Asociación MAIA

Mind & Body Wellness for Indigenous Adolescent Girls (Guatemala)

Indigenous Maya girls face multiple levels of exclusion from opportunities such as education, just two thirds of 10–19-year-old Mayan females are literate, compared to 80% of Mayan males and 90% of the majority Ladino population¹.

The MAIA Impact School provides a holistic education to ‘Girl Pioneers’ who are from more than forty rural villages in Guatemala. Each girl is supported by a mentor who is from a similar background and provides socioemotional support to help her meet her academic goals and facilitates workshops in non-academic topics such as reproductive health, health, nutrition, financial literacy, environmental stewardship, civic engagement and leadership.

Further Information:

Facebook: @maia.impacto.infinito and @maiaimpact

Instagram: @maia.impacto.infinito and @maia_impact

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/maiaimpact

References:

^{1. Hallman K, Peracca S, Catino J, Ruiz MJ, 2007, Assessing the multiple disadvantages of Mayan girls: The effects of gender, ethnicity, poverty, and residence on education in Guatemala, Population Council, available at https://www.popcouncil.org/uploads/pdfs/TABriefs/PGY_Brief16_Guatemala.pdf. Accessed 28 April 2021}

^{Photo Credit: Jade Media}