Hilda’s Dream – Guatemala

Hilda is 19 years old and is the second of nine children. She is from the Las Ventanas community, which is located about 16 miles by dirt road from the municipal seat and location of the closest secondary school. To travel from her home to the municipal seat, Hilda must hitch a ride in the back of a truck. Even hitching a ride is no simple endeavor – Hilda must walk four and a half miles to a place called Tres Cruces to wait and hope another truck arrived soon.

When Hilda completed primary school, her family told her that they would not allow her to continue her education, and they listed a number of reasons.

• Local expectations – In their community, women typically don’t go on to receive a secondary education
• Other responsibilities – Hilda was expected to stay at home and help with the family
• Distance and safety – the school offering “basico” or secondary education was located far from home, which would limit Hilda’s time needed to do chores. Traveling back and forth to school on her own was not considered safe

But Hilda greatly desired the chance to continue her studies. She wanted to prove that a woman can aspire to more than staying home and becoming a mother. Then she learned about Fundación Nueva Esperanza (“New Hope Foundation”). The Foundation has a boarding school for youth from families lacking economic resources and offers scholarships to all its students to pay school fees. Hilda convinced her parents and in 2014 she started basico as a boarding student.

She is currently studying her second year in the Community Development Specialization degree. She likes the degree because she continues her relationship with mother Earth.

Without Pangea’s support Hilda’s dream would not have been possible, FNE could not provide these opportunities without the contribution from friends like Pangea. Thank you for your solidarity.