Starfish

Starfish is a powerful model of education and student support focused within the native Mayan community in Guatemala. Throughout their history, they have a track record of empowering Girl Pioneers, increasing student and parental literacy, encouraging traditional education, and strong mentorship for girls after the sixth grade.

They developed a wonderful process of identifying girls and families that will be most successful within their program to optimize their impact and their success. They embody a whole family model to support their Pioneers.  Mentoring time between Pioneers, their mentors, and families is a core part of their program.

After years of running staple programs, Starfish recognized that while some education is better than no education, the traditional Guatemalan education program is not designed to enable their Girl Pioneers into stable careers to give them real vocations and incomes to reduce poverty.. Unfortunately, while  Girl Pioneers experience education far beyond their peers, the education was not as effective as Starfish was ready to accept.  Starfish is making things change rapidly.

Starfish received our Compassionate Impact Grant in Spring of 2015 to assist in the expansion of their programs.