While studying Spanish in Antigua, Guatemala in 2002, Sarah Peller also taught students with Cerebral Palsy. She saw they did not receive much education and noticed how differently children with disabilities were treated in Guatemala compared to the United States.
There are no teaching assistants so mothers had to stay in school to help their kids in the classroom. Sarah believed that the students’ psychological growth might have been stunted because they were constantly with their parents.
Sarah, who is earning her Ph.D. in School Psychology at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, wanted to establish a program for Guatemala youngsters and adults with disabilities so they can enjoy life and more importantly grow mentally as will as physically. Friends from Zeno Mountain Farm for people with disabilities in Vermont loved her idea. With their help and support, Sarah's dream came true in January of 2006 by establishing Campamento Kikotimaal.