My Nonprofit Reviews

I know MAIA since 2018 when I attended a conference and the presenter spoke about this organization. I am a teacher who intentionally bridges the content in the classroom with the real world. I contacted Travis Ning who at the time was the leader, to travel to Guatemala to learn about the program. I visited the school and interacted with the girls and their teacher leaders and mentors. We also spent a day climbing a volcano and the girls sang their mantra or hymn as part of their empowerment exercise. I could not believe that a project like this existed.

In 2019 I took my first group of students and it was an experience that changed us deeply. By then the school was in its actual location, a modern and beautiful building. Both schools shared their best practices, identified common problems and proposed solutions, and more importantly, students were able to connected heart to heart. In 2020 we cancelled our second trip a week prior due to the pandemic but last year I was able to take another group and we had a profound learning experience (thanks to Mrs. Lidia Oxi and Vilma Saloj for their planning and hard work). One of the participants, who is in now in College, just wrote to tell me that she spoke to her professor of Gender Studies about the impact MAIA had on her. One of my students who traveled with me last year is working to create a non profit to help girls and women, and MAIA will be one her beneficiaries.

I teach AP Human Geography and Women's Studies at an independent school in the U.S.A. and MAIA is the example I use when I teach about the UN Development Goal #5 on Gender Equality.

I am organizing another trip to Guatemala for 2024 and I hope I can continue expanding the life-changing work that MAIA does. Thank you for impacting our lives in a positive way. You are a testament that change is possible.

Laura Massa, Palmer Trinity School