When you choose Education, here is what your proceeds do: When a girl, like Irma, starts as a 7th grader, every girl receives an academic scholarship (75-80% of their tuition costs, the families pay the balance to ensure buy in), school transportation, uniforms, and other incidentals, and most importantly, a mentoring group of 15 peers who will walk the journey from 7th grade to high school graduation and beyond together. This group meets weekly to learn leadership skills, key competencies like financial literacy and reproductive health, and build in each woman the capacity to overcome the powerful social and familial pressures that constantly push against her schooling. Their mentor is a Mayan woman from the same geographic region, language group and socioeconomic circumstances who has overcome the odds herself to become university educated. She is the perfect person to teach, advocate, mentor, and support these young women and their families on this unprecedented path. The mentor’s role is to identify and strengthen the unique talents of each young woman and strengthen communication and resolve conflict between each girl, her school, and her family. Irma meets with her group weekly, but also comes to the office near her home to access the internet, do homework, and receive individual academic tutoring and intervention. As a high school student, Irma also has a paid internship at a local nonprofit organization, School the World. Because Irma is the sole provider for herself and her younger sister after the death of mother, she works full time and attends high school on the weekend. This internship is important for her professional development and her family’s economic stability. As Irma’s boss says, she’s integral to the organization now!

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