Empower a Girl in Guatemala: Education after COVID

“Teaching is more than conveying knowledge, it is inspiring change”

Among small towns full of magic and lots of color, is the Tolimán volcano, specifically in the municipality of San Lucas Tolimán, in the department of Sololá. It is believed that the origin of the word Tolimán is Tuliman or “place where the Tul is harvested” (a plant that grows on the shores of the lake). 

During its ascent, you can notice extensive vegetation such as coffee, corn, beans, bananas, plantains and avocados; also, the ‘luqueños’ comment that they have seen a diversity of animals such as deer, tigers, monkeys, snakes, birds and once upon a time lions. The ascent can take more than 7 or 8 hours, and at the top, you can appreciate a majestic landscape and the beautiful Lake Atitlán.

Currently, the region is home to more than 27,145 inhabitants and the economic diffculties of families are a factor that stands out in the communities surrounding the slopes of the Tolimán Volcano.

An important fact is that the children who have the opportunity to be enrolled in an educational center also run the risk of dropping out of school, as they are forced to perform other activities such as field work, handicrafts, embroidery, weaving, and developing their drawing and painting skills. This is also a cause of school dropout and low performance in the teaching-learning process. 

Our action as a project, in addition to the training and the delivery of the economic stipend, is to carry out individual or collective tutoring to detect situations that are being an obstacle to the academic formation of our scholarship girls. 

All this is done in order to resolve situations encountered and strengthen the skills and attitudes of the scholarship girls for their integral growth and prevent them from dropping out of school. 

The intervention of the Scholarship for Girls program is crucial to stop school dropouts and for the girls to have a better quality of life, both for them and for their families.

With your contribution, you are supporting the development of many girls in need. Every donation allows us to continue our work, for a better world. Thank you very much!

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Along with awakening the sun, each member of the Guatemalan families rises to receive the opportunities that the day brings. Every activity carried out promotes respect for Mother Nature and gratitude for life.

Guatemala is a multicultural and multilingual country full of traditions and customs; one of those traditions is to celebrate an important event with a delicious culinary dish called ‘Pulique’. The preparation of this succulent dish is led by the most knowledgeable woman, distributing the tasks equally among the group. To begin with, the beef or chicken is cooked in a clay pot over low heat, while another group of women grinds the tomatoes, onion and various spices on a grinding stone. To taste the recado added to the broth, where the meat is cooked, then mixed and left to boil until it is a colored soup, which is eaten hot with vegetables. During this important moment, traditions are practiced in a natural way, with all the family and friends.

A similar experience is what we live in the Scholarships for Girls program since we also carry out activities that generate coexistence between parents and scholarship recipients. Community service fosters solidarity and the commitment of both actors (parents and girls) to the community, as an ethical and civic norm. Our goal is to strengthen teamwork and organization, and to locate leaders that will benefit the project. Some of the community work that is carried out in the project are: planting trees or flowers, placing garbage cans, delivering food to elders or less fortunate members of the community, cleaning the school or
classroom. 

Our actions are always guided by the joy that lives in the hearts of each girl, knowing that they have the support that will allow them to continue studying and thus be able to obtain a better quality of life.

Links:

• Lee el report en espanol