“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.

MESA

Accomplishments as of 2025

* Built 47 homes for families living in extreme and dangerous conditions. Most were built using locally traditional techniques with natural materials.

• Offered wood-conserving stoves to recipient families

• Laid 180 floors over dirt in old adobe homes

• Replaced 45 dilapidated roofs

• Built 2 classrooms for Pre-school students in Pasajquim.

• During the Covid crisis, GHA delivered 1340 parcels of food, each for a family of 4 for 2 weeks.

• Painted and repaired community buildings

• Sponsored the education of hundreds of students from Elementary to University level (50 this year alone, including 9 at the university level)

• Started a tutoring program, now operating in 4 communities.

• We currently have 8 preschool classes with 10 students each

• Offered enrichment classes to all our scholarship kids

• Created a ukulele orchestra

• Organized a beading cooperative for single moms

• Provided therapies for children in need in the communities

• Provided workshops for women to discuss topics they themselves choose to learn about, like nutrition, legal rights, and sanitation