Project Launch:

In extremely rural villages like Santa Teresa, traditional concepts of gender roles exist. Mayan girls are often pulled from school at age 14 regardless of whether they have graduated in order to prepare them for a life of marriage and motherhood.

 

This project seeks to assist GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) Club girls to become more self-reliant in funding their own education. To supplement the Pigs Dig Education Project, where girls will raise pigs to fund their educational expenses, this project will lead to the construction of nine pigpens in the village of Santa Teresa. Pigs that are raised in pens grow to a market size more quickly, have a lower risk of communicable diseases themselves, and have a decreased risk of spreading communicable diseases to the villagers.

 

Project Update

The pigs have been purchased and distributed to participating GLOW club members. The families completed a pig rearing training, where they learned about animal husbandry and how to raise a healthy pig, and all the families have successfully built their pig pens.

 

Testimonials

"This project will help me finance my high school tuition and school supplies. It will help me to educate myself and become the person I want to be." - Olga, 11, Project Participant

 

"I am going to go to high school next year and our pig will help me to get there. I want to study business and work in a bank because I am good at mathematics. I know I need to study more in order to work at a bank. The project will help me and my family with tuition, books, and my school supplies." - Sherina, 13, Project Participant