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Mayan Hands Scholarships Currently 10 weavers or children of weavers who belong to the Mayan Hands cooperative are students sponsored by Sharing the Dream. The students range in age from 16 to 25 and come from different areas of Guatemala. Some are in high school and some are in college.
Below are short descriptions of the students: 1. Paseuala She is 24 and is from Nahuala and speaks Quiche. She is studying bookkeeping and is in the 10th grade. It is important for her to study so she won’t suffer in life. She lives with her mom, 2 sisters and one brother. She is a weaver, she studies in the morning and weaves in the afternoon. Paseuala is very soft spoken and shy. 2. Maria She is 18 and is from Chantel near Xela. She is studying to be a teacher and is in the 11th grade. It is important for her to study because she wants to improve her life and her mother never went to school. It has been hard for her mother to support her children and she wants to be able to support her children. 3.Angela ( President of group) She is 20 years old and is from Estancia Cantel near Xela. She is in college and is studying psychology and wants to be educational psychologist. Her home language is Kiche. It is important for her to study because when she was a child she suffered a lot because her parents separated she felt she traumatized and she wants to help other people going through this. She saw her mother beaten and being yelled at all the time. She said she never dreamed she could go to college and when Clemente said she might get a scholarship she filled out the paperwork to do it. 4. Ofelia She is 17 and speaks Kichi’ and is from Estacia Cantel near Xela. She is in 3 year of Basico which is in 9th grade. She wants to be a doctor. It is important for her to study to be a doctor so she can help a lot of sick people in her country. She wants to be a general practitioner. Her mother embroiders. She lives with her mother, 2 brothers, and 3 sisters. Her mother was with her and came to the interview. The mother started to cry and said she couldn't believe her daughter had this opportunity. The mother said we are poor and can't help her. She said over and over..."Thank you for helping my daughter and my family". 5. Gabriel He speaks Kichi' and is 19. He lives in Nahuala. He is in the 5th year of accounting. He will finish next year. He wants to go to the university. There are 10 people in his family and no one has gone on to school. His sister came along and said "my parents never went to school so thank you for letting my brother study." 6. Diego Diego speaks Tzuthil and is 24 years old. He lived in Panabaj where the mudslide hit. His family lost everything. He lives in the temporary housing. He said "I am house number 21." This is his first year in University. He was a very impressive young man and you could see he will be a leader in his community. He wants to be a bilingual teacher (Tzuthil and Spanish) and give value to his culture. It takes him 2 hours and 45 minutes each way to get to school. He goes to a branch of the university in Solola. 7. Josefa She is 17 and lived in Panabaj. Her family's house was destroyed in the mudslide. She is now living in temporary housing. She is in 8th grade. She has a mother and father, 3 sisters and a little brother. She would like to be nurse. She wants to work with her people. Her mother went through 4th grade and her mother didn't go to school. 8. Gloria She is 25 and in the 8th grade. Her home language is Kakchiquel. When she was young she went until 6th grade. Her father died and she didn't have the money to go to school after that. She had the opportunity to go back to school and even though she is 25 she wanted to go. She wants to be a nurse. It takes her 1 1/2 hours to get to school. She talked about going to school, " It is very hard, I get up and go to school, embroider when I get home and then do my homework. Sometimes it is 1 or 2 in the morning before I get to bed, but I am very thankful for this opportunity." 9. Edy He is 16 and in the 9th grade. He speaks Kakchiquel. He is from Al dea Xeabaj near Chimatenago. He wants to be a specialist in the Mayan language. He needs to go to school 3 more years for that. He lives with his mother and father and 4 brothers and 1 sister. He is the oldest. His mother is a weaver. His father works as a farm laborer, but sometimes he doesn't have work. The cost is $500 per year for each student. If you are interested in sponsoring a student, please make your check out to “Friends of Sharing the Dream” and send it to: Sharing the Dream If you have questions, contact us by email at info@sharingthedream.org. |
