The Guatemala Friends Scholarship/Loan Program -PROGRESA-

 

Sponsor a student
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Since its inception, the scholarship/loan program has let donors to sponsor individual students, if they wished. Now, through our web page, we hope to facilitate sponsorship of individual students and encourage you and others to do so.

Please consider commiting to help a particular student earn his or her university degree. When you agree to support a student, the program staff in Guatemala will consult with you if you have any preferences about your student (man, woman, career, etc.) and then select an appropriate student. Through periodical letters with your sponsored student, you will enjoy a personal connection while developing a greater understanding of the circumstances ours students face in Guatemala.

David (sponsor) and his sponsored student Elvira Ramírez chat during one of our student interviews in our office.

Because of the low cost of living and the advantageous exchange rate of quetzales to the dollar, it costs about $100 a month or  $1200 a year to sponsor most of our students. If you can't afford to support a student entirely on your own, you can ask your meeting, religious group or a group of friends to jointly pay the pledged amount. You will also receive periodical reports from the staff in Guatemala about the progress of your student.

 

Read two stories about current sponsored students.

Isabel Cun Sinto is a 35 year old woman from Caserío Chuacruz, Poaquil, Chimaltenango. She is the sixth of 9 children in a family where no one has studied further than the 9th grade.  Her parents sent her to elementary school when she was older than most of the children because she was needed at home to help her mother but after this she had to stop several years more. She started the “básico” level (junior high school) when she was 23 years old and finished that level at the age of 25 paying her own expenses. She had to quit studies again and moved to other towns to work as a domestic servant for several years. During this time she got pregnant and became a single mother.

Now, her little daughter is 6 years old and has started school. This event, according to her, made her start school again and become an elementary teacher (secondary level career).  “With this, she says, I will have more possibilities to offer my daughter the chance of education… I know it is not going to be easy because it is a long time since I went to school and maybe I will not eat sometimes but I have to do it, especially for my daughter”  That determination was basically what made us accept her in the program, because we know she has very good reasons to work hard with the difficulties she may face.

Currently, Isabel is sponsored by a friend from Sacramento, California.

Benjamín Carlos García is a 31 year old K’iche speaker from the department of Totonicapán in the Western Highlands.  In 1999 he started at the university but was forced to quit before he completed the first year because of his economic situation. There are seven family members - a grandmother, two parents, his wife and two children . All totally depend on the low salary Benjamín receives as a substitute teacher and the $3 a day the father can make as a day laborer.

Even though Benjamín’s family is one of our very poorest, both of his parents strongly support his desire to continue his education.  Participants in our Spring 2008 Tour were moved when they visited the family home in Totonicapán.  The simple adobe house, home to not only Benjamín and his parents, but also his wife, two children and grandmother, consists of one room with a dirt floor.  The tour group was greeted in the outdoor patio and later invited into the house to visit with the elderly grandmother.  All were impressed by this family. They live from day to day with no money left over for education but nevertheless totally support Benjamín’s pursuit of a higher education. With our help, he will be able to achieve his goal and provide a better life for the family.
Benjamín has been sponsored since 2007 by the Evanston Monthly Meeting, IL.
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