As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Was it a teacher, doctor, artist, scientist, or some other inspiring option?
When Limitless Horizons Ixil first started in 2004, the youth in Chajul didn’t dare to have educational or career dreams because there was no way to achieve them — they would have only been left disappointed.
Today, however, because of your support and our hard-working team, the scholars we work with dream big! We help to keep those dreams alive, and now that our scholars are growing up, we’re working to help them achieve them! Our scholars don’t only have dreams for themselves, but also dreams to use their education to give back to their community.
Leonardo, one of our recent graduates and interns who you met in my first letter, dreams of starting a social enterprise to introduce home gardening to his community. In Chajul, families usually only grow and eat corn and sometimes small amounts of beans, but no other vegetables. Due to poverty and extreme malnutrition, 77% of 1st graders have stunted growth. Leonardo’s dream is to increase access to varied, nutritious, and affordable produce to improve nutritional outcomes for the poorer families in Chajul.
Will you invest in the future leaders of Chajul?
Give today to help youth like Leonardo pay it forward to transform the community.
Without the opportunities that he gained through Limitless Horizons Ixil, Leonardo believes that his life would be very different. He says he would not have gone to high school, would have struggled to find even work as a day laborer, and would have never dreamed he would have the opportunity to study agricultural engineering in university or consider starting his own business.
Leonardo’s experience in our Youth Development Program and workforce development initiative have provided him with the education, professional skills, and confidence to pursue his dream — and he’s confident that with the support we’ve been able to provide, he can succeed!
Did someone support you to pursue your dreams?
Give today to be that person for a young person in Chajul.
With sincere gratitude,
Zuli Lopez, in collaboration with Katie Morrow
Assistant Director, Executive Director