PROGRESA

The Guatemala Friends Scholarship/Loan Program

See some data about our group of students in 2007 and meet a couple of them!

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The graph shows the distribution of our student population according to the type of help provided, ethnic group and the kind of school they assist (public and private). Click on the graph to enlarge it and see the current percentages.
*All of our secondary students plus 11 of our university students receive scholarships.
** About 1/5th. of our students who identify themselves as Maya, are not able to speak their indigenous language.
*** Because of the need to work, many students can only study on weekend plans which are offered mostly by private universities.

The following descriptions are quite typical of our student 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.

To see the 2007 Student Roster click here

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.

Rosalinda García is 21 years old and a professional nursing student in Quetzaltenango, the second most important city in Guatemala. She lives with her mother in the outskirts of the city in a house that measures about 66 square-feet. Her mother washes clothes, as well as assisting with child-births as a midwife at times. She is her daughter’s only support but her monthly income is only about $70 per month. Rosalinda believes that her desire to be a nurse comes from seeing her mother’s work as a midwife and her desire to improve the health of people like herself who are confronted by many needs. She is a good example that shows that poverty is not exclusive to rural areas but also in large cities.

email: progresar@hughes.net or lacelle@conexion.com.gt

Telefax in Guatemala: (502) 7849-5970

PROGRESA

The Guatemala Friends Scholarship/Loan Program

Students by gender

By Academic Level

Type of institution

Other interesting categories