The Guatemala Friends Scholarship/Loan Program -PROGRESA-

Juana Sajbochol Apén, is 33 years old and comes from the town of San Jose Poaquil in the department of Chimaltenango. She is currently studying the first year of secondary school teaching in bilingual education. This is the second time that we are helping Juana. In 2008 we also helped her to graduate as a primary school teacher. At that time she impressed us with her desire to learn and advance herself. Despite the fact that she had been out of school for 12 year, was married and lived in a very poor rural area where women's education is not much valued, she never lost her determination to become a professional. Now that she has reached that goal she wants to continue her education at the university level. She will need our help in order to continue studying because her husband earns very little as a farm laborer and she has not been able to obtain a full time teaching position. We have decided to continue helping her because we believe the university degree will provide her with more opportunities and allow her to support the continued education of her two children. As a leader in her community she will also serve as an example to others.

Marcelino Ajuchán Xico, comes from Patzicia in the department of Chimaltenango. He is 25 years old and is currently enrolled in the second year of Systems Engineering. Although he comes from a very humble family, his parents have worked hard to provide all of their six children with an education and all six of them have graduated from high school. The father works as a mason and the mother raises small animals in order to contribute to the family income. Marcelino is the only child who has continued his studies at the university level. He began his studies in 2007 and worked half time in order to pay his own expenses but he was unable to continue and dropped out of school in 2008 for lack of funds. He was unable to study in 2009 but he learned about our program and applied for help. Now, in 2010 he is returning to his program in Systems Engineering. Marcellino has a lot of potential as a leader. He is currently part of an association of university students in his town that is trying to help other young people enter the university by providing them with tutoring and orientation. We hope that with our support he will be able to better focus on his studies and accomplish his goals with higher grades and greater success.

Yuri López Tecú, is 22 years old and comes from Aldea Vegas Chuaperol, Rabinal, in the department of Baja Verapaz. In 2010 she is studying her fourth year of Psychology at University Mariano Galvez, in Antigua Guatemala. Her family is a typical rural family with 5 children and working in the fields with a monthly income of about $100. Yuri could finish secondary school only with the help of a scholarship provided by a catholic boarding school for indigenous girls. She started university with a combination of her family support and personal loans, but these loans required payment in a short time plus high interest rates which made it very difficult for her. We started helping her in 2008 and since then she has shown to be a very dedicated student. Her goals are to help people solve their mental and emotional problems by working in some public health center or opening her own clinic at her town.

Pablo Vargas Ramírez, is a young man, 19 years old, who lives in the community of Cuarto Pueblo of the Ixcan in the department of El Quiche, one of the communities which suffered from many massacres during the civil war. In 2010 Pablo began his second year as a Specialist in Natural Resources at the high school level. When he first came to our program we had many doubts about his academic capacity and his ability to succeed. This was because he was one of the most humble and insecure students we had ever interviewed. One possible reason is that he had never left his community and had no idea of where or what to study. At last, in spite of a lot of confusion, he entered a high school in his own community and at the end of the year he had passed all of his courses which demonstrated to us that he had a strong desire to advance himself. We are now confidant that he will be able to graduate and help his five younger brothers and sisters to continue their studies as well. They will need his help since he is the oldest in the family and his parents work only as farm laborers earning barely enough to feed the family.

Ada Ileana Veliz Juárez, is 32 years old and comes from San Cristobal Verapaz in the northern Department of Alta Verapaz. This year she entered in the first year of the professional nursing program in the city of Coban. She was widowed two years ago and left with two small children who are currently ages 6 and 9. Even though she is receiving some help from her parents, her situation has not been easy since she hasn't had a permanent job recently. She tried to continue her studies on her own but was forced to drop out because of her economic situation. She is a good example of somebody from a city and non indigenous but with big financial problems. Now, with our help, she hopes to accomplish her dream of gaining a better future for her two children.

Bartolome Cholotio y Cholotio comes from the town of San Juan La Laguna on the shores of Lake Atitlan in the department of Solola.  He is 30 years old and is studying to become a bilingual secondary school teacher at an extension of the University Del Valle located in the municipality of Solola.  He is the second of six children.  His father works as a subsistence level farmer and his mother is a house wife who makes a little money selling in the market.  He lives with his parents and three younger siblings all of whom are studying.  His two oldest brothers who did not have a chance to study are married and live separately. 

The family is quite poor but they do own their own home and a small plot of land where they grow corn and a little coffee.  The house is constructed of adobe with a lamina roof and a dirt floor.  They have running water, electricity and a cell phone but do not own such luxuries as a television set.

Angela Nathali Moran Chen is a 19 year old student in her second year at the nationnal Nursing school in Coban.  Her family lives near the school and Angela is able to live at home and take a local bus or even walk to school.  Her father is university educated and works as a middle school teacher.  They are wealthier than most of our families and ordinarily would be able to pay her expenses in school.

Two circumstances have forced them to ask for our help.  The first is that all three of the sisters in the family are currently studying at the high school or university level.  The second is that because the father served as the co-signer of a loan, he is now having the payments deducted from his salary.  Our small contribution of Q200 ($25) a month plus a few additional payments for uniforms and equipment make it possible for Angela to continue with her education despite her family�s financial set back.

Juan Antonio Hernandez is a 21 year old student from a small aldea of the town of Ixcan Playa Grande in the department of el Quiche.  This area is so remote that it takes two days to get to the capital city of Guatemala.  Many of the inhabitants of the Ixcan area suffered greatly during the years of the civil war.  Those who fled to the refugee camps in Mexico were perhaps the most fortunate.  Others, like Juan Antonio�s mother, were left to the mercy of the soldiers and the guerillas.  Like many women in the area Juan�s mother was raped at gun point by a soldier and Juan is the product of that violent incident.

Juan Antonio lives with his mother and younger sister.  Their house is made of block and wood with a cement floor.  The house has water but no electricity.  They own land for cultivation where they raise corn and beans and a little cardamon.  His mother also earns  money preparing and selling arroz con leche (a sweet drink) and traveling to neighboring villages to buy oranges which she later sells in the market.  She earns about $70 a month and has been giving $25 of that to Juan Antonio to help pay for his studies. 

Juan is studying to become a secondary school teacher at the national University of San Carlos in Guatemala City.  He is currently in his second year of a three year program.  Juan receives one of our highest monthly stipends because his expenses are high and his family can not afford to contribute very much.  His costs run $1,200 per year.  He is currently receiving only $500 a year in scholarships and the rest is in loans.  A sponsor who chose to give him a larger portion in the form of a scholarship would help him a great deal.

Santos Mendoza Jeronimo comes one of the most remote parts of the country.  His family lives in Cuarto Pueblo a small village of the municipality of Ixcan Playa Grande in the department of el Quiche.  A trip from his aldea to the capital of Guatemala City takes two days.  His parents are subsistence farmers and he was able to complete high school at a boarding school for Indigenous boys only because he was sponsored by our program. After graduating, he worked in his community for a year and then re-applied to Progresa for a scholarship/loan in order to attend law school.

He attends the Northern Center of the National San Carlos University located in Coban, Alta Verapaz.  The distance from his village and the poor quality of the roads makes it impossible for him to commute to and from school on a daily basis so he rents a room in Coban which he shares with another student.  Santos is very motivated but he is not a very strong student.  With hard work he has managed to make it to the third year of a six year law program but his grades are marginal.  His early schooling was undoubtedly inferior and as a result he has poor writing skills.  He really needs to work with a tutor but that would be too expensive without additional financial help.  Santos is now working part time in the Coban market in order to earn money for some of his expenses.  He is currently receiving about $75 per month plus tuition from Progresa.  Adding the cost of a writing tutor would require at least $25 dollars a month additional.

When Santos David Villatoro Villatoro was born his father refused to recognize him as his own so he was given his mother�s two last names.  Later his mother met and married another man who did not want to raise him so he was left in the care of his maternal grandmother.  His grandmother had very little income but one of her sons, David�s uncle, lives with the grandmother and helped to support him.  With the help of the parish he graduated from high school with a degree in computers.  His uncle, who earns his living raising corn and cardamom, told him that he could no longer help because he needed what little money he earned to educate his own children.  Since David was the top student in his high school class we were happy to accept him into our program.  He is currently in his first year of law school at Northern Center of the National University of San Carlos located in Coban, Alta Verapaz.  The university is too far from his home to allow him to commute so he rents a room in Coban.

Pascual Ramirez Morales is a mature student who teaches primary school during the week and this year he has started legal studies at a private university in Huehuetenango on the weekends. Pascual is a promising student who has shown that he is a high academic achiever and a leader in his local village. He is a very motivated person with a clear vision for his future. He has had numerous roles with responsibility for his community�s health and wellbeing, and has been involved in a number of worthwhile community development projects. By studying law he will gain skills and experience which will enable him to do this work more effectively.

Pascual is married and has 2 children. As a teacher, he earns a salary but this is not sufficient, as he financially assists his parents, who are not in good health, with medical expenses and also the expenses his young dependent siblings incur in attending school. Without Progresa�s sponsorship he could not afford to study at the university. Sponsoring this student will not only give him the opportunities he needs to provide a better living for his family, but will enable him to better assist his community in the development that is so necessary for a peaceful Guatemala.