Thank you so much for supporting Manuela by providing her with a quarter of a scholarship at the university she attends. She is pursuing a license in social work with an emphasis in development management at the Universidad Rafael Lándivar in Guatemala City, Guatemala. Manuela is 31 years old, the second of four children, and hails from Sololá, a city west of the capital. She dreams of finding a position in DEMI, a department in the Guatemalan government that supports women in need and attempts to counteract negative influences that occur within their community.

The objective of her studies is to attain satisfactory grades and gain more experience that she can apply in her field. She supports herself by working on education projects in La Asunción Institute, but is still in need of financial support to continue pursuing her dreams. Thank you for your generosity!

Thank you so much, UBS, for providing Lorenza with a year of after school tutoring. Lorenza is a 10 year-old girl from Nahuala, a town in the Sololá region of Guatemala. Her father, Antonio, tried to make a living as a day laborer working odd jobs but found it did not provide enough for the family. He emigrated to the United States and now earns $190 a month, a large portion of which he sends to Lorenza and the rest of his family. Lorenza’s mother, Manuela, remains in Nahuala to care for Lorenza and her four siblings. When she has free time, Manuela earns a little money as a seamstress crafting local wares.

Lorenza is a curious student in the third grade at the Escuela Oficial Rural Mixta del Carserío Pasàc. During her free time, she goes to church to attend classes for her first communion.

Lorenza loves to listen to stories. Her favorite, “The Daisy,” tells the story of a beautiful plant that asks for water and sun from a small child. Due to this story, Lorenza is a strong advocate of protecting nature.

Your generosity, UBS, will allow Lorenza to continue to grow intellectually and provide her parents with much-needed assistance.

Ismael is a curious 11 year-old from the municipality of Nahualá in Sololá, Guatemala. He is currently in the third grade at a primary school in Caserío Pasác. He is the third of four brothers. His father, Manuel, is a farmer dedicated to cultivating his small plots of land. His mother, María, takes care of the children and maintains their household. Unfortunately, Manuel only earns 450 Quetzales per month or about $57 US dollars. This is barely enough to support his family.

Ismael is generous and wants to implement his studies so that he can give back to the communities of Guatemala. He hopes to become a primary school teacher when he grows up so that he can share his skills with others. He is an avid learner in the Roots and Wings computer skills classes he attends. His favorite computer program is Paint, a drawing program. Thanks to all of you, Ismael can continue his studies and help future Guatemalans!

Catarina is a 23 year-old student from the municipality of Nahualá in Sololá, Guatemala. She is the third of five siblings. She began studying at Rafael Landivar University in 2008 and decided to pursue a license in Social Work. Catarina was only able to commence her studies through a grant from Roots and Wings, which also helps many women from her neighborhood to obtain their personal identification card so that they enroll in universities, among other things.

Catarina was unable to return to her studies in 2011 because of an illness and other factors that affected her economic status. Nevertheless, she still dreams of pursuing her studies towards obtaining a Social Worker License. Through your generosity, UBS, Catarina can return to classes and focus her off time on recovering from her health setbacks.

Marvin is 10 years old and is in third grade at his local primary school. He lives in the Solalá region of rural Guatemala with his mother and his 6 year old brother. His father Manuel lives in Guatemala City, working in State Security. The family lives off of his salary of $190 per month while Marvin’s mother raises her two children and takes care of the housework.

Marvin dreams of becoming a lawyer with the power to help people in the community. He wants to attend university and improve the quality of human life around him.

Marvin walks 20 minutes to the Roots and Wings Education Center where he takes computer literacy classes. He particularly enjoys Paint, a computer drawing program, and loves to explore his creative side.

Thank you all for giving Marvin skills that will help him accomplish his dream of supporting others!

Edin is an eleven year old boy living in the Solalá region of rural Guatemala. His mother, Antonia, works in the house raising her children and keeping up with the housework. Edin’s father, Manuel, provides for the family with the $100 he earns each month from his business as a traveling furniture salesman.

Edin is in fifth grade at his local primary school, and he dreams of studying in university and earning his degree so that he can do humanitarian social work.

Edin walks 15 minutes to the Roots and Wings education center, where he receives his after school tutoring. He particularly enjoys a story called “El secreto de tortuga,” or “The Secret of the Turtle.”

Thanks for providing Edin with tutoring that will help him accomplish his dreams!

Cata was born on January 25, 2001 as the fifth child of parents Domingo and Maria. Domingo emigrated to the US after realizing that his earnings as a farm laborer were not enough to support his family. He now earns a little less than $200 a month, most of which he is able to send home. Maria, Cata’s mother, is dedicated to raising her five children and taking care of the house.

Cata is now in fifth grade at her local primary school in the Sololá region of rural Guatemala. She dreams of becoming a PE teacher so that she can be healthy both mentally and physically.

Cata walks 10 minutes to the Roots and Wings education center, where she takes her computer classes. She particularly enjoys a program called MecanArt, a typing program that includes a game in which she gets to launch missiles against invaders.

Thanks to your donation, Cata is learning computer skills that will be valuable for work and for life. She is grateful for your gift!

Meliza was born in December 2002 and she is ten years old. She is in the
third grade and lives in the Solola region of rural Guatemala.

Meliza dreams of following in her parent’s footsteps and becoming an English teacher one day. Meliza’s father, Lorenzo Javier, teaches at a primary school in the village of Chuimaza. Her mother, Isabel Tomasa, is also a teacher. Together, they support their family on about $350 US dollars a month.

Thank you for your kind donation of one year of computer literacy training!
Meliza only has to walk five minutes from home to get to her computer class and is now one step closer to following her dreams and becoming a teacher!

Catarina was born on November 22, 1998. She is in 6th grade at the Primary School in the town of Pasác in rural Guatemala.

When she grows up, Catarina dreams of being an intelligent and successful lawyer.

Her father is a laborer and makes about $100USD each month. This is barely enough to pay for his children to go to school along with the basic needs of the family.

Catarina’s mother takes care of the home and the children and therefore does not have any income.

Your kind donation has given Catarina a year of tutoring that will help her to achieve her dreams of becoming a lawyer one day. Her brother also participates in the program and they walk the 5 minutes it takes to get to the tutoring center. Thank you so much for giving her this opportunity!

Cristina is 22 years old and she is the 6th of 7 brothers and sisters. She lives in the Sololá region of rural Guatemala. She is currently studying to become a secondary school teacher at La Universidad Panamericana of Guatemala. She is in her fourth quarter and is currently taking courses such as Psychology in Learning, General Economy, and Harmony and Context. Her objective is to become a useful member of society so that she can help educate the students of the future.

Cristina wanted to attend university back in 2009, but her family could not afford it. She worked hard sewing blouses and saved as much money as she could. She paid for her own school in 2010, and thanks to your generous donation of a scholarship, Cristina can continue her education today.

Thank you for supporting Cristina and helping her finish school. She will make a great teacher one day!