Since 2004, we have focused on improving education in Chajul, where 70% of families live in poverty and fewer than 5% of youth graduate from high school. In 2022 we launched Colegio Horizontes, our middle and high school that brings culturally responsive, rigorous, and engaging academics to Chajul’s Indigenous youth for the first time.
Colegio Horizontes serves up to 125 students each year, the majority of whom are girls, with an additional 35 students in our middle school prep classes. Graduates earn a middle and high school degree as well as three university-accredited certificates in community leadership, technology, and financial literacy, to position them to excel in college, technical programs, professional jobs, and entrepreneurship.
is the average time Indigenous women in Guatemala spend in school.
of youth in Chajul graduate from middle school.
of youth in Chajul graduate from high school.
of Chajul’s youth lack food security.
We provide students with highly trained professional mentors who are role models from Chajul. They work with students to ensure they demonstrate healthy emotional regulation, maintain good attendance, and stay on track for academic success. In safe, confidential spaces, mentors hold one-on-one meetings with students empowering them to build strong emotional, social, and academic skills, and to develop the agency to achieve their goals.
Students participate in weekly two-hour life skills classes, which address themes including leadership, emotional health and well-being, sexual and reproductive health, healthy relationships, gender equity, nutrition, hygiene, goal setting, and decision making.
We know that a student’s success is deeply connected to their home environment and family relationships. That’s why our model extends socioemotional support beyond the classroom, engaging families as active partners in their child’s education through regular home visits and conversations. By connecting with and involving the entire family unit, we create a foundation for students to thrive academically and personally.
Through regular workshops conducted in safe and supportive spaces at Colegio Horizontes, mentors provide students’ family members with strategies that allow them to understand, support, and respond to the changes in their child’s emotional, academic, and social development processes. We facilitate open dialogue and meetings between guardians and teachers, mentors, and school leadership.
Recognizing that the vast majority of our students are undernourished and that proper nutrition fuels the body, sharpens the mind, and supports focus, behavior, and long-term academic success, Colegio Horizontes provides students with two nutritious meals each day. This promotes learning, well-being, and greater food security both in and out of the classroom as families rest assured knowing their children are eating healthy hot meals.
At Colegio Horizontes, students learn essential daily habits that aren’t always common in Chajul, like effective handwashing, brushing teeth, staying hydrated, and practicing positive communication. We extend this learning to families through parent workshops and home visits that focus on hygiene and wellness, helping to create consistent routines that support students and families’ long-term health and success.
Each year we welcome 35 students into our Abriendo Horizontes (Expanding Horizons) middle school prep classes, designed to improve students’ academic and Spanish-language skills and also determine which 25 students are the best fit for the next year’s incoming 7th grade class. The program’s 140+ hours of classes focus on Spanish and math with additional life skills and school culture classes to ensure students start middle school strong.
Graduates strengthen Chajul’s economy and build human capital by filling critical local jobs, reducing the need to hire from outside the community.
Educating girls strengthens inclusive community leadership and participation, contributing to more equitable access, representation, and decision-making across education, employment, and family life.
Household stability, decision-making, and financial management is strengthened as graduates marry later and have smaller families, and partnerships include an empowered, educated woman.
Increased local job opportunities and growing businesses reduce income-driven emigration, allowing graduates to remain in Chajul and contribute to local development.
Graduates give back by mentoring youth, leading community projects, and engaging in local problem-solving, fostering a culture of civic leadership.
Graduate entrepreneurs launch businesses that meet local needs, stimulate the economy, and provide valuable goods and services to the community.
