Community Capacity Building in Guatemala

One of GVI's goals in its educational program is to empower young indigenous women and give them the opportunity to advance their educational achievements as well as pursue their career goals . Whole Foods Team Members work alongside these indigenous women in the community projects to develop lesson plans, arts and crafts activtities for the children as well as having the extraordinary experience of developing a meaningful , authentic relationship with native citizens in a unique and vibrant culture in Latin America.

Diana, Michel and Rubi all speak Qui'che' as thier first language,(there are 24 languages spoken here in Guatemala)

Kakchikel, Spanish and they also speak some English as well. They are enthusiastic and hard-working. Their job is to assist the Team Members with lesson preparation, translation, material sourcing and classroom management. The TMs are doing well instructing the children and a fantastic job of collaborating with these indigenous women and truly enjoying this inimitable cultural exchange.

Much like Grameen, this program focuses exclusively on young women. In many third-world countries, women constitute the population most disenfranchised and most likey to be living below the poverty line. In our project here in Guatemala, we hope to contiune their educational development and their desire to benefit their communites through education and how this combined with the Grameen micro-credit can exponentially increase the statndard of living for these impoverished people.

Community Capacity Building in Guatemala