Maya Educational Foundation

	Maya Educational Foundation
	Route 106 / P. O. Box 38 South Woodstock, VT 05071-0038, USA Tel. (802) 457-1199 / Fax (802) 457-2212 mayaedfund@mayaedufound.org

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Belize Scholarship program

In fulfilling our goal to expand programs to new areas, MEF is proud to announce a new scholarship program in Belize. The Belize Scholarship Program provides opportunities for education and training assistance at the secondary school level to Mayan students with financial need. Maya children in Belize work very hard at their studies, knowing their opportunities are rare and also a big sacrifice for the family. They are eager to further their education in order to improve their lives and the lives of their families.

Beginning in September 2006, in collaboration with the Julian Cho Society (JCS) who will administer the scholarship program, seven students received scholarships to begin studies in the Toledo area of Belize. Three students attend Toledo Community College, a high school serving about 900 students, grades 9-12. Four students attend the Julian Cho Technical High School, a government co-educational institution, with about 400 students and 30 staff, which emphasizes vocational technical education that is relevant to the development of the Toledo District and its people.

Introduction

We are proud to report a successful year of the MEF/JCS High School scholarship program. At the beginning of the school year August 2006, MEF in collaboration with the JCS, a non profit indigenous rights NGO based in southern Belize initiated the first ever Maya scholarship program. We are most appreciative to the MEF for providing educational opportunities to the rural Maya of the Toledo district who have limited financial resources to allow for further education. This scholarship program does not just help a Maya child in high school but rather Maya families who place their hopes in the advancement of a family member going to high school. The assistance is expanded even further to the community of which this sponsored child comes from as they feel a sense of pride when a community member graduates from high school. Together in education we strive to build stronger societies who can be better able to address the numerous social, economic, and cultural issues that plague our remote communities in this developing world.

Organizational Background

The Julian Cho Society (JCS) is a non-profit, non-governmental membership organization dedicated to the conservation of the environments and indigenous lands of southern Belize. We aim to carry forward the vision and legacy of the late Julian Cho, a renowned advocate for the rainforests and indigenous peoples of southern Belize. Following Cho, the JCS regards environmental conservation and the struggle for Maya land rights to be inextricably linked. As our mission statement explains, the JCS has three broad aims:

to develop and disseminate programs that promote the ethical, social, and intellectual development of the indigenous peoples of southern Belize;

to facilitate research that contributes to greater understanding and appreciation of the history, cultures, and environment of the Toledo District; and

to promote the principles and values that Julian Cho fostered as leader of the Maya movement by advocating for the rights of indigenous peoples in Belize and contributing to the struggle for justice, democracy, and sustainable development.

The Julian Cho Society as a grassroots organization seeks to assist Maya communities to identify and implement programs which are aimed at creating employment, self-reliance and improvement of overall quality of life. We recognize that education is an integral part of achieving this goal and therefore we continue to seek opportunities for our Maya youths and adolescence to pursue higher education. The JCS is committed to advocate for the rights of indigenous children in southern Belize as we believe these youths will determine the future for the Maya. Our vision for this scholarship program is like planting corn seeds which will provide our communities with a bountiful harvest in the near future.

2006-2007 MEF/JCS Scholars

We celebrate in the success of the program as we report that five of our seven scholars have successfully been promoted to second year from both the Toledo Community College and the Julian Cho Technical High School. Some of our students despite the challenges have scored really high grades as reflected in the report cards. We are please with the performance of our scholars for this year both in academics and behavior. They continue to demonstrate the highest level of achievement and appreciation for the financial assistance offered to them through this scholarship program. All of our scholars have engaged in a community service project throughout the year and have recently joined the Maya Youth Task Force of Southern Belize. During their summer break some of our scholars received training in Oral Histories collection and will be engaged in an oral histories project for four weeks.

Nevertheless, there are many challenges associated with the educational success of our young people in Toledo and I wish to highlight the main challenges faced.
Duringour first year of operation the main challenges met include the harsh reality of
children who come from remote communities with less supporting resources like
libraries, computer access or even basic access to electricity which has made it even more difficult for our scholars to maintain high level of performance. Some students from rural Toledo have to spend long hours on school buses (some even walk miles to the nearest village to catch the school bus) to and from school; help with household chores before attending to their homework. Most of these children work in the “milpa” on the weekends to support the family subsistence needs. It is a sacrifice for any Maya family in southern Belize to send a child to high school due to their economic disadvantage and the high cost of school fees.

Additional we find that children attending rural primary school are already at a disadvantage when they enroll in high school because of the lower standard of education received in elementary schools. This is a result of many factors including multi-grade teaching, overcrowded class rooms, untrained primary school teachers and the like. Hence, it is not surprising that our scholars struggle in their first year to meet the standards and compete with the other students coming from better schools in the urban areas. We continue to recommend expanding the program to include a tutoring plan to further assist the scholars in ensuring optimal success in their educational pursuit.

Finally, students coming from traditional Maya communities have found difficulty transitioning into a more modern society when they enter high school. Immersion into
these high schools is often difficult and discriminatory and does not provide for easy transition for rural students. Often times failure to excel in school is due to lack of interest on the part of the instructor to spend more time getting to know our students due to large classes and failing to understand their limited educational background. We continue to encourage our scholars to ask questions when necessary and to seek outside help from other teachers, friends, and peers within their schools. We have found that often cultural behaviors are misinterpreted to mean a lack of cooperation in class, or disrespect for instructor and children are often given a “demerit” for such behaviors. Also, families tend to give the child a very limited opportunity to advance their educational career. When a child is not performing well parents tend to remove them from school immediately, failing to realize the challenges that exist for this child.

Though there is a multitude of issues associated with education for rural Maya children in southern Belize, we find it very comforting to report that our scholars have sustained their interest and drive for excellence in their educational opportunity provide to them through this scholarship program. Again, we want to express our gratitude on behalf of the 2006-2007 scholars for the sponsors who have paved a way to advancing the educational careers of our young Maya in southern Belize and to MEF who continue to facilitate this worthy endeavor. The Julian Cho Society reiterates it commitment to this partnership as we work tirelessly for the advancement of our Maya people of southern Belize.