As we kick off a new school year at Colegio Horizontes, we want to take a moment to reflect on our incredible 20th anniversary year—made possible by your support. Your generosity toward our high school capital campaign and end-of-year campaign helped us not only meet but exceed our 2024 fundraising goal, ensuring a strong foundation for this exciting period of growth. Thank you!
As we reflect on our 20th year of impact in Chajul, we wanted to share a few highlights with you!
2024 marked a milestone for Limitless Horizons Ixil as we celebrated our 20th anniversary! In honor of this achievement, we shared 20 impact stories, available on our blog. From Josefina, who joined our Youth Development Program in 2005 (far left) and has since gone on to become the first in her family to earn a university degree (left), to incoming 7th grader, Adriana, a library-user-turned-Colegio Horizontes student, our impact was evident. We can’t wait to see what our next 20 years bring!
The 2024 incoming class of 26 motivated 7th graders expanded the Colegio Horizontes student body to 72 students, two-thirds of them girls. Despite being new to Spanish and facing a challenging curriculum, these students excelled and showed impressive academic and personal growth over the year. In addition to exceptional academic preparation, each Colegio Horizontes student received over 400 nutritious meals throughout the year, ensuring they had the energy to learn and thrive.
The local branch of the Guatemalan Association of Mayan Languages hosted a cultural event for International Mother Language Day in February and invited Colegio Horizontes students back after their impressive performance at the event in 2023. 9th graders performed a dance, presented a painting, and even sang an Ixil rendition of “Rolling in the Deep” by Adele!
Odilia Cedillo and Zuliana Lopez stepped into new roles as Co-Directors in March, following Veronica Yat’s departure after 15 years with Limitless Horizons Ixil to become the Guatemala and Panama Program Officer for Focus Central America. To honor Veronica, we hosted two celebrations where her lasting legacy was deeply felt. Since taking the reins, Odi and Zuly have blossomed in their leadership roles. Additionally, we welcomed a new Director of Development, Erin Treinen, and Development and Communication Specialist, Elena Laswick, both based in Guatemala.
For the first time, Colegio Horizontes and the Limitless Knowledge Community Library proudly joined the local Independence Day parade on September 15th, marching with banners to showcase their values. Students beamed with pride and joy as they represented their school, while the larger Chajul community warmly welcomed our participation. The event was a tremendous success, strengthening our connection with the community.
In addition to participating in local festivities, Colegio Horizontes hosted its own Independence Day activity, including a panel of six local and indigenous professionals. Special guest Ch’umilkaj, an internationally acclaimed Maya Kaqchikel musician, joined the panel, giving students the opportunity to interview her and enjoy a live performance. Panelists shared insights from their professional journeys, highlighting flexibility, resilience, embracing opportunities, and staying committed to growth.
As we prepared to expand into high school, staff, leadership, and curriculum consultants worked diligently to develop high school curriculum while we expanded and trained our team. We experienced our largest growth yet, welcoming a new mentor, a career pathways specialist, five new educators, and a school receptionist—most of whom are women from Chajul.
Odilia Cedillo became a founding member of Voices for Education, a coalition of seven Guatemalan organizations advocating for equitable public education. This initiative collaborates with the Guatemalan Ministry of Education to share insights and evidence-based recommendations. The Vice Minister of Education attended a meeting where Odi was invited to present our work in helping students secure dignified employment after graduation. The group will continue meeting regularly to foster cross-sector dialogue and drive meaningful change.
Eymi Canay, a Youth Development Program graduate and longtime employee, earned her Master’s degree in Business Administration—becoming the first Limitless Horizons Ixil graduate and only the second known woman in Chajul to do so! To mark this historic achievement, we celebrated with Eymi and her family at Colegio Horizontes.
For the first time, students returned to school after final exams for 10 days of educational extracurricular activities of their choice. They explored gardening, and podcast recording, attended outings to the local Coffee Cooperative, participated in cooking classes, and even enjoyed a mock pajama reading party.
Our last two Youth Development Program (now Colegio Horizontes) scholars graduated from high school! Although they weren’t expecting a ceremony, Zuli, Eymi, and David, took the two students and their families out to lunch at a local restaurant and surprised them with an intimate celebration in honor of their achievement.
During the October–December school break, our UNESCO award-winning Limitless Knowledge Community Library was bustling with vacation programs, including math, science, story hours, reading clubs, and bilingual (Ixil/Spanish) radio broadcasts reaching the entire region. The programs concluded with a celebration featuring dances, awards, and performances. With 76 new members joining in the last quarter, 2024 saw a record 549 library members—our busiest year yet!
In November, we celebrated the graduation of our first 23 middle school students—an unforgettable milestone in our 20th anniversary year! Families, staff, and students joined in person, with ~70 more tuning in via livestream. The ceremony featured diplomas, heartfelt speeches, and special awards for academic excellence.
In 2024, through our Emerging Leaders Program, we awarded 13 university scholarships, hosted three educational and networking events for alumni, and supported three Emerging Leader Fellows with work experiences and monthly professional development workshops. In December, we capped off the year with a holiday celebration where alumni reconnected, shared experiences, and celebrated the season with a bonfire, dinner, games, and a gift exchange. These gatherings help strengthen our alumni network, providing ongoing support as they navigate employment, entrepreneurship, and higher education.
After breaking ground in late 2023, we began construction on our high school in January. After 12 months of hard work, and with the expert oversight of Building Goodness Foundation, the building was 85% complete by December! In September, with the incredible support of our community, we successfully completed our Capital Campaign, securing all funds to complete and furnish the new building and science lab. Thank you to everyone who made this dream a reality for future generations of students. We can’t wait to celebrate at our grand opening on March 6th!
2024 was a truly memorable year. Your support helped to fully fund all of our programs AND expand into high school, making it possible for Chajul’s students to access high quality education, getting them one step closer to a high school diploma, professional careers, financial stability, and a life outside of poverty for them and their families.