Project Victoria:  An educational fund for Guatemalans

Project Victoria is a scholarship program providing young people in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, with pre-university school tuition, school supplies, and extracurricular workshops. Currently 20 students are studying with support from the project, three of whom also receive room and board in Quetzaltenango because they come from remote regions of the Guatemalan jungle. Students are identified and selected based on personal motivation, academic ambition, and financial need (these students would not be able to study without the scholarships provided by Project Victoria). Preference is given to indigenous Guatemalans, who have been traditionally excluded from educational systems, and also to those whose families and communities were most severely affected by the Civil War of 1960-1996. Project Victoria is led by María de los Angeles Hernández—Marielos for short—a Guatemalan of Mayan heritage who specializes in educational administration and who has both run scholarship programs and benefited from having received full scholarships to finance her own education. Project Victoria is an international effort, with Roland Elf from Sweden acting as International Coordinator in Quetzaltenango and Christopher Curran as International Liaison for fundraising in the United States. Through presentations in American high schools and business groups, we hope to establish lasting links that will offer donors the opportunity to be involved in a direct form of charity with very clear results. Donors will receive reports on the progress of students, with letters, photos, and information on workshops led by Marielos dealing with themes of indigenous identity.  The entire 2005 annual budget for Project Victoria is $10,488, or $525 per student. We are appealing to individuals or organizations to directly sponsor one or more of the twenty students at a cost of $44 per month, or to make a one-time contribution of any amount. It is our hope that Project Victoria will facilitate a two-way cultural exchange, allowing a group of young Guatemalans to pursue a quality education while also providing a bridge of greater understanding between Guatemalans and interested people abroad. Tax-deductible contributions may be made to:     The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation Project Victoria Fund 200 1st St. SW Cedar Rapids, IA  52404 319-366-2862

Project Victoria advisory board, students, and their families

Contacts:

Name:

Marielos Hernandez, Roland Elf, and Christopher Curran

Email:

asociacionvictoria@yahoo.com