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Amilcar Pansiez Miculax

Age: 13 years
Community: Pachut
Grade: 7th (2008)
Siblings: 6

Amilcar Panseiz comes from the village of Pachut. Pachut is the last village on the increasingly narrow road northeast of Patzún. He is Amigos De Patzún's first scholar from Pachut, and as far as we know, the first student to finish sixth grade and go onto middle school in the community's history. Pachut is about a 2 hour walk from where Amilcar will attend school. The road to the village is impassible for vehicles in the rainy season. Pachut's elementary school has only two teachers for all 7 grades that it covers.

Amilcar is one of 7 siblings. His father, Gerano, is a farmer who works his own land on weekends, and works as a laborer on a larger farm during the week. Amilcar's mother, Martina, is dedicated to taking care of her home and her family. His father finished the second grade; Amilcar's mother never had the chance to go to school.

Like most of our student's, Amilcar's first language is Kaqchikel, he only speaks Spanish in school and only started speaking Spanish three years ago in the third grade. He is shy when speaking outside his native language, and is nervous to go to a school where all instruction will be in Spanish, and where he knows that the teacher's expectations are high.

Despite the odds that run against him, Amilcar is excited to go to school. Many of his former classmates have expressed to him their envy of his opportunity to go to school. Amilcar says that he feels "very lucky to have the chance to go to Junior High." He has not yet set his sights on a particular career path, but is looking forward to someday graduating a professionally geared high school with a diploma that will allow him to get a job and help his family.