door you can see just to the left of the play-house is the actual Library Room.  We have some books for young children on the right, and reference books as well as a few books for adolescents on the left.  A volunteer donated sufficient funds for us to purchase the double chair which is for our afternoon reading program when we have stories read to the younger children (none of whom have books in their homes).  There is also a pile of pillows just behind the large bookshelf for them to sit on.

—–

6.  Against the wall opposite the play-house is a shelf of Games and Puzzles that have been donated by volunteers over the years.

—–

7.  Just past the shelves for games is a room that is designated as an Office for visiting professionals.  Right now we have a Child Psychologist from Guatemala City who is here as a volunteer for 5 months to work with the kids.  She is just in the process of decorating it and we have obtained an old desk to put in there for her use.   Outside the window you can see part of the playground that will be shown in a later photo.

—–

8.  On the other side of the hall from the little office is our new Classroom for teaching – primarily, English, French and Mathematics.  The languages are particularly important for these children as we are a touristic community and if they are going to be able to work here when they graduate, they are going to have to be able to communicate in other languages.  The shelves here have a variety of teaching materials.
—–

This room is also going to be used for Friday afternoon kids movies.

—–

9.  Back at the main entrance, outside and to the left is a covered corridor that runs the length of the house.

—–

This is the Arts and Crafts area (or another place to do homework or play games, etc).
—–

We will soon be able to rent the centre when not in use (nights and weekends) for Children’s Parties, so this would be the area to serve the food.  The Ix-canaan Women’s Group would be in charge of supplying the food so this would create a small potential income to offset costs for both the Centre and the Women’s Group.
—–

At the far end of this corridor is a bar that the previous owner left.  We will be installing doors on the back side so it can be used as storage for the dishes for the children’s parties, as well as the equipment for outdoor sports and games.

—–

10.  At the far end of the corridor, on the other side of the bar, is a home-made Ping Pong Table, also left by the previous owner.

—–

11.  To the right of the ping pong table, also under a high roof, is our Playground that we have just had moved from the other library site to here.  The kids can now use the playground rain or shine.

—–

12.  On the left side of the back yard, we plan to build a flat space for a small Soccer Field / Basketball Court.

—–

13. On the right side of the back yard, we plan to build several other Games for kids …  we have lots of ideas that will be forthcoming over the next days.

—–

Over the last month, with help from a variety of volunteers and some donated funds, we have been able to buy and install locks on all doors, have the front doors welded back into place, clean and paint the entire house inside, repair all the electrical problems and replace lights, cut and mount old tables on the walls to create a computer center, close off the closet and cut holes to make windows and door for the playhouse, have a mural painted on the back wall, prepare the space for the playground and have it disassembled, moved and reassembled, build cement steps into the back yard, completely design and implement a pathway and two study areas in the front yard, collect, clean, repair and paint the planters that were scattered throughout the property, and much much more.

—–

Still, there is lots more to do to get the Centre operating at its full capacity … we still need to build a front gate to the property, cement the front corridor, paint the building on the outside, replace a toilet in one of the two bathrooms,  replace broken screens in the windows and doors (there is no glass), build a door for the English classroom, send projector to Guatemala City for repairs, purchase inexpensive carpeting for the library reading area and for inside the playhouse, purchase dishes for catering the parties, varnish the wooden playground equipment so it will last longer, level and prepare a surface for a small soccer field, prepare the area and build games for the other half of the backyard, and more.

—–

We are accepting donations for the ongoing development of the Ix-canaan Child Development Centre … as well as for the ongoing maintenance costs of Project Ix-canaan (salaries, internet, electricity, etc.).  To donate, click on the “Donate” tab for instructions … it is fast and easy and every bit helps us to maintain this service for the impoverished kids of our area.

—–

Thank you!!

—–

Anne Lossing
Founder Project Ix-canaan
www.ixcanaan.com
El Remate, Flores, Peten, Guatemala, 01001
Phone: (502) 5804-8639
anne@ixcanaan.com