OPEN WINDOWS FOUNDATION

Funds scholarships for disadvantaged youth in Guatemala to attend middle school, high school, and university. The program has supported over 240 students since 2003, with 55 students supported in 2024, including four at the university level. Scholarship recipients participate in annual reinforcement sessions where they mentor younger students.

Builds one- to two-room earthquake-resistant houses with bathrooms for families living in substandard conditions in San Miguel Dueñas, Guatemala. Houses are constructed using cement blocks, metal doors and windows, corrugated metal roofing, and concrete floors, typically completed within one to two weeks per home.

Hosts annual medical and dental clinics in Guatemala, providing health screenings, dental treatments (including fillings, extractions, and crowns), and general medical care. The 2025 clinic treated over 200 individuals, and dental clinics from 2023 to 2025 served over 100 children and adults each year.

Installs energy-efficient, smoke-free cooking stoves for low-income families in Guatemala to reduce wood consumption and improve household health. Each installation takes a few hours, with volunteer groups capable of installing dozens per week. A total of 1,473 eco-stoves have been installed to date, including 30 in Alotenango and Dueñas in one documented effort.

Provides computer skills training for children and adults at the Open Windows Learning Center, including instruction in basic computer operations and software such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Maintains a computer lab and lends laptops to scholarship students for home use, supporting both in-person and remote learning needs.

Coordinates short-term volunteer trips (one to two weeks) for groups to participate in building homes and installing eco-stoves in San Miguel Dueñas and surrounding communities in Guatemala. Volunteers also engage in painting houses, teaching children, and supporting infrastructure improvements such as fire station renovations.

Operates an after-school program in San Miguel Dueñas, Guatemala, offering daily homework assistance, tutoring in math and language skills, creative workshops, and computer literacy training for primary school children. The program aligns with the Guatemalan national curriculum and includes structured lesson plans and reinforcement classes held in the afternoons and during year-end intensive sessions with over 100 children participating daily.

Operates a library in San Miguel Dueñas with over 13,000 books in Spanish and English, including fiction, non-fiction, reference works, and curriculum-aligned textbooks. Offers a book lending program that allows children to borrow books for home use, promoting continued reading beyond classroom hours.

Assesses learning gaps among primary school children in Guatemala relative to the national curriculum to inform programming and instructional strategies in its after-school and reinforcement programs.

Creates and publishes free online video lessons covering key topics in the Guatemalan national curriculum through the YouTube channel "Aprende con Ventanas Abiertas." These videos were initially developed during the pandemic to support distance learning and continue to provide accessible educational content for students and families.