The Rios Fund, Guatemala
(Site in construction)
Vision 2027 and beyond: Lake Izabal Girl's School
RESERVA NATURAL SEACACAR: In 2014, we established an intermediate school in Seacacar, and soon thereafter, built a community run tourism center and nature preserve along the Rio Sauce. A great deal of progress was made, including ending slash and burn agriculture, reforesting degraded mountain slopes, diversifying agriculture and a tenfold increase in the number of high school graduates from the village. Thirteen years later, the community has the Guatemalan government support and tourism revenues to fund their own school. While there will be growing pains, it’s time to transition to full local sustainability. Thanks to the generosity of a handful of donors, efforts from good people from the local community and several nonprofit agencies, Seacacar’s future is theirs to determine.
THE CONTINUING NEED - LAKE IZABAL GIRL'S SCHOOL: Adolescent Q’eqchi Mayan girls face systemic challenges rooted in entrenched gender inequality, rural poverty and cultural marginalization that severely limits their access to education. High rates of early pregnancy and marriage, compounded by structural barriers and limited Spanish proficiency, often trap them in extreme poverty. Furthermore, food insecurity in rural Guatemala threatens not just their well-being, but that of their entire culture. Will you partner with us to change lives, empowering Q’eqchí Mayan girls as agents of change? Lasting systematic change via the development of community leaders and change makers in environmental stewardship and sustainable community development. Our school will offer bilingual, culturally relevant instruction that respects Q’eqchí heritage while building skills for the 21st Century. Keeping a girl in school creates a cascading benefit – delaying early marriage, improving family health, and lifting entire communities our of extreme poverty.
Founder: Paul Heesaker
Paul Heesaker first saw Guatemala's Rio Sauce Valley as owner of Area Verde Expeditions and while on an exploratory kayaking expedition in November 1995. Following a career in public education, Paul returned to Guatemala in October 2011 to begin work on a documentary film that highlighted Guatemala's endangered wild rivers. The resulting film, "Rios Guatemala, The Preservation of Wild Rivers," was a selection of the Colorado Environmental Film Festival and the Breckenridge Festival of Film. Paul's also produced the film "A Trail to Seacacar," a selection of the Colorado Environmental film festival and the Peoples Choice Award winner in the Compassion Film Festival. Paul and his wife Catherine, a school psychologist, are full time residents of Silverthorne, Colorado.
The Rios Fund Donation Structure
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Donations are sent to the Guatemalan Tomorrow Fund, Inc. (GTF) is a non-profit, non-denominational organization located in the United States that raises funds and provides logistical support for Ak’ Tenamit. All designated donations made to GTF are directly distributed to Ak’ Tenamit and are tax-deductible. Ak' Tenamit is a vocational boarding school for indigenous youth. Students who graduate from our intermediate school have the option to continue their studies at Ak' Tenamit.
Project director Herlinda Xo Call with Dr. Jennifer Hooke, founder of the non profit, Guatemala Village Health.
Education for Change
· 75% of indigenous Guatemalans live in poverty
· Many indigenous children are child laborers by age 10
· On average, indigenous girls drop out after 1st grade and boys after 3rd.
· Only 5% of indigenous girls finish high school
· Source: UN Development Program
In March 2014, we opened the first intermediate school (grades 7 - 9) in Seacacar, a riverside village at the entrance to the spectacular Seacacar Cañón Natural Reserve. After thriteen years of support, Seacacar now has the financial resources and infrastructure for local sustainability.
Our efforts will now turn to establishing a girl's vocational boarding school overlooking Lake Izabal and nearby El Estor, the largest market town in the area.
Our educational format is based upon the philosophy of the vocational boarding school at Ak' Tenamit, located about 70 miles away and along the Rio Dulce. Ak Tenamit's curriculum is adopted to the needs, interests and culture of students learning in a rural context.
We complement classroom learning with practical work experience. This includes reforestation, sustainable agriculture and tourism. When students complete the 9th grade, they continue their education at Ak' Tenamit and choose a career path in rural community development or sustainable tourism.
We need your help to provide a quality education to students who otherwise have no opportunity to escape a life of extreme poverty. Boys will often look for employment on distant plantations and work in near slave level conditions. They will also continue to slash and burn the rainforest to plant corn and beans. A cycle of extreme poverty and environmental destruction continues for yet another generation.
Mayan women are oppressed and overwhelmingly excluded from accessing educational opportunities. Many Mayan girls drop out of school in primary school and only 10% finish the 6th grade. Girls who leave school early marry young, have large families, and face a lifetime collecting firewood and breathing indoor smoke from open fires.
Your donation changes lives, protects the environment and funds the following:
- Classroom teachers
- Books, computers and other school supplies
Donations are available via our Affiliate organization, the Florida based and non-profit Guatemala Tomorrow Fund. The GTF raises funds and provides logistical support for Ak' Tenamit, our affiliate secondary boarding high school. Our students have the option to continue their studies at Ak' Tenamit after graduating 9th grade.
Please call 561 747 9700 if you have any further questions or need assistance with your donation. Thank you!