Our CoEd team—easily spotted in our signature navy polos and khakis—arrives at Las Camelias as the school plans to sign the renewal agreement for their Textbook Program. The school buzzes quietly with focus as students shuffle their desks into the grassy yard, place them neatly into rows, and prepare to take an exam. It is the perfect metaphor for Las Camelias itself: resourceful, adaptive, and resilient. Even as the students notice the presence of visitors, their attention never wavers. Their teachers’ calm authority sets a clear tone; this is a place where learning is taken seriously, even when resources are modest.
Inside the principal’s office, both the principal and school administrator express deep sincerity about what the Textbook Program has meant to the Las Camelias School community. Their words carry notes of pride and hope. When it comes time to sign the program’s renewal document, the moment feels less like a formality and more like a milestone—a visible reminder of their determination to keep building.
CoEd textbooks don’t simply sit on shelves; instead, they shape the life of the school and how students learn. Witnessing the students’ discipline and preparation, even under the pressure of exams, reflects how much the resources have expanded their opportunities. And all of this is made possible through the ownership and dedication of the Las Camelias school leadership, which ensures the program’s success through careful management.
The first set of textbooks they received thanks to donors like you in 2002 has become an enduring benefit to this community, thanks to regular renewals with money saved in their revolving funds. Families commit to paying a small fee each year for their children to use the textbooks; all funds are used to upgrade the books about every five years, ensuring that students at Las Camelias are always studying with up-to-date resources.
Textbook samples for teachers
Alann, Field Representative and Teacher Trainer for the Textbook Program, with a teacher from Las Camelias
By choosing to renew, they demonstrate that this is a long-term partnership rooted in trust. In fact, Las Camelias has renewed their books four times over the years. Although the school size is modest with approximately 100 students, over the years, more than 800 students at Las Camelias have studied with CoEd textbooks.
Las Camelias serves as a beacon for what “renewal” can mean—steady progress and hopeful commitment. This comes through most clearly in the voices of two students, Alfredo and Sonia, selected by their teacher as the top of their class. They share their experiences with a mix of shyness and pride about what education means to them, as well as their ambitions.
As Alfredo expresses, “I hope to earn enough money in the future to help my parents when they’re older. I always want them to be healthy and by my side.
For my community, I’d like schools to have more resources—like supplies and making it safer for kids who walk long distances, so they don’t risk accidents.”
Sonia says, “I want to be remembered as someone who was always happy, who didn’t limit themselves, who faced challenges, kept dreaming, and always lived with joy.”
Behind every statistic are young people using their education to imagine new futures for themselves and their communities.
For schools in CoEd’s Textbook Program, textbook renewals are a celebration of a community’s ongoing pledge to education. Las Camelias stands as proof that the initial support, combined with ongoing dedication to the program’s sustainability model, can improve the quality of education in a community for generations, with no further outside investment needed.
