Programs & Services
Through private financial contributions, MayaCREW provides support for the broad range of ACEBAR’s education, leadership and well-being projects in Chichicastenango, Guatemala including:
- Education scholarships annually for over 250 Maya children living in poverty
- Required school supplies for all scholarship students
- Local Maya Facility Coordinator to manage the resources for teachers and students
- “Education Promoter” leadership program
- Support for local parent-teacher association
- On-site computer lab
- Low-cost photocopy services for member teachers
- School supplies for member teachers
- Small library of Spanish language reference books
- Emergency supply of clothing and shoes for children
- Dental clinic with trained dental hygienist
Scholarships
MayaCREW/ACEBAR funds over 250 scholarships annually for the rural Maya children in the area of Chichicastenango. Scholarship recipients attend school in their local community. MayaCREW/ACEBAR supports children in more than two dozen remote rural locations. Many children receiving scholarships from our program come from single parent families. Most children are contributors to the family income by selling goods in the marketplace or caring for younger siblings while the mother works in the market. Therefore, when a child goes to school, the parent has made the commitment to the value of education for their child. Sustainability is essential in the commitment that we’ve made to the children of Chichicastenango and their families and MayaCREW’s donors are the key to this sustainability.
School Supplies
Each scholarship student receives a complete bag of school supplies required to attend class. Students are not allowed to attend school without the required supplies.
Education Promoter Program
In 2008, MayaCREW/ACEBAR inaugurated an innovative “Education Promoter” program. Ten young rural women (middle school students) with outstanding academic records are elected annually by local peers to represent their communities as Education Promoters (“Promotoras.”) These young women participate in seminars at the ACEBAR center which foster leadership skills, provide new ways to share knowledge and increase awareness about social problems in rural areas. Engagement of “Promotoras” also helps ACEBAR project managers in Chichicastenango to maintain regular communication with the distant hamlet communities serviced by the organization.
The young women selected to be “Promotoras” become more assertive leaders in their rural communities. In seminars, experts train the “Promotoras” to conduct formal presentations in their own communities, including meeting with schoolmates and groups of parents and facilitating community dialogue and heightened awareness about topics including family violence, family planning, and the role of women in Maya Society.
Resource Center
Donations also support the education resource center in the pueblo of Chichicastenango. The center supervises the selection of scholarship students and distribution of the scholarships, coordination of services to students and teachers, coordination of computer training and many other services.
Dental Clinic
The dental clinic opened in late summer 2006, staffed with a trained dental hygienist. Tooth decay is a persistent issue for all ages. Our challenge continues to be to educate the local population on the importance of dental hygiene. Scholarship recipients are required to annually have their teeth cleaned at the ACEBAR dental clinic “Sonrisas Felices” (“Happy Smiles.”)
Computer Lab
The computer lab opened in 2005. Teachers and students can use the computers to complete lesson planning and school work. As with all electronics, the computers need to be regularly serviced, repaired, replaced or upgraded.
