Supporting indigenous mentors to reach more girls

We recently received two very good friends of Abriendo Oportunidades. They have generously supported key field activities for the past four years but had never visited Guatemala.  Mentors love meeting people who support their work and believe in girls, so they were thrilled to share updates and plans for the future.  The visit included an unexpected hike to corn fields and orchards that reminded us of the hard work Q'eqchi' families do every day to sustain their families.  

Part of the visit included learning about the vegetable and herb gardens girls have been raising at home.  Over 100 girls have successfully planted a variety of products that now help diversify their families' diet and also provide some income. We learned about saving for school materials, buying more seeds, and expanding gardens.  Mothers, grandmothers, and older sisters also shared stories about how girls are becoming more and more knowledgeable about traditional plants.  

Mentors believe that growing vegetable gardens help girls reconnect with local traditions and value land, water, and other natural resources.  We believe that it is never too early to try your hand at gardening.

If you have been a friend and supporter of Abriendo Oportunidades for a while, you may remember that mentors in Chisec secured an agreement with the mayor of that municipality. The agreement included City Hall donating a copier for the mentors new office, which is in a municipal building where they can work rent-free.  The copier finally made it to Chisec. It will make everyone's work much easier and less expensive!  

The Population Council's team and a group of education specialists also wrapped up the preparation of the integrated textbook for our program that focuses on providing access to secondary education. Abriendo participants in some communities have the option of completing middle school through our Flexible Modalities program. This program requires certification by the Ministry of Education. Our partnership with the MoE includes our contribution to the program through the preparation of the core textbook.  This month we are celebrating our new books too!

Please remember that all donations until Christmas will be doubled!

Thank you everyone for supporting us!