Category Archives: Girls education

Inside the UN Innovation Fair: Day 1

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Ak’ Tenamit is in Geneva this week to share our approach to rural education with the United Nations at their 2011 Innovation Fair.  Jesse Schauben-Fuerst, Ak’ Tenamit’s Technical Advisor for Cancuen, is representing Ak’ Tenamit at the Innovation Fair and sends this update about the first day of the event:

“Save the Children, World Vision, Actionaid. Cisco, Nokia, and Shell. These are the names of several organizations and socially conscious businesses which one might expect to find at the United Nations “Innovation Fair” on education. Yet, this week, amongst these fine and life-changing groups, sits Ak’ Tenamit. This is an affirmation of all that our students, the students that you have helped to support, have done.

Today, Dr. Asha-Rose Migiro, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, welcomed Ak’ Tenamit and the other presenters. She spent time at our booth learning about what makes the work taking place in the Guatemalan jungles so special.

Already conversations are under way with groups from Malawi, India, and neighbors back in Central and South America. Ak’ Tenamit hopes to make new, strategic alliances; to learn from the experiences of other groups, and to share its life-changing methodologies to help other rural and indigenous villages across the globe.”

Invited to present at the United Nations!

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The United Nations recently invited Ak’ Tenamit to present its education program at the Economic and Social Council Conference in Switzerland on July 4-8, 2011!  We are one of only 30 education programs around the world invited to present its best practices, and we will have the opportunity to speak directly with UN Ministers of Education and Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Thank you to all those who have supported and believed in Ak’ Tenamit’s mission, it is because of you that we have built such an innovative, successful school and received such a humbling recognition.

We need help financing our trip to Switzerland because we do not want to use program funding for such expenses.  Below is a letter from Jesse Schauben, Ak’ Tenamit’s Technical Advisor for Cancuen, that provides more information and explains how you can help.

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Dear Friends:

Ak’ Tenamit has been invited to share its methodology and vision for rural-appropriate education at the United Nations’ “Innovation Fair” in Geneva, Switzerland with other leaders in the field.

The United Nations has invited us to present because our program has been so successful. Ak’ Tenamit is renowned throughout Guatemala for its work developing and implementing innovative education programs, which allow rural, indigenous people to be successful without forcing them to leave their communities or traditional cultures.

This project is unique to Guatemala. Since 1992, Ak’ Tenamit has worked to help indigenous communities help themselves, providing an education that responds to their direct needs and preparing students vocationally. Each year one hundred more students graduate, find meaningful employment, and work to solve the long-term challenges that face their communities.

We can share our template for success and inspire others around the world who face similar challenges, but we need your help. While the invitation from the United Nations provides a unique platform to share Ak’ Tenamit’s work, disseminate its best practices, and build relationships with new donors, it does not cover costs related to transportation, lodging, or food. Therefore, your donation would go a great way to making this opportunity a reality. Thank you for any support you can offer and for spreading this message to others.

Donations at Ak’ Tenamit’s website.  To designate your donation, please type “UN Conference” in the box “Fund Immediate Need” (https://qnm14.securesites.net/akt/donate/index.php)

Sincerely,

Jesse Schauben

“Outstanding ESL Student of the Year” is Ak’ Tenamit teacher

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Congratulations to Valeriano Chub Chub!  Vale was named Murray State University’s “Outstanding ESL Student of the Year” at their International Honors Day ceremony on May 5.  Equally as impressive is the progress he has made, advancing from level 3 to 5 of their English as a Second Language certification program in just 10 months.

Vale proudly displays his award in front of the Guatemalan flag

Vale, now 21, was a teacher at Ak’ Tenamit when he met Bill Minihan, who visited the school during a cruise excursion.  Bill offered Vale an opportunity to study English in the US after learning that Vale had been teaching himself English for 4 years in the hopes of filling the school’s need for a permanent English teacher.

“Knowing English is one of the keys to success in our villages, and I want to provide that.”

Vale is looking forward to returning to Ak’ Tenamit at the end of the month to become the school’s permanent English teacher but says that he will miss his new American family.  A huge thank you to the Badgett Playhouse, their generous patrons, and the entire Grand Rivers, Kentucky community for so generously sponsoring Vale’s education and welcoming him with open arms!

Murder of three community leaders fortifies students

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Catalina was an advocate for women's rights and participated in conferences where she spoke about the need to end the discrimination indigenous Guatemalan women face

One month ago, a local dispute over land rights resulted in the murders of three young community leaders in eastern Guatemala. Catalina Mucú Maas, Alberto Coc Caal, and Sebastian Xuc Cac were ambushed as they traveled by boat from Rio Dulce to their village, Quebrada Seca. Alberto and Sebastian had been helping their village wage a legal battle against a rancher who is trying to steal part of the community’s land.

Guatemala’s indigenous communities have been struggling to protect their ancestral lands and forests which they consider sacred for centuries. These communities have fought legal battles to prevent their forests and land from being stolen by loggers and ranchers, many of whom are linked to drug cartels. It is doubtful that these murderers will ever face justice; only two of every 100 murders goes to trail in Guatemala and many are acquitted.

This crime was part of a trend of violence and impunity that has caused untold suffering and destruction in Guatemala, but it was especially tragic considering that it claimed the lives of three exceptional young people. Catalina was the first girl in her community to graduate from high school and was returning from studying at the university when the boat was ambushed. She graduated from Ak’ Tenamit and led Ak’ Tenamit’s women’s handicraft program. Alberto, also an Ak’ Tenamit graduate and Mayan Spiritual guide, was helping Quebrada Seca develop an agroforestry project. Sebastian was the Director of Quebrada Seca’s elementary school.

This tragedy has bolstered rather than dampened Ak’ Tenamit’s Board, staff and students’ commitment to catalyzing change in Guatemala. Ak’ Tenamit’s vocational school uses a curriculum based on service to community to prepare students to do exactly what these three leaders were doing: protect communal and human rights, conserve natural resources, and value traditional culture. Catalina, Alberto and Sebastian eagerly accepted their role as community leaders, stewards of their people’s ancestral forests and agents of positive change. Ak’ Tenamit’s students, personnel, and community partners will honor their memory by continuing to work for the justice and equality that they sought for their village.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2011/apr/11/murder-of-three-young-guatemalan-leaders-fortifies/