Send Maya Ixil Youth to University in Guatemala

Your contribution to our GlobalGiving campaign is working to support outstanding Mayan youth to become changemakers in their communities! Today, we are so pleased to highlight the work of one, Ofelda. Ofelda became a Filantropis Scholar in 2020, and despite the obstacles that arose from the pandemic, she has embraced every opportunity that our program has to offer. Ofelda is working on her degree to become a certified public accountant. As the second of six siblings in her Mayan Ixil family, the FIlantropis scholarship is helping her to advance her academic studies and professionalism, while also inspiring her hermanitos to pursue their dreams. 

But the Scholarship is only a fraction of what Filantropis offers to youth of Chajul, a rural Indigenous community in the Guatemalan Highlands. Alongside the other Scholars in her cohort, Ofelda receives regular mentoring from fellow Chajulense youth who have come before her in the program. She also attends monthly personal and professional development workshops; this past month she focused on the theme of The Challenges of - And Opportunities For - A Mindful Leader. This theme, which covered topics such as stress management and restorative communication, was well received by Ofelda. She is able to put the techniques she learns into action in her university studies, as well as within her professional endeavors. Ofelda currently supports herself, her family, and her community as the general accountant for the Cooperative de Mujeres Chajulense (the Chajul Women’s Cooperative), an organization dedicated to strengthening economic opportunities for women in the Ixil region. Alongside all of this incredible community engagement, Ofelda also participated in Filantropis’ Social Entrepreneurship Cultivator program, where she planted the seeds for a business that will offer microloans at fair rates for members of her community. 

Ofelda is joined by 61 other Filantropis Scholars, who together are creating a new generation of Chajulense youth committed to serving and improving their community. She shares her gratitude with you, expressing, “I appreciate your belief in me and my abilities. I greatly value this opportunity and the professional development skills that I am learning.” The support that you have provided to Filantropis will allow us to engage with more youth like Ofelda, allowing us to deepen our impact, and sustain our work. As we say in Chajul, tan tiuxh... muchas gracias...thank you very much!