The Association of Highland Women will mentor 250 rural young women for success through the women's circle program that organizes mutual support groups that meet weekly. Programming includes peer-to-peer counseling, literacy, health and nutrition education, civic participation, leadership, and enterprise development. The process starts with improved cookstoves that provide women with the energy and free time to participate in empowerment programming facilitated by local social workers.

Challenge

Discrimination and exclusion has been used on Guatemalan Indigenous women in the communal sphere limiting their access to a self-dependent job market and positions of power, causing a dependence to the male-dominated culture. Because of this dependence, the women have not been on an equal par with the men for behavioral health, economic development, and education.

Long-Term Impact

Using AMA's Theory of Change, it is shown that when women practice a better well-being and participate in the local economy, the overall health and socioeconomic status of the community betters. AMA has provided resources to support the empowerment and self-driven success of more than 5000 women in the highlands of Guatemala during the last 20 years. With the women participating more in their community, their agency and success increases and the self-sufficiency of the community grows.

References

1. https://highlandsupportproject.org/
2. http://highlandsupportproject.org/
3. http://amaguate.org/
4. https://vimeo.com/287701297
5. https://vimeo.com/113714742

Additional Documentation

https://www.globalgiving.org//pfil/31794/projdoc.pdf

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