Foundation donates to scholarships for Qachuu Aloom students in Guatemala:
"The staff at The Garden’s Edge appreciates the continued support from the Emily Sandall Foundation. Qachuu Aloom (QA) had 10 scholarship recipients, the majority of which were young women, enrolled in middle and high school. One of QA’s organizational values is Equity. This is why they give priority to young women from rural communities where machismo (sexism) often prevents them from attending school. Another important consideration when working with youth in Guatemala is the general lack of learning opportunities, jobs, or options for learning in ways that respect cultural identities, language and practices of the Indigenous communities. In 2021, QA offered the scholarship students workshops in agroecology, Maya Cosmology, cultural identity, diversified homegardens, communication, radio broadcasting (podcasting), videography, and COVID prevention.
Qachuu Aloom, through its scholarship program, is providing youth with the skills and the tools to assert their rights and step into leadership roles within their communities. One of the many positive outcomes of the scholarships fund is the formation of new community leaders. There are different ways to look at leadership, according to Maribel Gonzalez, often in the western sense, “leadership is viewed as a process of personal development, to determine what is good for a community” while some Indigenous teachings show that “good leadership is being in service to other people, listening to what people need and responding in a respectful way.” Many past scholarship students have embodied this idea of being in service to their communities in respectful ways.
In 2021, Qachuu Aloom celebrated the graduation of Blanca Veronica Jesusa Vasquez Lopez from the community of Pacaal. Blanca received a high school scholarship for three years and three years of technical training to become an accountant. She is now in search of a job so that she can help support her family."
Sarah Montgomery,Director,Garden's Edge
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