Promoting the empowerment of indigenous peoples
Partner organizations
Guatemala Scholarship Partners Program
Digno partners with ADIVIMA in Guatemala and two dedicated US churches to provide scholarships for Mayan youth living in extreme poverty.
ADIVIMA
(Association for the Holistic Development of the Victims of the Violence in the Verapaces, Maya Achí)
ADIVIMA was founded in 1994 by survivors of the massacres of the 1980s. It is a grassroots indigenous non-profit organization with a history of successes in seeking justice for perpetrators of the massacres, obtaining restitution for the 33 communities displaced by the Chixoy hydroelectric dam, and repairing their cultural identity that has been at risk of extinction through years of colonial oppression.
Applicants must be living in extreme poverty but have a burning desire to further their education. Girls are given priority 2:1. A tutor provides support for students the majority of whose parents are illiterate.
Funds are strictly administered and parents and youth are required to attend quarterly general assemblies to promote the value of education and create community. Students attend the school of their choice but ADIVIMA staff also provide monthly workshops to extend theirknowledgeof Mayan history and culture.
facebook: adivima guatemala
Jefferson Unitarian Church (JUC)
Golden, Colorado
The scholarship partnership was begun after a visit from a JUC delegation to ADIVIMA in Guatemala in 2006. The delegates asked ADIVIMA members how they could help them in their struggle for justice. The Mayan women said they wanted education for their daughters because they had none and felt disempowered as a result. JUC asked ADIVIMA if they would like them to fund a scholarship program. ADIVIMA said yes, and designed the program with the idea of benefitting girls who have fewer opportunities, instilling the value of education in the community, teaching the new generation about their history and culture, and lifting families out of the cycle of poverty.
The program, now in its 15th year, grew from three students to 60. The entire Jefferson congregation became involved in fundraising and participating in experiential learning through trips to visit the scholarship students and families. It has become a wildly successful model that benefits both the recipients and the donors.
Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington, Virginia (UUCAVA)
Arlington became involved as ascholarship partner after a similar visit in 2009. A small group of dedicated people have raised funds every year adding significantly to the numberof students with scholarships. They have recently begun taking their own trips to visit ADIVIMA which greatly strengthens the program.
Delegates visit students in their classrooms and homes.
Digno
Digno was created in 2019 by founders of the Scholarship Partner program, Peter and Phyllis Morales and Juan de Dios Garcia, with the intention of extending the program to other communities. As a US based non-profit, Digno works hand-in-hand with JUC, Arlington and ADIVIMA to promote education for indigenous peoples.
© Digno 2019 — https://digno.org — 211 Brigadoon Blvd, WA 98382 — 360-775-9506