Scholarships & Training for Rural Guatemalan Women

Flory has had to persevere to overcome many obstacles in her life. This year she is within reach of her goal to become a nurse and finally a clinical psychologist.

Flory has had a history full of violence. Her mother died when she was a year old. She was left with no one to protect her and was mistreated physically and psychologically by her family members. In order to escape this situation, when she was old enough, she found work as a domestic. The people who employed her, helped her.

At 23, she went to live with a religious community, where they gave her psychological help and facilitated her studies. When she was ready to go on her own, one of her teachers gave her room and board, so she could go to school. She found work in a clothing store to support herself and attended junior high classes for adults on Saturdays.

When she graduated from junior high, she did not start studying her career immediately because she felt she did not have the knowledge she would need. She first studied a high school course in Science and Letters to have the tools she needed for her further studies.   She received glowing reports from her teachers and graduated in 2015 ready to move on

Despite all that she suffered, she is a friendly, outgoing young woman. She communicates with everyone. She is not afraid to share her opinions or discuss her problems when necessary.

This year, at 32 years old, she has started training as a nurse’s aide traveling three hours to attend her weekend classes. The week-end course is better suited to young women her age and she is able to work during the week to support herself. The career is a challenge and she must give all of yourself to do the written work, the exams, and laboratories all of which she needs to conquer.

She is very happy as her dream is to become a psychologist and this career is moving her closer. It has taken her many years of preparation. Her aspiration is to graduate knowing this career well. She will need a great deal of perseverance to reach this goal, but so far she has not faltered.

Since junior high, a Kateri scholarship has made it possible for her to study. Investing in young women like Flory, is what you, our donors, make possible.

At the most recent meeting, the scholarship participants focused on the theme of self-worth. The exercises on self-discovery and self-worth were led by Lisbeth. Lisbeth started the meeting by guiding the women through relaxation and meditation exercises. They moved into a reflective exercise, where the women pondered “What worries you the most?” They examined themselves and thought about their strongest qualities as well as their goals and desires. They also had the opportunity to point out the strongest qualities in their peers. Lisbeth explained that there are many aspects that we can recognize in ourselves, but other aspects are only perceived by others. The scholarship participants found this workshop useful because it reaffirmed their self-worth and taught them how to reflect on the good rather than the bad, which is not always easy to do.

Lilian, Juana, and Ingrid Esterina shared what is happening in their lives right now with Carmela in their individual conferences.

 Lilian’s studies are going well. Compared to the past, she has put more effort into her classes, and she is now more enthusiastic about her work and is eager to turn in her work on time.  The scholarship has motivated her to succeed in her studies going forward. It has made her more responsible. Lilian Elizabeth shares that accounting and social sciences are the most difficult courses because the two professors expect a lot from the students, but she realizes that she can utilize her peers to get additional help and she intends to reach out to them more often.

Juana’s academic performance is stellar; her average grade is 93. She understands the content of her courses well. When she doesn’t understand something, she is committed to finding ways to relate to the material and improve her comprehension. Juana shares that her family is constantly facing challenging situations, especially financially, because her siblings are also studying. What is positive is that she’s doing well in school and she is receiving support from the scholarship.

Ingrid Esterlina is studying to become a nursing assistant. She says it’s going well. She is getting experience through an internship. Each week she has gone to different clinics, visits families and assists in identifying health problems, and gives informative talks. She has administered vaccinations to children and assisted in the pharmacy. Ingrid has washed wounds of people who’ve arrived. The most challenging experience so far was working in the emergency unit where she gave aid to a man by washing the rotten flesh on his feet. Ingrid is thankful for her studies and opportunities to help.

All the young women in the Kateri Education Program are growing and changing.  It is helping open up to them new thoughts about themselves and new possibilities for the furture.  The program for each students costs $600 a year.  Make a donation today to show your support for education and new horizons for these young women.