Send Guatemalan Girls to School
Donation protected
Based in Canmore, Alberta, Canada, the Hearts & Hands Foundation has been working in Guatemala since 2004. We have developed programs in education and health. Guatemala is a country that suffered with a civil war from 1960 to 1996. This was a war between the government and the Indigenous Mayan people. In that time Mayan families suffered immensely and over 200,000 were killed or went missing. Central America has been virtually ignored by North Americans and especially the governments. All the countries there have been fraught with corruption and wars in which the Indigenous people have died, remained in extreme poverty, and are poorly if at all educated. For all these reasons the Mayan people won my heart upon my first visit there.
In 2004 I took my first volunteer group to build stoves in homes where people were cooking with open fires. Since then we have built nearly 6,000 stoves with the help of 1,165 Canadian and American volunteers. As we worked in Mayan communities and homes, my growing awareness of the need caused me to expand our programs in health that now include dental clinics, nutrition programs, community gardens, teaching of personal and domestic hygiene, and environmental issues.
In a few short months I also became aware of the poor quality and lack of the infrastructure in the educational system in Guatemala. In rural areas the schools were lacking space, classrooms, materials, washrooms, play areas, and even teachers. In 2008 we began our classroom construction and to date have built 61 classrooms and two junior/senior high schools. We initiated conferences to train the teachers in methodologies, etc. We have two literacy programs for Mayan children to help them learn Spanish, Guatemala’s official language.
My pride and joy is our scholarship program which began in 2008. I chose to begin a scholarship program for Grades 7 through 12 and university. I chose a private school for a scholarship program for two reasons – the quality of education and promotion of the Kakchiquel Mayan culture. We try to promote pride in their culture amongst the young. We started with only girls because many girls, if they go to school, only go to Grade 3 and boys to Grade 6. Culturally, girls’ education is often seen as unnecessary. There are other reasons for kids not attending school: they have to work, it’s too far to walk, it’s dangerous for girls, a lack of schools and teachers, girls taking care of siblings, and boys working in the fields.
Thus far we have had almost 600 students in our scholarship program at Colegio Maya since 2008. We work as a family that includes sponsors, teachers, a parent’s board, a student’s board, a tutor, and our program director, who also leads a choir of our students that sing and play instruments. We have a partnership with the local mayor who sponsors a student for every student we sponsor. This way we double our numbers. Our students when they go to university are required to give back by continuing to work with our program. They assist younger students as well as help with our fundraisers and events in Guatemala.
As I became more and more aware of the history and current situation in Guatemala, the importance of the education of the young people became obvious. Through our scholarships we hope to build new, informed, educated leaders. We promote integrity and honesty with civil responsibility. At the same time the pride in themselves and their culture grows immensely. If we are going to help developing countries, it is through education and assisting them to help themselves. We need sponsors to help these poor Mayan students become the future of Guatemala. Please join us in educating them through high school and university. It is the greatest gift you can give.
Jan Townsend, President & Founder
Hearts & Hands Foundation
In 2004 I took my first volunteer group to build stoves in homes where people were cooking with open fires. Since then we have built nearly 6,000 stoves with the help of 1,165 Canadian and American volunteers. As we worked in Mayan communities and homes, my growing awareness of the need caused me to expand our programs in health that now include dental clinics, nutrition programs, community gardens, teaching of personal and domestic hygiene, and environmental issues.
In a few short months I also became aware of the poor quality and lack of the infrastructure in the educational system in Guatemala. In rural areas the schools were lacking space, classrooms, materials, washrooms, play areas, and even teachers. In 2008 we began our classroom construction and to date have built 61 classrooms and two junior/senior high schools. We initiated conferences to train the teachers in methodologies, etc. We have two literacy programs for Mayan children to help them learn Spanish, Guatemala’s official language.
My pride and joy is our scholarship program which began in 2008. I chose to begin a scholarship program for Grades 7 through 12 and university. I chose a private school for a scholarship program for two reasons – the quality of education and promotion of the Kakchiquel Mayan culture. We try to promote pride in their culture amongst the young. We started with only girls because many girls, if they go to school, only go to Grade 3 and boys to Grade 6. Culturally, girls’ education is often seen as unnecessary. There are other reasons for kids not attending school: they have to work, it’s too far to walk, it’s dangerous for girls, a lack of schools and teachers, girls taking care of siblings, and boys working in the fields.
Thus far we have had almost 600 students in our scholarship program at Colegio Maya since 2008. We work as a family that includes sponsors, teachers, a parent’s board, a student’s board, a tutor, and our program director, who also leads a choir of our students that sing and play instruments. We have a partnership with the local mayor who sponsors a student for every student we sponsor. This way we double our numbers. Our students when they go to university are required to give back by continuing to work with our program. They assist younger students as well as help with our fundraisers and events in Guatemala.
As I became more and more aware of the history and current situation in Guatemala, the importance of the education of the young people became obvious. Through our scholarships we hope to build new, informed, educated leaders. We promote integrity and honesty with civil responsibility. At the same time the pride in themselves and their culture grows immensely. If we are going to help developing countries, it is through education and assisting them to help themselves. We need sponsors to help these poor Mayan students become the future of Guatemala. Please join us in educating them through high school and university. It is the greatest gift you can give.
Jan Townsend, President & Founder
Hearts & Hands Foundation
Organizer and beneficiary
Katherine Matiko
Organizer
Calgary, AB
Lawrence Nyman
Beneficiary
