Give One Girl the Tools to be a Leader and Watch the World Change

A few months ago, we announced our new partnership with Girl Rising Guatemala to bring their girls’ rights curriculum to rural Guatemala, which aims to change gender attitudes and behaviors that hold girls back. Since then, they have completed the first phase of the program and reached 230 girls in nine communities. Among those 230 girls are seven mentors who were trained to facilitate the 24-week curriculum.

A group of girl rising guatemala participants. The mentor in this story wished to remain anonymous.

We like to support programs that train local mentors because they tend to have a stronger bond with their community and a greater understanding of the cultural barriers and influences that affect youth in their area. Often, that’s because these young adult mentors have faced the same struggles. One such mentor recently shared her experience with us, and we’re honored to be able to share it with you now:

“I was born the second of four daughters, growing up with my father who was physically and psychologically violent. He was against education—mine and my sisters—because we were girls.

Snapshot of some of the curriculum materials.

When I was five, I went to live with my aunt, uncle and grandparents. My uncle believed differently than my father. As a community leader, he traveled to villages and towns, but being indigenous and speaking K’iche’ only, he experienced terrible discrimination. He challenged me to break this barrier and stay in school.

My family made many sacrifices so I could attend school, teaching me that education is a treasure won with many sufferings. Three years after graduation, I finally got a job with the Population Council. I saw the painful reality for girls: some marry at 12, having children when they are children and many aren’t allowed to go to school.

Some of the girl participants working on a new learning module.

Now, I work to change this as a REDMI Aq’ab’al mentor, teaching the Girl Rising curriculum in Guatemala. The girls are excited to come to the session each week, wondering what topic or film they are going to explore. They have goals and dreams that are bigger than what I had at their age. They want to graduate from college and become professionals.

The program helps them see a different future, learn about their rights, and talk to their parents about their education. They tell their siblings and cousins that the sacrifice to attend school is worth it. The girls are thinking differently from their parents; they will build a better society, with less violence. Girls will have the freedom and courage to explore opportunities.”

Your support has enabled powerful stories like this one to become a reality. Now, one girl overcoming the odds is educating and inspiring the next generation. Only think how that change will ripple out over the years and create a better future for these girls.