What we do
The goal of Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala is to empower through education. Less than half of all children in Guatemala make it through sixth grade, and more than 2 million children–mostly Mayan girls living in rural areas like those where we work–don’t attend school at all.
AAV partners with village leaders to develop practical and relevant educational opportunities to give children and their parents the skills they need to build a better future. With support from our Child Sponsorship program, we began by building nine elementary schools in villages that previously had no access to primary education. As children have progressed through these schools, we have built on that foundation, supporting middle school programs, and providing scholarships for students at the Mayan Center’s high school. This residential high school serves students selected from 250 area villages. A full curriculum began in January 2010. AAV also provides vocational programs at the Mayan Center in areas such as carpentry, agriculture, animal husbandry and health.
In addition to education, our Widows and Orphans program provides extra assistance to some of the poorest families in the region, including food, clothing and housing. All of AAV’s work is accomplished with the help and direction of the people and villages that benefit and who will ultimately assume the ongoing management and operation of the projects. To date, AAV has completed more than 60 major projects since we began in 1991.
