Empower Maya Weavers' Children through Education

In Guatemala, young people and children are often denied the opportunity to study for a variety of reasons, the main one being the lack of financial resources in their families. In Santiago Atitlán, elementary schools are public while for the higher levels, middle school and high schools, are almost exclusively private. Due to this, many families cannot afford to pay the monthly school fees for the higher education of their children and the extra costs deriving from books and other material. In most cases, young people are destined to stop their academic trajectory after elementary school or even earlier to start working and providing for their families. Another issue is the archaic belief that only men have the right to go to school, which persists in some families in the community and still affects young girls. 

Acknowledging this situation, Cojolya seeks to empower children and young people through education and to prepare them for a better life no matter their gender or economic situation.

This month we want to share with you the victory, the joy and the excitement of our beneficiaries: Julisa and Concepción are now new professionals in our community. On 27th October 2019, the two girls became teachers and demonstrated to the community that, with effort and dedication, women can achieve their dreams. On this joyful day, we would like to dedicate these achievements to our donors, who gave the support to make this possible.

We would also like to share with you the happiness and pride of Manuel and his family for the completion of the first step of his academic career: the graduation from elementary school. 

Everything that we have achieved this year is the fruit of the support of our donors, which enabled these young people to reach their objectives and change their destiny for the better. Now the life of our beneficiaries will be different from that of most young people in the community who start working from the age of 13 to help their parents cover the needs of the household. For the future, this is the reality we aim to change.

Our objective is that every childbenefiting from our program can one day become a professional, just like Concepción and Julissa, so that they will have access in the future to a dignified and well remunerated job. And thanks to that, may they be able to enhance the economic situation of their family. 

Dolores is a third-year student in a primary public school in Santiago Atitlan and she is the youngest in her family. Her brothers are not studying anymore, as all of them quit after finishing primary school.

At the beginning of her academic career, Dolores had difficulties with subjects such as maths, reading and writing, but through dedication and effort, she improved her academic performance in these three areas. Her teacher now says that her reading has dramatically developed. Another important achievement has been overcoming her shyness. In fact, from being a child who found it hard to express her point of view in class, little by little she has learned how to overcome her timidity.

What helped her in achieving this goal has been the materials and the tutoring that the ‘Mano a Mano program’ has been providing her every month. Thanks to the support she received, she managed to improve her abilities and carry out her homework without difficulties. 

 Her sisters did not have the opportunity to continue studying after primary school and they dedicate themselves to weaving and embroidering, the traditional arts that often provide an income for their mother and many other women in Santiago Atitlan.

Josefa, Dolores’ mom, is glad that her children had the opportunity to develop their capacity to read and write and learn Spanish as a second language, which not every Guatemalan can speak. Indeed, although it is the official language of the Country, there are indigenous populations who are raised speaking Mayan languages and do not have access to schools where they could learn it.

Dolores’ desire for her future is to get a broad understanding of life. She dreams of becoming a professional and an independent woman.