Former Oak Harbor High School student Ryan Richards wanted to make a positive difference in Guatemala, so he chose to help with a school in Quetzaltenango.

Rather than volunteer with teaching students, he is working behind the scenes to ensure a bright future for the 200-student school in the Central American country.

He works for the school, known as Miguel Angel Asturias, rounding up volunteers to teach and raise money to benefit the institution.

The nonprofit school provides another option for poor people to educate their children. Richards said people there typically have two options for education. Government schools are usually of poor quality but for-profit schools are too expensive for the impoverished population to use.

“Since most of the population is poor, they can’t go to a for-profit school,” Richards said. Eighty percent of the population lives in poverty and the country is still recovering from a 36-year civil war that ended in 1996.

The school itself started in a house 12 years ago. Since that time, it has grown into a two-story cinderblock building that is secure from the high crime that is found in the area.

“The school is a bit of a fortress,” Richards said, adding that’s not unusual as homes there are built like castles.

He chose working in the Central American country after reading about the school’s founder Jorge Chojolan. He is an Ashoka Fellow, which is a nonprofit organization promoting and supporting social entrepreneurship worldwide.

Richards first became interested in Guatemala in high school while attending the United World College, which is a preparatory school in New Mexico. He learned about the country through his roommate, who was from Guatemala. Prior to that he attended high school in Oak Harbor and even arranged to graduate with his classmates in 2001. At Oak Harbor High School he was involved with ASB and served as treasurer and vice president. He was set to be ASB president, but earned a full-ride scholarship to the prep school in New Mexico.

His time in New Mexico sparked his interest in Central American issues. He eventually attended Juniata College, a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania where he majored in international development and Spanish.

He started working for the Guatemalan school after he graduated from college in 2006.

While he enjoys spending time with the students at the school, he prefers fund-raising and recruiting volunteers.

“I’m way more effective as a fund-raiser or volunteer coordinator,” Richards said.

In fact, when he visited home over Christmas and New Year’s, he spent time raising money for the school.

After a visit to First United Methodist Church he left with more than $2,000 in donations. While that may seem like a modest sum, it is enough to pay a year’s wages for a teacher in Guatemala, Richards said.

Pastor David Lura said Richard’s family has attended First United Methodist Church for years, so he invited Richards to speak to the congregation in late December.

The church has supported missionaries in Central America in previous years.

As for Richards, he plans to work at the school for several years. He hopes to raise enough money to pay for a third floor and set up a fund-raising and volunteer network to ensure the school’s success in the future.

After that, he plans to return to school and earn a Master’s in Business Administration and continue to work for nonprofit organizations.

More information about the Miguel Angel Asturias School can be found on the Internet at www.colegiomaa.org. Donations can be sent to The Stone Church of the Brethren, 1623 Moore St. Huntinadon, PA 16652.