In Guatemala, Indigenous girls face a reality that demands our urgent attention—one in which access to quality education is unattainable and frequently regarded as a privilege rather than a basic human right.
But together, we can change this reality. At the MAIA Impact School , we educate and transform lives. Here, her future starts today.
Every year at the MAIA Impact School, we welcome a new generation of Girl Pioneers to open them to a realm of new opportunities by educating them and exposing them to a world of what is possible. It is a transformative journey that changes the trajectory of the future of their lives, families, and the broader community.
With your investment, these remarkable young women will break cycles of poverty and build a brighter future—one where they can graduate from high school, choose when and if to start a family, access better job opportunities, and empower themselves and future generations to thrive.
Her future starts today! Donate now! and be the spark that ignites change for Girl Pioneers on their transformative journey!
Angela, Linda, Alexandra, Wendy, Eleany, and Betzayda are six MAIA Girl Pioneers who are redefining the trajectory of their lives, families, and the broader community’s future. They are a testament that when women have access to education, they become empowered, break poverty cycles, and can transform the world.
With your investment, we can reach our Fundraising goal of $150,000 this giving season!
This is more than a campaign; it's a movement to empower young Indigenous women. Together we can create a future where every girl has the opportunity to lead, uplift her community, and create a better world for all.
Who we are
We are an organization led by Indigenous women for Indigenous girls.
At MAIA, Indigenous women are leading the change, empowering generations of young Indigenous women through an educational model that embraces academics, culture, socioemotional intelligence, personal development, and family engagement.
MAIA amplifies and maximizes the potential of young women to lead transformational change.
Founded in 2007, MAIA (formerly Starfish) was created with a focus on women born into situations of discrimination and exclusion, whose "fate" would normally be to drop out of school, marry, and mother, and repeat the poverty cycle.
MAIA focuses its strategies on the question: What would happen if these young women had the opportunity to go as far as their talent could take them?
To address the numerous challenges facing girls, the solution had to be holistic in nature and sustainable in its implementation. MAIA's pillars of academics, community, and culture work together to create a deeply intentional support system for young women and their families to ensure they can break the cycles of exclusion and poverty that have gripped them for generations. MAIA was built to be nimble and responsive to the emerging needs and lessons learned.
Since its inception, MAIA has run a successful mentorship and scholarship program centered on creating "Girl Pioneers" who would be the first in their families to complete secondary school. This project couples financial support to attend public schools and an intensive mentorship program that provides accompaniment and education in key areas not traditionally found in the Guatemalan education system (socioemotional education, reproductive health, civic engagement, leadership, vocal empowerment, financial literacy, and more). The MAIA mentorship model works because the mentors themselves are mirrors of their mentees - they're from the same or a similar community and have had a comparable trajectory. As the results demonstrate, the mentorship project has been highly successful.
However, a crucial variable continued to impede the trajectory of Girl Pioneers: a substandard public education system. In Sololá, just 6% of high school graduates are considered "proficient" in math. This is not due to a lack of talent but rather an antiquated system. As a result, Girl Pioneers entering the workforce or applying to university had to achieve success in spite of their education, not as a result of it.
To directly address this problem impeding our graduates from reaching their full potential, MAIA opened the Impact School in January 2017. The Impact School is specifically designed to connect the talents of Indigenous girls with the opportunities of the 21st century and encourage greater participation in education. MAIA’s holistic model includes a pre-secondary school academic leveling program, 5 years of rigorous academics, and Launch Year—MAIA’s “gap year” for Girl Pioneer graduates of the Impact School that generates opportunity in the formal economy and success in university through professional skill development, university coaching, and workplace experience.
Organization name
MAIA
other names
MAIA, Starfish One by One
2007
Category
Education, Community Improvement & Capacity Building
Organization Size
Large Organization
Address
MAIA c/o Posner Center for International Development 1031 33rd St, Suite 176Denver County, CO, US
GT