A Discussion with Rev. Francisco Iznardo, Jesuit Priest and Director of Puente Belice High School, Guatemala City, Guatemala
With: Francisco Iznardo Berkley Center Profile
June 3, 2015
Background: As part of the Education and Social Justice Project, in June 2015 student Nicolas Lake interviewed Rev. Francisco "Paco" Iznardo, S.J., a Jesuit and the director of Puente Belice High School. In this interview, Iznardo talks about the unique mission and goals of Puente Belice High School.
Can you talk a little about your personal trajectory of social-pastoral work in Guatemala?
Well, I came to Central America in 1978 with the Jesuits and worked in El Salvador in a parish with groups of farmers and women. After that I came to work in Guatemala in Ixcán, a municipality in El Quiché, with resistance groups, and receiving people who were returning to their homes after being displaced, and we founded two churches there. I’ve been in this program with the youth since 2002, which focuses on the themes of self-esteem, the idea of belonging, the identity of youth in marginalized communities, and tries to reach all those through study and work. We also have various regional programs that deal with migrants and flows of people through all the Central American countries. Here we have relationships with some institutions that work with the poor, like Fe y Alegría, as well as universities, like Rafael Landívar University and the Central American Universities. All these relationships help our program.
Can you explain to me further the mission of your high school?
Here, our main focus is on human training. We believe that work and academics together will lead to the formation of good students and good people. For the youth who aren’t involved in bad things and who are already growing, this is a positive alternative to them. We want to change the relationships of the people in their home communities. We have students who take classes here in the morning and then in the afternoon work a job with a social impact. We have it set up that the business makes a donation to us, and then we fund the students’ educations. But if the student misses work he loses money. Our program is a program that’s an alternative to the violence in their communities. It’s a social program so that some youth can have a different future to show that there are other paths possible. It’s a social project with strong education and work components because the students study half the day and work the other half the day. We believe strongly in working more on attitude than knowledge.
Do students have to pay anything?
We decided that not having to pay anything is bad, because then the students lose the motivation to study. Students don’t pay anything for their classes, but they pay administrative costs of 50 quetzals a month. We found this motivates them to study even though the education is still almost free. Their payments aren’t what sustains the school, though. We’re funded by national and international agencies; the fees are just motivation for their studies.
So, if students don’t have to pay they don’t want to study?
No, they still want to study, but if studying costs them some money from their funds they have a greater motivation to force themselves to study. The parents also generally have very scarce resources, and a lot of time we have to pay for transportation.
So your students don’t have to pay much to study here and also earn a salary from their jobs?
Yes, both things. Of the 300 students we have, only 110 have a job. The other 200 are only studying and participating in other activities related to their training. The challenge is that not all businesses understand this model, so we have some trouble getting jobs for the students. Other businesses only have one to five students working there. The business gains from this system because it gets a worker, the student, and if the student is late or doesn’t come one day or misses a class, then the business doesn’t have to pay for that time.
What do the 200 students who don’t have a job do during the time that the others are working?
They go to their houses. We have other things they can do outside of school, other skills they can work on, like English classes, computer skills, or leadership training. We also have courses that students can take like “Analysis of Freedom in Guatemala,” where we study issues like racism and participate in the demonstrations on the weekends.
How do you select your students?
We only have students from five communities. We chose the five, and not more, because we want to have a presence in the communities. The students meet in their communities every two weeks for a project. Also, we only take students who can’t pay for their own studies, although that doesn’t limit our choices much. Here, we say that you’re not entering a high school, you’re entering a project. This project is a different path, a different path of studying, of working, and of opportunities.
Do you have indigenous students here?
Guatemala City has an indigenous population that’s much smaller than other areas. We have four or five young men who dress in traditional clothing, and also some second or third generation indigenous, who don’t know the indigenous language or their culture, so not really. The mixture of the Mayans into the rest of society is very evident; here the visibility of the Mayans is small.
Who are the teachers here?
They don’t necessarily have to have graduated. We have ex-students and five or six adults. We have youth educating youth, with the advantages and disadvantages of that. The young teachers come from the same communities as the students, so they have had the same experiences as the students.
What year did you start, and what have students who have graduated gone on to do?
A German Jesuit started the high school in 2003. We already have 40 students in Rafael Landívar University, as well as social workers and other professionals. We want everyone to have a social conscience, and one of the sayings we have around here is, “We seek to form successful professionals in failed countries.” We don’t feel that the youth leaving from here have been successful until they have a critical sense of the social and political issues in the country.
You talked a little about the importance of getting a capacity for critical analysis in the students. How do you measure and promote that in your students?
Well, here we have social formation classes that take up four hours every week, which is more time than any other subject gets. There are various activities the students can attend, like the demonstrations and meetings. What we see is that the students are leaving their world of reggaeton and telenovelas and are asking, “Well, what is this?” We have one program that’s called Young Reporters, and they report about their communities and the news and they can work together. All that matters is that they do it. What impact does that have on the social conscience of those who have graduated? Well, seven out of every eight students who have graduated now work in in social work.
Do you think the teachers here have the same motivation in teaching that capacity for critical analysis to the students?
Yes. It’s a very circular thing. The adult teachers have a clear social and political conscience. The rest of the young teachers are still formulating this. Our team starts working at 7 a.m. in the morning and leaves at 6 p.m. in the afternoon. What are they gaining more than just a minimum wage? Practically, they’re donating their time to the project. We dream that more than that they are getting a social and political conscience, and they understand they have the capacity to transform society.
What are the main challenges for the future?
For the high school I think the main challenge is forming a team, of youth and adults, that is educated and want to work for others. Getting people to donate their time is not easy, so the human resource is important. Also, we’d like to have more stability with the businesses. We can have more students working and forming that social conscience.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
The challenge of getting youth educated is fundamental in this country. The youth are stigmatized, stereotyped, and discriminated against. In this patriarchal country, we try to offer a future through this high school. We want our students to feel powerful, that they want to study, that it’s worth the effort, and that they have talents in this society that disfavors them. That’s what we’re trying to do.
Well, I came to Central America in 1978 with the Jesuits and worked in El Salvador in a parish with groups of farmers and women. After that I came to work in Guatemala in Ixcán, a municipality in El Quiché, with resistance groups, and receiving people who were returning to their homes after being displaced, and we founded two churches there. I’ve been in this program with the youth since 2002, which focuses on the themes of self-esteem, the idea of belonging, the identity of youth in marginalized communities, and tries to reach all those through study and work. We also have various regional programs that deal with migrants and flows of people through all the Central American countries. Here we have relationships with some institutions that work with the poor, like Fe y Alegría, as well as universities, like Rafael Landívar University and the Central American Universities. All these relationships help our program.
Can you explain to me further the mission of your high school?
Here, our main focus is on human training. We believe that work and academics together will lead to the formation of good students and good people. For the youth who aren’t involved in bad things and who are already growing, this is a positive alternative to them. We want to change the relationships of the people in their home communities. We have students who take classes here in the morning and then in the afternoon work a job with a social impact. We have it set up that the business makes a donation to us, and then we fund the students’ educations. But if the student misses work he loses money. Our program is a program that’s an alternative to the violence in their communities. It’s a social program so that some youth can have a different future to show that there are other paths possible. It’s a social project with strong education and work components because the students study half the day and work the other half the day. We believe strongly in working more on attitude than knowledge.
Do students have to pay anything?
We decided that not having to pay anything is bad, because then the students lose the motivation to study. Students don’t pay anything for their classes, but they pay administrative costs of 50 quetzals a month. We found this motivates them to study even though the education is still almost free. Their payments aren’t what sustains the school, though. We’re funded by national and international agencies; the fees are just motivation for their studies.
So, if students don’t have to pay they don’t want to study?
No, they still want to study, but if studying costs them some money from their funds they have a greater motivation to force themselves to study. The parents also generally have very scarce resources, and a lot of time we have to pay for transportation.
So your students don’t have to pay much to study here and also earn a salary from their jobs?
Yes, both things. Of the 300 students we have, only 110 have a job. The other 200 are only studying and participating in other activities related to their training. The challenge is that not all businesses understand this model, so we have some trouble getting jobs for the students. Other businesses only have one to five students working there. The business gains from this system because it gets a worker, the student, and if the student is late or doesn’t come one day or misses a class, then the business doesn’t have to pay for that time.
What do the 200 students who don’t have a job do during the time that the others are working?
They go to their houses. We have other things they can do outside of school, other skills they can work on, like English classes, computer skills, or leadership training. We also have courses that students can take like “Analysis of Freedom in Guatemala,” where we study issues like racism and participate in the demonstrations on the weekends.
How do you select your students?
We only have students from five communities. We chose the five, and not more, because we want to have a presence in the communities. The students meet in their communities every two weeks for a project. Also, we only take students who can’t pay for their own studies, although that doesn’t limit our choices much. Here, we say that you’re not entering a high school, you’re entering a project. This project is a different path, a different path of studying, of working, and of opportunities.
Do you have indigenous students here?
Guatemala City has an indigenous population that’s much smaller than other areas. We have four or five young men who dress in traditional clothing, and also some second or third generation indigenous, who don’t know the indigenous language or their culture, so not really. The mixture of the Mayans into the rest of society is very evident; here the visibility of the Mayans is small.
Who are the teachers here?
They don’t necessarily have to have graduated. We have ex-students and five or six adults. We have youth educating youth, with the advantages and disadvantages of that. The young teachers come from the same communities as the students, so they have had the same experiences as the students.
What year did you start, and what have students who have graduated gone on to do?
A German Jesuit started the high school in 2003. We already have 40 students in Rafael Landívar University, as well as social workers and other professionals. We want everyone to have a social conscience, and one of the sayings we have around here is, “We seek to form successful professionals in failed countries.” We don’t feel that the youth leaving from here have been successful until they have a critical sense of the social and political issues in the country.
You talked a little about the importance of getting a capacity for critical analysis in the students. How do you measure and promote that in your students?
Well, here we have social formation classes that take up four hours every week, which is more time than any other subject gets. There are various activities the students can attend, like the demonstrations and meetings. What we see is that the students are leaving their world of reggaeton and telenovelas and are asking, “Well, what is this?” We have one program that’s called Young Reporters, and they report about their communities and the news and they can work together. All that matters is that they do it. What impact does that have on the social conscience of those who have graduated? Well, seven out of every eight students who have graduated now work in in social work.
Do you think the teachers here have the same motivation in teaching that capacity for critical analysis to the students?
Yes. It’s a very circular thing. The adult teachers have a clear social and political conscience. The rest of the young teachers are still formulating this. Our team starts working at 7 a.m. in the morning and leaves at 6 p.m. in the afternoon. What are they gaining more than just a minimum wage? Practically, they’re donating their time to the project. We dream that more than that they are getting a social and political conscience, and they understand they have the capacity to transform society.
What are the main challenges for the future?
For the high school I think the main challenge is forming a team, of youth and adults, that is educated and want to work for others. Getting people to donate their time is not easy, so the human resource is important. Also, we’d like to have more stability with the businesses. We can have more students working and forming that social conscience.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
The challenge of getting youth educated is fundamental in this country. The youth are stigmatized, stereotyped, and discriminated against. In this patriarchal country, we try to offer a future through this high school. We want our students to feel powerful, that they want to study, that it’s worth the effort, and that they have talents in this society that disfavors them. That’s what we’re trying to do.
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