The MAIA Impact School provides a holistic education with an equal focus on academics, culture/identity, and personal development for 300 girls (grades 7-9), creating a generation of empowered female leaders who can lead choice-filled lives and ignite transformational change. The combination of local leadership and deep engagement with families creates an ecosystem of support that meets the unique needs of marginalized Indigenous girls in rural Guatemala to create long-term, sustainable impact.
Maya women in Guatemala average only 4 years of schooling and half are mothers by age 20. The few young women who do manage to enroll in secondary school access a substandard educational system. Fewer than 2% enter university. Guatemala ranks last in Latin America in social investment, and girls are often the most vulnerable-only 10% of Maya women are active in the formal economy.
MAIA is designed to maximize the potential of Maya girls. Our pillars of rigorous academics, socioemotional education, community, and culture work together to create a profoundly intentional support system developed to nourish and connect Indigenous girls' talents with the opportunities of the 21st century-creating a generation of female leaders empowered to break cycles of poverty and inequality. We call our students Girl Pioneers as many are the first in their families to continue in school.
MAIA's programs pivot from four long-term organizational goals: (1) Economic Autonomy-graduates will be formally employed and have annual earnings that exceed the average income in Guatemala. (2) Her Family on Her Terms-graduates will delay marriage and pregnancy until at least 25 years old. (3) Lifelong Learning-graduates will achieve an average of 15 years of schooling. (4) Empowered to empower-Girl Pioneers will pursue leadership positions at all levels of society.
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