Once again, we packed our bags and came together with CoEd supporters from all around the globe to witness CoEd programs in action!
This February’s tour season was our largest yet, with a whopping 86 people joining us for our GLP and Snapshot tours. Can you believe it?! 🤯
With two jam-packed tours and more stories and photos than we can count, narrowing down some of our favorite moments was hard, but here are our top ten!
#10: Crossing Lake Atitlán
It wouldn’t be a CoEd Tour without a trip across Lake Atitlán, so the group made their way through Panajachel to board a boat ride across the world’s most beautiful lake!
#9: Celebrating School Inaugurations
School visits are naturally a top moment for all our tour participants, and this tour season was no exception. We visited 13 program schools in Guatemala, inaugurating brand new Computer Programs, Textbook Programs, and Spark Reading Programs!
#8: Visiting a Weaving Cooperative
Another CoEd Tour tradition! The GLP Tour group visited a San Juan La Laguna weaving cooperative to learn more about this intricate and culturally significant craft.
#7: Connecting With Rise Students
Meeting or reconnecting with Rise students is always a special moment for sponsors. There was no shortage of hugs as participants gathered in small groups to chat and swap stories with these students. Keep reading to find out how many students received Rise sponsorships thanks to this tour season…
#6: Special Visits From Jennifer Jones & Gaby Moreno
In honor of CoEd’s 25th Anniversary, we had some notable guests drop by, including Rotary International President Jennifer Jones and Grammy awarded & nominated singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno!
What an honor it was for the GLP Tour group to celebrate 25 years of breaking the cycle of poverty in Guatemala through education, alongside Jennifer and Gaby. We thank them both for being ardent supporters of accessible children’s education in the country we all love so much.
#5: Meeting Amazing Teachers
CoEd’s programs wouldn’t succeed without the dedication and skill of the true leaders of the classrooms… the teachers. And it is always an honor to be guests to their lessons, as they showcase skills learned from programs like Spark Reading.
This teacher from a Spark school visit at Zaragoza was a rockstar!
#4: Experiencing Mayan History & Culture
Tour participants on the Snapshot Tour were honored to witness the ancient Mayan custom of fire cleansing and protection ceremony.
#3: Forging a River!
Little did the brave souls on this year’s February Snapshot Tour know… but their group would need to go full-on Oregon Trail! On their journey across the Western Highlands of Guatemala, the caravan had to forge some unexpected high water covering a road in order to reach their destination. 👀
Thanks to the skill of our amazing drivers, everyone was safe and has a great story to tell of their adventure.
#2: 50 Students Sponsored and Counting
And since this tour season was the biggest yet in CoEd history… that means the impact from supporters traveling with us was no different! Fifty Rise students were sponsored by participants on the GLP and Snapshot Tours. You heard that right… 50!
Thanks to those amazing students and their sponsors, the Rise team is well on its way to meeting the #100StudentsIn100Days goal by April 10th.
#1: Bonding and Having Fun With One Another!
Maybe the most important of them all… this tour season was filled with so much fun and countless heartfelt memories. Numerous schools were the scene of dancing, singing, playing, and celebrating!
We thank the students and teachers who welcomed us all with open arms, as well as the tours team who made it all possible!
An honorable mention… hearing a recorder version of ‘Hotel California’ during a Textbook Program activity at Tecpán Cooperative School! Check it out here.