newsletter registration She would very much like to continue her education and study medicine in Cobán.
Florencia (18), Guatemala
Florencia seems confident and full of determination when she tells her story. She is competent and she likes to show it. After having completed her obligatory schooling in her village Primavera de Ixcan, she worked for the municipality as a secretary. Yet her biggest wish was to become a nurse. At first her parents would not hear anything of it for fear that like many young Guatemalan women she would quit further training because of family responsibilities. They also did not like the fact that the closest nursing school was hundreds of kilometres away in Cobán.
Finally Florencia succeeded in convincing her father to allow her to study. However, in order to be closer to her family, she decided to enrol in a teacher training course at an institute of our partner organisation Prodessa in Pueblo Nuevo. For her keep in Pueblo Nuevo she has to contribute foodstuff and pay money. The foodstuff is not a problem because her father is a farmer who grows rice, beans and cardamom, but to find money is harder, particularly since her younger brother is still at secondary school in Pueblo Nuevo.
Florencia has just completed a four-month practical term in her local community where she taught first graders. Part of the teaching was delivered in her mother tongue Mam which is spoken by 1.1 million Guatemalans. Some pupils in her class had different mother tongues. The fact that there are several ethnic groups within one class constitutes the intercultural component of this particular project.
Florencia is in her last year of training. She would very much like to continue her education and study medicine in Cobán as this would bring her closer to her original professional ambition. «My community needs me» she says. Being determined as she is she will make her way!
Next portrait - Feliciano from Guatemala
