The transformative power of literacy in rural Guatemala is on display with Global Learning Exchange Initiative’s (GLXi) latest book distribution. Through our Open Books, Open Minds curriculum, this massive logistical effort successfully delivered 3,360 brand-new storybooks to 40 classrooms across 33 public schools in 7 regional departments, including Quetzaltenango, Sacatepéquez, Jalapa, and El Quiché. By providing 1,200 children with access to colorful reading corners, we are building student confidence, supporting special education, and building literacy across Guatemala. Read the full article to see how strategic teacher training and physical book donations are working together to reshape childhood education and change a generation.

Join the Global Learning Exchange Initiative (GLXi) this June for our 2026 Teacher Sponsorship Campaign to help empower educators and transform classrooms in rural Guatemala. Through a monthly sponsorship, U.S. donors can provide local teachers with an essential literacy toolkit, including a curated 85-book classroom library, modern technology, and specialized Open Books, Open Minds training. Discover how your support creates a powerful domino effect, allowing one leader to unlock the potential of thirty futures. Stand with a teacher, change a generation, and help us break our previous sponsorship numbers to bring the life-changing gift of literacy to students who are hungry to learn.

As we celebrate Mother’s Day, we wanted to pull back the curtain on the incredible women who power our mission from the ground up. They are in our classrooms and they are in our communities. They are proud bearers of the title #GLXimom.

On March 21, GLXi recognized World Poetry Day by sharing a few poems written by teachers in our program. We hope you enjoy this latest example of the imagination and creativity shown by our participating teachers!

We have some amazing educators taking part in the 2026 Open Books, Open Minds (OBOM) program! These 47 teachers hail from 10 different regions of Guatemala, and range in age from 25 to 45 years old. Their experience level also varies: from 2 years of teaching to 20.

Already, they are showing an impressive desire to improve their teaching skillsets so that they can improve educational outcomes for their students. We hope you enjoy learning about them, and about how our program is bringing new tools and opportunities to their classrooms.

The 2026 school year in Guatemala is off to a great start! Classrooms are buzzing with activity, desks are packed with materials, and whiteboards are working overtime as our Open Books, Open Minds curriculum is once again implemented in the pre-Kindergarden through third grade levels. We checked in with some students to see what they are excited about for the coming year.

Global Learning Exchange Initiative’s programming is grounded in a curriculum designed to encourage, improve and strengthen children’s reading and writing skills. With early intervention and constant feedback, we can make a difference for students now and in the future.

As the year comes to a close, we wanted to step back and talk more about GLXi’s core mission in Guatemala, and why it is important. We hope you enjoy our Q and A with Dr. Juan Fernando Porres, GLXi’s director of education, and Andrea Tumax, our psychopedagogical intervention and evaluation coordinator.

The 2025 IDEL assessment results show us that GLXi’s Open Books, Open Minds curriculum is increasing its impact every year on student reading, across grade levels and throughout multiple regions of Guatemala.

By providing resources and teacher training to some of the more vulnerable areas of Guatemala, Global Learning Exchange Initiative is steadily building a future for children who face a very different reality than those in more affluent areas of the country and in the U.S.