In Guatemala, a country where electricity is provided by one company and power outages are frequent, Limitless Horizons Ixil’s solar-powered school is a leading example in Chajul of alternative, renewable energy. Our solar panels, generously funded by rock climber Alex Honnold’s foundation, the Honnold Foundation, ensure that students’ learning goes uninterrupted, keeps the computer lab up and running, while also providing meaningful learning opportunities for students like Evelyn. As our science teacher, David, puts it, “seeing things in person is much more effective than sitting in class learning about something theoretically.”
According to her mom, Evelyn’s interest in STEM has grown since joining Colegio Horizontes. One of Evelyn’s fond memories from 7th grade is of seeing the installation of the school’s solar panels and subsequently learning about solar and other sources of renewable energy in her science class:
“I remember when my science teacher taught us about solar panels. First, we discussed what they were and then we visited the control room where we learned how solar energy is converted into electrical energy,“Evelyn recalls. According to her,“renewable energy is important here at Colegio Horizontes, because [Chajul’s frequent] power outages don’t affect our studies.”
Solar panels are one example of how Colegio Horizontes is expanding the horizons of students like Evelyn, and inspiring them to be changemakers in their communities. Now, she is well on her way to leading change in the community in areas like renewable energy, saying, “I’ve spoken to my family about Colegio Horizontes’ solar panels, and I think that by having these conversations in my family and community, this technology could be adopted more widely in Chajul and in Guatemala.”
Together, we are opening more doors to quality education that will prepare and empower Chajul’s students to pursue in-demand career paths in science, technology, engineering, math, and maybe even renewable energy!