“Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire” W.B. Yeats

Guatemala is a land of astonishing physical beauty and cultural diversity, but is also one riven by extreme economic inequality. In a country already handicapped by disastrous under-investment in public education, rural Mayan children are additionally short-changed due to systemic racial and cultural discrimination.

When the Guatemala Housing Alliance began working around Lake Atitlan in 2011, our focus was on the construction of decent homes as well as in enabling disadvantaged children to attend school. Over the years, as safe and affordable housing became more available, GHA turned more of its attention and resources to making a quality education accessible to more Mayan children. Out of this transition came a name change; GHA has now become the Mayan Education and Support Alliance.