Since its inception, the partnership between Mission Teaching Foundation (MTF) and Yashalúm has graduated 300 students from junior high, 200 from high school and 150 from college. Over 300 other young men and women have participated in one or more years of secondary education before having to leave school for health reasons or family economic difficulties.
The Start
In 1990, a 16-acre ranch was purchased for the purpose of housing up to 60 indigenous boys whose families are poor and live in distant mountain villages where only rudimentary primary education is available.
Casa Santa Maria
In 1992, Casa Santa Maria was purchased as a residence for indigenous girls. It is currently the hope of 40 young Mayan women who are traditionally married at the age of 15 and have never been offered an education.
Scholarships
When these two residences reached capacity in 1993, Yashalúm and MTF began to offer scholarships to low income students who lived in the towns of Yajalón and Petalcingo. Since then, this portion of the education program has expanded to serve Mayan youth from five counties in the northern part of the state of Chiapas and currently offers scholarships to 101 junior high and high school students.
College Scholarships
In 2004, Yashalúm formalized its relationship with the Chiapas State University (UNACH) to offer special academic services to the students such as aptitude screening for college. MTF was responsible for encouraging the relationship and has helped fund the UNACH activities for Yashalúm.
College Housing
In 2005, Yashalúm established five houses as student residences in the cities where there is the greatest concentration of MTF sponsored university students: Ocosingo, San Cristobal de la Casas and Tuxtla Gutierrez in Chiapas; Tizimin in the Yucatan, and Villahermosa in Tabasco. MTF provides the monthly rent for these homes.
Building on Success
The latest development in the program is the formation of a new foundation, FUNDESI (Foundation for Sustainable Development for Indigenous), by five of our recent college graduates for the purpose of accompanying the college students, fostering appropriate technology in the Mayan communities, cementing relationship with academic institutions of higher learning and promoting scholarships on the postgraduate level. MTF is committed to helping provide funds for the first two years of this new endeavor until FUNDESI can establish its own fundraising.
The education program’s success can best be measured by the fruit it has produced. Its first 7 college graduates not only came back to the community to give their year of service, but also have remained in the area to be of continued service to the Mayan indigenous:
- Dr. Roberto Pérez Díaz is the director of the local government hospital.
- Jaime Aguilar Hernández teaches agronomy at the local public high school.
- Mario Cruz López is a lawyer in Yajalón and Tuxtla.
- Abraham Vázquez López was town mayor of Tumbalá and now works for the government.
- Lucio Nahal Jiménez works for the Yashalúm education in appropriate technology.
- Cristóbal Arcos Gutiérrez was ordained a priest.
- Carlos Hernández Gómez was administrator of Yashalúm until January 2007 when he began to pursue his masters’ degree in business administration.