Fotokids Inc

SINCE ITS INCEPTION IN 1991, FOTOKIDS (ORIGINALLY UNDER OUR FISCAL SPONSOR, THE SAN CARLOS FOUNDATION) HAS UTILIZED PHOTOGRAPHY, GRAPHIC DESIGN AND MEDIA TECHNOLOGY AS TOOLS FOR SELF-EXPRESSION, CREATIVITY, LEADERSHIP AND VOCATIONAL TRAINING EXPERIENCE WITH HUNDREDS OF YOUTH FROM POOR RURAL AND URBAN AREAS. THE MAJORITY OF OUR STUDENTS, IN ADDITION TO LEARNING EMPLOYABLE SKILLS WITH FOTOKIDS, RECEIVE SCHOLARSHIPS TO STUDY IN FORMAL SCHOOLS FROM THE LEVEL OF PRIMARY EDUCATION THROUGH UNIVERSITY.

FOTOKIDS PROGRAMS FOCUS ON JOB SKILLS THAT SET OUR STUDENTS APART FROM THE 200,000 YOUNG PEOPLE ENTERING THE WORK FORCE EVERY YEAR AND WILL PUT THEM IN THE 20% THAT ACTUALLY FIND EMPLOYMENT. PORTFOLIOS CREATED BY THE STUDENTS INCLUDE THE WORK THEY HAVE DONE FOR ACTUAL CLIENTS, EDITORIAL AND EVENT PHOTOGRAPHY, THE DESIGNING AND PHOTOGRAPHING OF A COMMERCIAL CATALOGUE, AND THE CREATION OF A WEB PAGE. GUATEMALA CITY IS THE HUB FOR ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT GUATEMALA AND ALL OF OUR STAFF ARE GRADUATES, WE RUN AN INTERN PROGRAM FOR THE TEENAGE STUDENTS THAT PROVIDES THEM WITH ON THE JOB TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH REAL CLIENTS. FOTOKIDS ALSO PROVIDES THROUGH FUNDACIÓN DE NIÑOS ARTISTAS DE GUATEMALA, COUNSELING, TUTORING, FOOD BASKETS, NUTRITIOUS LUNCHES, TRANSPORTATION AND EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONALS IN PHOTOGRAPHY AND DESIGN. AS OUR COVID CHALLENGES FROM 2020 CONTINUED INTO 2021, WE WERE MET WITH AN INCREASE IN COVID 19 CASES ACERBATED BY THE APPEARANCE OF THE DELTA VARIANT AND BY COUNTRY-WIDE LACK OF VACCINATIONS. THE UPTICK IN CASES DEEPLY AFFECTED THE POPULATION FOTOKIDS WORKS WITH IN GUATEMALA. IN GUATEMALA CITY MANY FAMILIES CAME DOWN WITH COVID, OTHERS LOST THEIR JOBS, COULDN'T PAY RENT ON THEIR HUMBLE HOUSES, AND FINDING NO EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CITY, THEY WERE FORCED TO MOVE TO THE INTERIOR OR THE COAST TO FIND WORK. THERE WAS NO IN PERSON LEARNING IN SCHOOLS FOR THE CHILDREN AND MOST HAD NO ACCESS TO A SMART PHONE WHERE THEY PARTICIPATE IN VIRTUAL ONLINE CLASSES. THE SCHOOLS PUT HEAVY PRESSURE ON THE PARENTS TO BUY A SMARTPHONE OR TABLET. FOTOKIDS REACHED OUT TO OUR FAMILIES TO FIND AND BUY SOME SECOND-HAND PHONES AND TABLETS. WE ALSO BOUGHT THEM INTERNET CARDS (EXTREMELY COSTLY FOR A STRUGGLING FAMILY AT $15 A CARD) GIVING STUDENTS INTERNET ACCESS FOR 2 WEEKS AT A TIME. FOTOKIDS PHOTOGRAPHY TEACHING CONTINUED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR WITH SMALL CLASSES OF FIVE STUDENTS EACH IN A SOCIALLY DISTANCED SPACE. THIS MEANT OUR TEACHERS HAD MANY MORE CLASSES TO DO TO SERVE THE 70 FOTOKIDS STUDENTS. FOR A TEACHER THAT INSTRUCTED 20 STUDENTS THIS BECAME 4 DIFFERENT CLASSES. IN THE CITY WE WERE ABLE TO USE 3 DIFFERENT OUTDOOR LOCALES WITHIN OUR FOTOKIDS HEADQUARTERS.AMIDST THIS CRISIS FOTOKIDS HAS CONTINUED WITH THE FOOD BASKETS AS OVER 80% OF OUR FAMILIES HAVE LOST THEIR JOBS SO PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE WAS DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE IN SOME CASES. OUR BUDGET ONLY GAVE ALLOWED US TO GIVE 2 FOOD BASKETS A MONTH TO THE NEEDIEST OF FAMILIES. OUR MAJOR EXPENSES WERE IN PAYING ALL THE STUDENTS SCHOLARSHIP FEES AS SCHOOLS CONTINUED TO CHARGE TUITION AND MONTHLY PAYMENTS AND THOSE EXPENSES HAVE REMAINED THE SAME.

IN SANTIAGO ATITLÁN WHERE WE HAD 70 STUDENTS ATTENDING DURING THE PANDEMIC WE USED THE GARDEN, THE PERGOLA AND THE NEW SCHOOLHOUSE TO GIVE THE FOTOKIDS CLASSES. SANTIAGO WAS HIT HARD BY THE DELTA VIRUS, THE LACK OF MASKING AND RESISTANCE TO VACCINATION. AT FOTOKIDS WE REQUIRED THE STAFF TO ALL BE VACCINATED AND ENFORCED OUR MASK MANDATE, TEMPERATURE TAKING, ANTIBACTERIAL CLEANING, AND SOCIAL DISTANCING.AS THE ENTIRE NATION SLIPPED INTO THE RED ZONE GRAPH OF CONTAGION, WE HAD TO GO BACK TO USING THE SD CARDS WITH VIDEO LESSONS. THE STUDENTS ATTENDED FOTOKIDS CLASSES IN PERSON TWO TIMES A MONTH, WHERE THEY RECEIVED A LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHY THEMES, AND COMPETE IN MONTHLY PHOTOGRAPHY COMPETITIONS. WE ADDITIONALLY HAD ONLINE PHOTOGRAPHY AND GRAPHIC DESIGN CLASSES AMIDST THIS CRISIS FOTOKIDS CONTINUED WITH THE FOOD BASKETS AS OVER 80% OF OUR FAMILIES HAD LOST THEIR JOBS SO PUTTING FOOD ON THE TABLE WAS DIFFICULT IF NOT IMPOSSIBLE IN SOME CASES. OUR BUDGET ONLY GAVE ALLOWED US TO GIVE 3 FOOD BASKETS A MONTH TO THE NEEDIEST OF FAMILIES IN SANTIAGO ATITLÁN. OUR MAJOR EXPENSES WERE IN PAYING STUDENTS SCHOLARSHIP FEES AS SCHOOLS CONTINUED TO CHARGE TUITION AND MONTHLY PAYMENTS AND THOSE EXPENSES REMAINED THE SAME. IN SANTIAGO THE OLDER STUDENTS ATTENDED THEIR TRADITIONAL SCHOOLS IN PERSON THREE TIMES A WEEK. AND YOUNGER STUDENTS TWO TIMES A WEEK.

GIRLS LIFE SKILLS THE GIRLS LIFE SKILLS PROJECT WAS ABSORBED INTO THE PROGRAM AS A WHOLE DUE TO COVID

LIKE EVERYONE ELSE IN THE WORLD WE WERE HOBBLED BY THE PANDEMIC. WE FOUND THAT WE HAD TO BROADEN OUR SCOPE TO NOT ONLY FIND A WAY TO EDUCATE WHILE SOCIAL DISTANCING WITHOUT AVAILABLE FIRST WORLD TECHNOLOGY, BUT ALSO TO HELP SOLVE THE FAMILIES MORE IMMEDIATE ISSUE OF HUNGER. OUR STUDENTS ARE AMONGST THE POOREST IN GUATEMALA AND DO NOT HAVE READY ACCESS TO EITHER A SMART PHONE OR THE INTERNET. FOTOKIDS WAS ABLE PROVIDE 300 HUNDRED FOOD BASKETS TO FEED THE CITY KIDS WHO WERE QUARANTINED IN THEIR HOUSES. PARENTS WERE EITHER WITHOUT WORK, OR DUE TO GOVERNMENT TRANSPORT RESTRICTIONS UNABLE TO GET TO WORK. EDUCATIONALLY WE HAD TO FIGURE OUT A WAY TO GIVE OUT LESSONS AND ASSIGNMENTS WHILE THE COUNTRY WAS IN TOTAL LOCKDOWN AND PROHIBITED FROM MOVING FROM ONE COUNTY TO THE OTHER. WE FOUND WE COULD VIDEO RECORD THE LESSONS ON AN SD CARD THAT FIT IN THE STUDENT'S CAMERAS. THEY COULD THEN REPLAY THE TEACHING VIDEO AND DO THE ASSIGNMENT ON THE SAME CARD, TURNING IT IN EVERY WEEK WHEN THEIR MOTHERS WENT TO PICK UP FOOD BASKETS WE HAD PUT TOGETHER. LATER AS RESTRICTIONS EASED STUDENTS CAME TO DROP OFF AND PICK UP ASSIGNMENTS PERSONALLY. GUATEMALA CITY IS THE HUB FOR ALL OF OUR PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT GUATEMALA AND ALL OF OUR STAFF ARE GRADUATES. WE WERE UNABLE OBVIOUSLY, TO RUN OUR INTERN PROGRAM FOR THE TEENAGE STUDENTS PROVIDING THEM WITH ON THE JOB TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH REAL CLIENTS. THROUGH THE FUNDACION DE NIÑOS ARTISTAS DE GUATEMALA, COUNSELING WAS DONE BY OUR IN-HOUSE SOCIAL WORKER, TO DETERMINE NEEDS AND THE GRAVITY OF THE FAMILY CRISIS. THE TEACHERS AND STAFF MEET EVERY WEEK VIA ZOOM TO DISCUSS AND EVALUATE THE INSTRUCTION AND THE CHILDREN'S FAMILY NEEDS. THIS YEAR TWO STUDENTS GRADUATES OF THE SAVE GIRLS PROGRAM AND FOTOKIDS RECIPIENTS OF OUR UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS GRADUATED WITH DEGREES IN GRAPHIC DESIGN AND FILM. THE YOUNG WOMAN IN DESIGN NOW WORKS FOR ONE OF THE MOST PRESTIGIOUS AGENCIES IN GUATEMALA. A REQUIREMENT IS THAT THEY INTERN AS TEACHERS ASSISTANTS FOR FOTOKIDS, WHILE THEY COMPLETE THEIR STUDIES AND THEY ARE PAID A STIPEND TO DO SO. IN SPITE OF THE CHALLENGES OF A PANDEMIC, SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND TEACHING CHILDREN WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO SMART PHONES OR COMPUTERS, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTINUE TO TEACH. THE KIDS ARE ENTHUSIASTIC AND OF THE 175 WE HAVE ENROLLED THIS YEAR, ONLY 3 HAVE DROPPED OUT OF THE PROGRAM. WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO KEEP OUR STAFF WHO LIVE IN HIGH RISK AREAS EMPLOYED, STIPENDS FOR OUR STUDENT TEACHERS, ALL THE SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIPS FOR CHILDREN IN THE PROJECT, CLASSES IN PHOTO AND DESIGN GOING AND THE STUDENTS HAVE PRODUCED A BODY OF WORK ON LIVING CONDITIONS AND THEIR REACTIONS TO COVID 19 WHICH WILL BE EXHIBITED BY THE SPANISH GOVERNMENT'S AID PROGRAM IN NOVEMBER OF 2021.

SANTIAGO ATITLÁN 1997 TO PRESENT: THIS YEAR IN SPITE OF THE CHALLENGES OF A PANDEMIC, SOCIAL DISTANCING, AND TEACHING CHILDREN WHO DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO SMART PHONES OR COMPUTERS, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO CONTINUE TO TEACH. HUNGER WAS MUCH MORE PRONOUNCED HERE THAN IN THE CAPITAL AND WE WORKED TO KEEP FAMILIES FROM STARVING PROVING FOOD BASKETS. GUATEMALA'S POPULATION IS 17,500,000 OF WHICH 59.3% LIVE IN POVERTY (HALF OF THOSE MAKING LESS THAN $5 A DAY). POVERTY IS MORE PRONOUNCED IN RURAL AREAS. WE USED THE SAME TEACHING TECHNIQUES TO KEEP OUR CLASSES GOING AS IN THE CAPITAL. STUDENTS HAD CAMERAS AND RECEIVED LESSONS AND PHOTO ASSIGNMENTS ON SD CARDS THAT WERE TURNED IN WEEKLY. DESIGN STUDENTS DREW DRAFTS BY HAND THAT THEY LATER WERE ABLE TO PUT INTO SOFTWARE PROGRAMS. DUE TO THE FACT WE HAVE MUCH MORE OPEN SPACE IN SANTIAGO WE COULD SCHEDULE CHILDREN TO USE THE COMPUTERS FOR THEIR TRADITIONAL SCHOOL WORK AS WELL. WE PROVIDED TUTORING.EDUCATIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT COVID 19 WAS GIVEN OUT THE MOTHERS WHO CAME TO COLLECT THE FOOD BASKETS. WE BOUGHT GRAINS AND BEANS WHOLESALE AND INCLUDED OTHER STAPLES TO PUT IN THE BASKETS. THREE STUDENTS WHO HAD BEEN IN THE PROGRAM 10 YEARS WERE SELECTED FOR UNIVERSITY SCHOLARSHIPS IN 2022. THEY WILL CONTINUE THEIR STINT AS TEACHERS' ASSISTANTS IN 2021. WE HAVE FLEXIBLE PLANS FOR SMALLER CLASSES OF NO MORE THAN 10 STUDENTS, DEPENDING ON THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION OR ON DECISIONS BY AUTONOMOUS CITY MAYORS. THE NEWER STUDENTS WHO STARTED LAST OCTOBER/NOVEMBER WILL HAVE MORE PHOTO TECHNIQUE CLASSES AND ASSIGNMENTS AS WELL AS WEEKLY IN-PERSON INSTRUCTION ON INTRO TO PHOTOSHOP. THE 4TH YEAR KIDS IN SANTIAGO ATITLÁN, WHO HAVE HAD MANUAL INSTRUCTION IN GRAPHIC DESIGN, WILL BEGIN THE SOFTWARE ADOBE ILLUSTRATOR IN INDESIGN CLASSES IN GRAPHIC DESIGN. DURING 2020 FINISHING IN SPRING OF 2021, THE NEW SCHOOLHOUSE IN SANTIAGO ATITLÁN WILL BE COMPLETED THAT WILL GIVE US MORE SPACE IN WHICH TO HOLD SOCIALLY DISTANCED CLASSES. OUR UNIVERSITY GRADUATE IN SOCIAL WORK, MAINTAINED CONNECTIONS WITH THE CHILDREN'S FAMILIES ASSESSING NEEDS AND ALL SANTIAGO STAFF PARTICIPATED IN THE WEEKLY ZOOM MEETINGS THAT FOCUSED ON PLANNING , PROBLEM SOLVING AND COMMUNICATION SESSIONS.

DUE TO THE PANDEMIC THIS PROGRAM WAS INCORPORATED INTO BOTH THE CITY AND SANTIAGO ATITLÁN CLASSES

THIS PROGRAM IS ON HOLD UNTIL VACCINES ARE AVAILABLE IN GUATEMALA. FOTOKIDS PROGRAMS FOR GRADUATES AND INTERNS IN DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND VIDEO. THIS PROGRAMS WORKS WITH OUR TEACHERS AND GRADUATES TO PROVIDE ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL TRAINING TO TEACH YOUNGER STUDENTS. GRADUATES OF THE PROGRAM HAVE STUDIED WITH INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONALS IN DESIGN, PHOTOGRAPHY VIDEO ANIMATION AND NOW WORK WITH GUATEMALAN TV AS EDITORS, GRAPHIC DESIGNERS, AS PHOTOJOURNALISTS BOTH NATIONALLY AND INTERNATIONALLY IN WORKSHOPS, AND WITH FOTOKIDS DESIGN STUDIO JAKARAMBA. JAKARAMBA PARTICIPANTS HAVE WORKED FOR MANY INTERNATIONAL NGO'S AND LOCAL BUSINESSES, DESIGNING WEB PAGES, SHOOTING VIDEOS, AND TAKING PHOTOGRAPHS.