Send Maya Ixil Youth to University in Guatemala

"Thanks to your support, I am coming closer and closer to my dream coming true."

Sergio is a 25 years old student from Chajul, Guatemala. He speaks K'iche, Ixil, and Spanish, and is learning English. He is in his fourth year of studying for his Bachelor's Degree in Pedagogy and Educational Administration at the University of San Carlos, Nebaj campus. Sergio is especially excited for this academic year (which started last month) because he will be able to meet his classmates in person, and to learn alongside them. His classes are starting in person once again since the start of the Covid19 pandemic. 

Sergio is one of 10 children and currently lives with his parents and two younger sisters. Six of his siblings are married, and another is working outside of the country. Sergio’s mother works in the home, and his father is employed as a janitor of a local school. Sergio is the only one of the ten siblings who is pursuing his university education. 

For his family, as well as for many young people throughout his community, Sergio is a leader because he is pursing his dream of continuing his education at the college level. He graduated from high school, earning a certificate as an early education educator. He wished to continue studying, but faced a barrier of the financial resources necessary to pay for higher education. After a 2-year break from his education, Sergio learned of the Filantropis Scholars program, and he applied at the end of 2019. He was recognized for his academic abilities, his potential, his desire to excel, and - above all - his commitment to giving back to his community, and he was offered a position in the program. Sergio was welcomed to the Filantropis family, and began his university studies in 2020. Since then has consistently had one of the highest grade averages of all of the Scholars. 

Alongside his university classes, Sergio also works as an Accounting Assistant at the San Gaspar Savings and Credit Cooperative R.L., the largest cooperative in the Chajulense community. Although this work is not directly related to his career, it is helping Sergio to support his family and his education; he enjoys his work and knows that he is providing a necessary service to the community. Sergio also is an avid photographer; he takes courses to build his skill and also created a presentation entitiled "Cultural Photography Review" for his Filantropis social action project. 

Sergio admires the work of Filantropis ONG. He feels fortunate to be a part of it, largely because of the empathic team members who model the impact of the programs that they impart. Sergio feels both a sense of belonging with the Filantropis team, and recognizes them for inspiring him to constantly learn and grow. 

Esmeralda is a 22-year old young woman from Chajul, Guatemala. She entered the Filantropis Scholars program in 2016 with a passion for health and medicine, and a dream to become a doctor. She has been studying general medicine for seven years at the Universidad Mesoamericana in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. With each day, her dream becomes closer to reality. She shares with Filanthropis that she seeks to “re-create a new version of herself each day.” We commend Esmeralda for seeking to grow personally and professionally and, like so many of her fellow Filantropis Scholars, to maintain a strong commitment to serve her community. 

Some of Esmeralda’s greatest successes have been to complete her intensive practicums in hospitals, both public and private. She also counts her learning and supporting people as her greatest accomplishments. Throughout all of her experiences, she is convinced that her passion is to serve people who are most in need of care. Looking forward, Esmeralda will complete her coursework in 2023, then move onto the final stages of her studies which include the presentation and defense of her thesis, her board examinations, and finally, her graduation as a general practitioner of medicine. She intends to return to Chajul to practice, becoming the first Chajulense doctor to work in the community. 

All of us at Filantropis are very happy for Esmeralda’s achievements and recognize her motivation to serve the community as a medical doctor. She joins 25 other Chajulense changemakers who have completed their university studies as part of the Filantropis Scholars program. Esmeralda told us, “I hold a heartfelt appreciation to be part of the Filantropis program. The accompaniment that they have offered me, and the everpresent support is what is supporting my desire to serve my community and society. It is how I will give back a little bit of the amount that the association has given me.”