Supporting indigenous mentors to reach more girls

By now you may know that Abriendo Oportunidades program has worked for over 15 years in Guatemala, reaching nearly 15,000 girls and adolescents and over 400 young indigenous mentors. Abriendo has created a community of women that see the value on staying together to sustain positive change for girls at the community level, and now have stablished themselves as non-governmental organizations. A new movement has started. 

So this month we reunited with some of AO alumni to get to know what they are up to, what are their aspirations and goals for the future. Some of them are part of the mentor-led organizations, some others are not. This opportunity to reconnect allowed us to listen to their experiences, intertwine them, and detect points of encounter and divergence between them. Some of the participants of this first meeting are now community leaders, some of them have become midwives, some of them are now graduating college. Nevertheless, they still have to face barriers imposed for indigenous women and that is the challenge. We are actively working to listen more, and support mentors' in their journey to become autonomous and overcoming those barriers. 

This is only possible with the help of our GlobalGiving donors, so thank you from all of us at Abriendod Oportunidades. Stay with us for more news about the Abriendo movement in the months to come. We know there are great things to come.