Chajul is an indigenous town of about 50,000 inhabitants (including the residents of over 50 aldeas, or outlying villages) located in the rural mountains of Guatemala. Here, women wear their brilliantly-colored, handwoven huipiles, cortes, and head wraps and spend their days operating their back-strap looms, collecting firewood, and cooking over open fires to turn their masa into tortillas for their families. Men are often absent during the day, farming corn and coffee in the mountains surrounding the town.
Chajul is a town that is still in the throes of post-conflict, having been at the center of violence and oppression during the Civil War that ended with the 1996 Peace Accords. The community is highly impoverished and the needs are many. While the government runs what is intended to be a full health clinic, there are not enough medical professionals to adequately handle the outreach that is needed, nor enough supplies or medicines to meet demand. While the number of schools in Chajul has doubled in the past four years, most of the teachers leading the classrooms have barely a high school diploma themselves. While the region is rich with coffee plantations and indigenous handicrafts, the prospect of finding a professional job is slim. A large portion of the adult generation suffers from the trauma of their past, and from the poverty that they are left to endure. Meanwhile, the teenagers and children of this community know little of the war or of limitations to their futures; herein lies one of the opportunities in this town.
Philanthropiece's collaboration with Chajul was initiated in 2008 with our
partnership to Limitless Horizons Ixil (LHI). LHI’s mission is to work in partnership with the indigenous Maya Ixil community of Guatemala to create opportunities for empowerment and to advance sustainable community development in Chajul. In a community where more than 25% percent of the adult population is illiterate, and 95% of the community has not graduated from middle school, LHI operates a scholarship program for over 75 students with built-in support services including tutoring, computer classes, a study center with computer lab and library, access to a work study program, guidance counseling, activities, and field trips.
We share with LHI the core
beliefs of working collaboratively with the local people; of assuring that all programs are locally identified; and of operating with the utmost cultural sensitivity and consideration for sustainability. Philanthropiece works alongside Limitless Horizons Ixil to support the community of Chajul with the following, additional programs:
- Work to (L)earn
- Computer and Tutoring programs
- Safe Stoves Initiative
- Intensive Spanish Program
- Saber Sin Limites Public Library, Chajul’s first public library
- LHI Community Center
- Interactive Educational Workshops
- Women's Artisan Program
Chajul is a community that is filled with residents of incredible inner and
outer strength. With a true respect for the people, environment, and culture
of Chajul, Philanthropiece is encouraged to deepen our relationship, moving
towards working alongside the local people in the co-creation of a more
healthy and sustainable community.
Specifically, we are in discussions with individuals and organizations in
the community in themes related to:
- Merit-Based Scholarships for High School
- Youth Leadership Training
- Maternal Health Promotion
- Financial Awareness Training
- Women's Empowerment Workshops
