Milton Rocael Manchamé Arroyo

Milton is a 21 year old student from La Libertad in the department of el Petén. This department is the largest in Guatemalan and encompasses many large tropical forests and important archeological sites such as Tikal. The majority of its inhabitants are very poor as it is difficult to bring their crops to market. Milton’s life has been very difficult. His parents divorced when he was 5 years old and both of his parents started new lives with new partners.

Milton lived with his mother for a short time but he was soon rejected by her and her new husband and he went to live with an uncle. Here too his life was difficult, not only did he have to work long hours in the fields, he was treated as “less than” his cousins. When he finished primary school his uncle told him that he couldn’t continue to study and he had to take a low paying job in a near-by finca. He had always been an excellent student and luckily for him several of his teachers raised money to allow him to continue studying. Unfortunately this help didn’t last for long but when Milton learned of some nuns who ran a boarding school for poor children in Guatemala City, the teachers helped him to complete the application. He was accepted and completed his high school education in the capitol.

Milton is now working as a bank teller in Guatemala City and with our help has begun his career in Business Administration at a Jesuit university. Milton is paying for his own room and board and in the first year received a 50% scholarship from the university and borrowed money from Progresa to pay the rest of his tuition. We are pleased for him that after his first semester his grades were so good that the university raised his scholarship to 75% of his tuition. He is very intelligent and we are sure he will do well in business administration because in addition to his intelligence we have found him to be very open and honest.

Abner Daniel Aguilar

Abner is 19 years old who was born in the municipality of Uspantan in the northern part of the department of el Quiché. His story is very moving and frankly seems incredible but he is consistent when he tells it and we have come to believe it is true. He was the product of an unplanned pregnancy and never knew his father. His mother married when he was about 3 years old and at first his step father treated him well but this eventually changed. Not only was he forced to work very hard but he was frequently beaten. When he finished primary school, Abner decided he couldn’t stand it any longer and fled from his household. Since that time he has survived on his own. At first he sought out simple jobs in order to eat and for a while he lived in the street. An important event in Abner’s life came when he met a man who taught him how to paint walls and simple signs. From this he discovered his talent and pleasure in drawing and painting. Soon this became his main source of income and he also began painting pictures. About this time Abner met several young people who liked music and with their help he learned to play the guitar. During our student conference in April we heard him play a song he had written and could see for ourselves how much artistic talent he has. Somewhere along the line, Abner managed to put himself through middle school and when we met him in Coban he wanted to apply to a high school program in construction drawing. He chose a school in Antigua because he had heard from his friends that this was a place where he could continue to earn money with his painting and music. We tried to discourage him from moving but he was determined and now that he is finishing his first year it seems that he was right. His school provides quarterly grades and during the first quarter he failed two courses and earned an average of 71. During the second quarter he averaged 78 with a low grade only in math. Then in the third quarter he averaged 91 with a 100 in math. After high school Abner would like to get a job with an architect and then eventually enter the university and become an architect himself. We are not quite sure how he is managing all this but we don’t doubt that he will keep moving ahead.

In 2011 our program is helping 106 students in different educational levels and careers. 

Three years ago our Administrative Committee decided to make an important change in the kind of help we offer to our students. Since then, all students have gotten part of the help as a scholarship and part as a loan.  Now every student has a similar chance of finishing his or her career without a large student loan. 

Currently, all students must do a community service project, in exchange for the help they are receiving.  We hope that this program will benefit many communities in great need. To see some examples of community service projects done by our students click here.

This year we have about 22 students sponsored by different individuals and groups.  Sponsoring a student gives people the opportunity to collaborate and know the Guatemalan educational system in a deeper way. Click here if you want to know more about this program, to see a list of students waiting to be sponsored click here. The following charts provide information about some of the most important characteristics of our 2011 group of students.  Please click on the following link to see 2010 Spring Update.

The following students are typical of our population

Delmy Gumercinda Ical Asig is a 20 years old girl who entered our program this year. She is of particular interest because she belongs to the Maya Mopan ethnic group, one of the smallest ethnic/linguistic groups in Guatemala. We couldn't find an official and reliable information, but according to Delmy and other sources, there are no more than 5,000 people left in Guatemala who speak Mopan. This would be about 0.08% of the total Mayan population. Delmy's family lives in the department of Petén but she had to move to Antigua Guatemala in order to study law at the Mariano Galvez University. According to Delmy there are currently no lawyers who speak Mopan or at least not in the area where she lives. When she graduates, she will be the first lawyer in her community to serve the people in their own language. This has been common, that the first doctor, lawyer or even teachers in a community are graduates from our program.

Roberto Bulux Cojti is a young man from village Vista Bella outside of town Tecpán in the department of Chimaltenango. He has three brothers, two older and one youger. His life has been difficult for the last 10 years, since his father died. Shortly after his father's death Roberto's mother remarried and left her children in the care of their maternal grandmother. From then on, Roberto and his brothers have had to struggle to survive. The elderly grandmother could not provide anything more than food (and a little attention). Since Roberto wanted to study he has had to work afternoons and weekends in order to pay his school expenses. As a consequence, at the age of 18 when most students are finishing secondary school, Roberto is just ready to begin. For many years his dream has been to study agriculture to help himself and others to have better opportunities through farming. He is now very happy studying the career he always wanted and very grateful with the program for "having the chance to fulfill my dream..."

Olga Marina Jutzuy is 20 years old and is now finishing her training as a secondary bilingual teacher. She is the oldest of six children in San José Poaquil, Chimaltenango. She has had to struggle to complete her education not only because of the poverty of her farming family but also because her mother has been bed-ridden from a rare illness for the past six years. As the eldest daughter, Olga has had to substitute as mother of the family. She has often had to face complaints from her father and brothers that she should stay home and take care of the family. Nevertheless, she is sure about what she wants to do inspite of often having to walk for two hours to school. She expects to be able to help her brothers and sisters to go to school in the future, which her father cannot afford to do.

Romaldo Panjoj Quino is 24 years old and comes from Sata María Tzejá, a village in the remote area of Ixcán, Quiché. Getting there requires a trip of approximately 11 hours from the capital, mostly on dirt roads. His family is part of the group of refugees who have returned from camps in Mexico, after having fled the violence during the 1980s. His education began in Mexico and continued here with the help of various organizations. He now studies agronomy in the national university and has many plans for his community. At present he participates in an association of students from his village who have committed themselves to offer free time in service to their community. Romaldo has made a study to determine what types of produce could be best for the conditions of his community. He has also helped in training groups of farmers in his area.