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MEF’s original work started with university scholarships in Guatemala. The students were selected by a group of educated Maya professionals who organized a Comité de Becas Mayas. Over the course of time this committee has been folded into a larger group, the Fundación para Estudios y Profesionalización Maya (FEPMaya) which now has its own non-profit organization status in Guatemala. FEPMaya’s Comité de Becas Mayas selects the students to receive MEF scholarships and provides resources and workshops to help them reach their goals. This course of “parallel education” includes monthly student meetings, talks and workshops organized by the students, particularly with a focus on Maya history and culture, and remedial instruction when needed. Students find a receptive home base in the FEPMaya office and are monitored and mentored by FEPMaya’s student director, Lucía Sebaquijay. They also find that learning about the experiences of former students in coping with the biases and discrimination against Mayas in the university system helps them cope with similar problems. In selecting students, a preference is given to women to correct the general imbalance toward men in Guatemalan society, and students are expected to be proficient in the Mayan language of their village. To date, forty-seven have graduated with their licenciatura degrees in a variety of fields: medicine, psychology, law, education, economics, public accounting, sociology, business administration, linguistics, engineering, agronomy, and the like.
MEF scholarships enable these young people to attend the university, to make progress in their career plans, and to have the time to carry out important investigations and thesis writing necessary to complete their degrees. There is always a greater need for scholarship funds. The cost is approximately $180 a month to keep a Maya student enrolled at the university level. Your gift will make an incredible difference to a Maya student. |
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University students from the Programa de Becas Mayas of Guatemala
University students in Guatemala City |
Scholarship Program for University Students, Guatemala
