My Nonprofit Reviews

The sterling work of the Maya Educational Foundation, which I applaud and have had the honor of contributing to and being affiliated with, affords Indigenous youth in Belize, Chiapas, and Guatemala opportunities for personal growth and advancement that their parents and grandparents never could have imagined. This is especially the case of young girls in remote rural areas where deprivation and neglect are the order of the day. One person from such a place is Ana Gómez, who hails from San Mateo Ixtatán in the high, isolated reaches of the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes in Huehuetenango, Guatemala. I was delighted to reacquaint myself with Ana this past summer in Guatemala, and even more delighted that she was participating, post-MEF, in the very same conference (the Guatemala Scholars Network) that I was. As a beneficiary of MEF, Ana studied at the Universidad Rafael Landívar in Guatemala City, where she graduated with a degree in business administration. Ana is a perfect example of what female Mayas like herself can now aspire to -- among myriad professional pursuits, involvement in an activist forum that addresses the obstacles she and countless others have had to confront, and strive to overcome.