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forging my tomorrow

developing young guatemalan leaders

Scholarships

If we can give something for our community, for these girls, for these boys, why not? - Candelaria Xep,, co-founder

WHO: We choose scholarship students starting in seventh grade, based on their drive, work ethic, financial need, and leadership aptitude.  They come from low-income rural families, usually with parents who can't read, but who are dedicated to helping their children learn. Every student in our program would have been an economic dropout. We award them scholarships to attend their local public schools, so our 25 students attend many different schools, sometimes 2 hours from our home in Panajachel.

Alvaro, as a fourteen-year-old scholarship student, helping the children of his village with their homework. He started without a word of English, no experience in technology, and no other opportunity to continue studying.

Alvaro, ten years later, working on Salesforce cloud implementations with Torrent Consulting in Antigua, Guatemala, and coaching the students who hope to follow in his footsteps.

WHAT: We call our association "Forging My Tomorrow," which is "Forjando Mi Mañana" in Spanish, because it is the students who are forging it, for themselves.

Scholarship student groups meet every week to receive tutorials on self-esteem, entrepreneurship, financial literacy, environmental issues, sexual and reproductive health, and leadership. They are also tutored in other activities including: sewing, computers, arts and crafts, and English, so that they can compete in a globalized world.

With our Canadian teachers like Dave and Danaya MacDonald, we host English House immersion programs during school vacations in November-December. These are two-month intensive English experiences, every year since 2015, that boost our students in their conversational and written English, through interaction with Canadian and American volunteer teachers. English Houses 2020 and 2021 were successful 60-person bubbles during the pandemic, and English House 2022 was great to get back to normal.

WHEN: We don't wait for them to become leaders in the future; we expect them to lead now. We train our teenage students, starting at 13-14 years old, to be tutors within their own communities, developing younger children in mathematics, reading and writing. The teenagers, as part of receiving their scholarships, start "paying it forward" immediately. By the time they graduate from high school, they have been a teacher for five years.

FINANCES:

SCHOLARSHIPS, LIFE SKILLS, LEADERSHIP TRAINING, AND EXTRA ACTIVITIES:

  • Typical Junior High School Student:  $2000 USD annually.

  • High School Student: $2000-$4000 USD depending on the caliber of the school, and other scholarship assistance.

  • General Scholarship Fund:   We welcome donations of any amount you choose, which can help students lacking a full scholarship, or other needs.

  • English Program during the year: $10,000 USD for 10 months, for all the students.

  • Technology: donated refurbished laptops, internet access, and courses

FAMILY PARTICIPATION: Students win scholarships covering at least 80% of the costs, and we expect the student and family to sacrifice and contribute a part for a valuable education, which helps them understand and prioritize its value.

RESULTS (WHY WE KNOW THIS WORKS):

  • Many of our first students are studying at and graduating from great high schools like the Universidad del Valle Altiplano, in nearby Solola. Almost all are now at the top of their classes, and many of our students have become the top students in their classes and schools, carrying the honour of the Guatemalan flags at graduation.

  • Evelyn won her first job as a Salesforce business analyst with Torrent Consulting in Antigua, an American technology company. She is now one of the most-certified people in Central America, and is studying systems engineering.

  • Florinda won a high school scholarship in Canada, worked as a Spanish teacher for American students in Panajachel, taught English, and studied business. She now works remotely with Scout Technology Guides, a Microsoft managed services provider in Canada.

  • Miguel won the full-ride Walton Scholarship to study in the United States at John Brown University, thanks to the Walton Family Foundation of Wal-Mart. He graduated in 2019, with a degree in international business, and worked with TELUS International in Guatemala City, then Ernst & Young, and then Torrent Consulting. The Walton Scholarship awards only 2-3 scholarships in all of Guatemala each year.

  • Tono won a Walton Scholarship as well, and graduated from John Brown University in 2020 in business management. He works remotely with Scout Technology Guides as a technical expert, and teaches technology to the scholarship program students.

  • Alvaro won a high school scholarship in Canada, and is now working with Torrent as well, and studying systems engineering.

  • Mayra taught English at a school in Xiamen, China, then worked at TELUS, and is now at Torrent Consulting as well, along with Mayrita, as they are in the apprenticeship Academy.

  • Donis teaches mathematics to Guatemalans, Spanish to foreigners, and studies systems engineering. Currently is a Spanish Teacher at JABEL TINAMIT Spanish School.

  • Angela is on scholarship at Selkirk College in Canada, studying business.

  • Eimy is on scholarship at Wheaton Academy in Chicago, finishing high school.

  • Silvia is on scholarship at Taylor University in Indiana, after graduating on scholarship from Wheaton Academy in Chicago.

  • Almost 20 of our students have won scholarships to study English in California at the Summer English Institute during July, an intensive program with students from around the world.

  • Mayerli and Rodolfo graduated in fall 2021, and started working online immediately with UrbanTec Property Management, a condominium management corporation from Calgary, Canada. Edgar, Angie, Daniel, Carlos, and Angelica have now joined their team.

  • Every graduate with a job is a significant financial supporter of their family, often earning 4x the rest of the family combined. This is the power of technology and English. It opens the door to generational change.

 

 

DID YOU KNOW?

1/3 of Guatemalan teens drop out before age 15, largely due to poverty. Public school is only free up to sixth grade.

how many?

35 students

Ages 13-20

from where?

Lake Atitlan-area villages like:

Buena Vista

Peña Blanca

San Andres

Santa Catarina Palopó

San Antonio Palopó

Children's Tutorials

Our vision is to help them explore and expand their abilities and capacities.

- Candelaria Xep de Garcia

WHY: Mayan children in the rural villages around Panajachel usually speak their Kakchiquel dialect until they enter school. School, however, is taught only in Spanish. The first few years of school are consequently very difficult and discouraging, and parents are often unable to help, since they speak minimal Spanish themselves, and may be illiterate or minimally educated. 

““The Saturday tutorials help my two children to improve their reading skills; before attending the tutorials, I heard them struggling while reading and trying to understand what they read, but now, with Mayra, their tutor, they read better and understand how fun it is to read books.””
— Mother, San Andres Semetebaj

Dilia, scholarship student, teaching at the Panajachel children’s tutorials, after leading the year-end celebratory water fight, followed by a special meal of fried chicken and French fries.

WHAT: Our scholarship students, who are receiving tuition assistance and further education, are the neighbors of these children, and the local "heroes." They speak Kakchiquel, but also speak Spanish, are learning English, and they are uniquely positioned to motivate and inspire the next generation. When these teenagers lead Saturday literacy and homework-help tutorials for their young neighbors, the children stay in school, and surpass that intial obstacle.

WHEN: Tutorials are held in nine rural communities now, on Saturday mornings. These are voluntary, and extremely appreciated by the families of the children.

Carlos taught children’s tutorials for several years in Buena Vista. Carlos now works online in technology, with UrbanTec Property Management from Canada.

“We don’t give up. We give back.”

COST: Local communities are expected to provide a location. Our program provides the scholarship student teachers, school supplies, a nutritious Saturday snack to fuel learning, first-time learning excursions outside the villages, coaching for parents, and organization. The cost per group annually is $1400 dollars.

RESULTS: Children who attend regularly on Saturdays, give their best efforts, and have their parents behind them have a much better chance at success in school. We are tracking the comparative results, and have already seen some of the children mature into successful scholarship candidates, win our scholarships, and become the teachers. Angelica, Mayrita, and Oliver are examples from the Buena Vista tutorials.

Olga taught children’s tutorials for several years in Peña Blanca. She now works online in accounting for Scout Technology Guides from Canada.

““Thanks to this program my 8-year-old daughter finished her school year. At the beginning of the year, she was struggling with me to attend school. She said that she did not like school, and she was failing her first exams. Then I heard about this program, so I started sending her every Saturday. As a result, my daughter enjoyed going every Saturday and her grades started improving. Thanks to this program, my daughter passed her school year.””
— Mother, Santa Catarina Palopo
 

IMAGINE if you entered Spanish immersion school at age six. Would you need some extra help?

 

how many?

200+ students

Ages 4-13

 

from where?

Lake-area villages like:

Buena Vista

Peña Blanca

Santa Catarina

Panajachel

Monte Mercedes

Chaquiya

Learning Centers

We want integrated education. If a future job opportunity requires computers, they will be able to succeed…. - Gregorio Garcia, co-founder

WHAT: We promote learning centers, literacy program, constructions in rural communities.

LEARNING CENTERS: In Buena Vista, thanks to the collaboration of many individuals and donors, we have helped establish a library with an extensive collection, a laptop lab, internet connection, copier, and printer. The program is run by a librarian. Monte Mercedes, Peña Blanca, Panajachel and San Antonio Palopó follow the same model, and has been very impactful within the children in the communities.

TYPICAL COSTS:

Learning Center Operation:

  • $10,000 annual cost including salary for the librarian, school supplies, maintenance, etc.

Learning Center Construction:

  • $35,000 for materials to build a new learning center.

Literacy program:

  • $1000 annually including facilitator, school supply, nutrition, workshops about nutrition, health, birth control, and others.

 

DID YOU KNOW? 

Guatemalan students used to have to pass a typing test in order to advance to seventh grade. Without that requirement in school, access to computers outside of school becomes even more important.

 

LAPTOPS?

Computers can cost double in Guatemala what they do in Canada or the USA.

We work with partners from Canada to equip our students and learning centers with refurbished laptops, whether Macs, PCs, or Chromebooks.

About Us

In Panajachel, the main part of the economy is tourism. When there are foreign people in your town, if you know their language, you will be able to get a job.

- Gregorio Garcia, co-founder

Candelaria and Gregorio with 2022 graduate Angie

WHO: Gregorio and I (Candelaria) both grew up in very simple families, with very little money. Gregorio sold beadwork bracelets to tourists after school, saving $10/year from age six to ten. With that $40, he found a used sewing machine, in another lake village. His father backpacked the sewing machine across the mountains, and Gregorio put himself into tailoring school at night, graduating at age 12. With that trade, and a lot of sewing suits and pants, he put himself through high school and university.

I (Candelaria) grew up collecting firewood on the mountainsides, flowers for soup, and struggling to get to school. My father Antonio, against the mockery of his relatives, decided that his daughters were going to get an education. Because of this, I graduated high school, and met Gregorio at university. We were both working at a disorganized Spanish school for foreigners, and thought "we could do this better."

We founded our Spanish School Jabel Tinamit in 1998 with a $500 loan from a German friend, and have grown it into one of the best language schools in the nation. We were selected by INGUAT, the Guatemalan tourist agency, to represent our language school industry at international conferences in Berlin and Montreal. Our teachers teach one-on-one lessons, in person or via Skype, zoom, Teams and FaceTime, to 200+ students in 25+ countries each week.

WHY: Our dream, however, has always been to be more than just self-sustaining business owners, but to be leaders who are giving back to our community and the next generation. With this in mind, we launched Forging My Tomorrow in 2011, applying business principles and accountability to the social work that is so dearly needed by our teenagers. We do this as volunteers, while accepting donations towards the costs of tuition and programs for the children. Our friends Guatemala Conexions accept and receipt Canadian and American donations.

COSTS: With 25 teenage scholarship students, and 250+ children in the tutorials, as well as libraries, computer centers, micro loans, and various other ideas in progress, we have been blessed to have many people contribute each year. 

 

DID YOU KNOW? 

In Guatemala, university can cost less than $1000/year, and classes are on weekends, so that students can work during the week.

 

Tourism

In the Lake Atitlan area, Panajachel is the center of tourism, and English is the language of tourism. With English, our students will have job opportunities for life.

 

RESULTS

This video starts with Heydi, a student who learned so much English in one year: