Mayan Hands Scholarships

By Diana, Scholarship Director

This was the best meeting that I have had with the scholars of Mayan Hands. We had our first scholar give a talk.  This was very impressive.  I could not imagine that he could do so well.  I can see that our efforts of working with the scholars is paying off.  The scholars are taking advantage of the meetings and I am glad to see these qualities in the scholars.  

I think that the scholarship program is not just handing out money but it is also training.  We want the best in life for them. In the future we want them to be able to sustain their families and to help in their communities.  I can see that they are doing this now, they are not only looking for opportunities in their own lives but also thinking of their communities.  This is a shift in thinking for a lot of young people.

Teresa (the Mayan Hands employee who helps with the scholars) and I are working hard to have the scholars be able to speak in a group, express their ideas and give more of themselves. I think they are starting to accomplish this.   The scholars come from all over the country and their first languages are all different.  They have the common language of Spanish but for some this language is difficult.  After the activity I congratulated Gabriel for leading the talk.   Gabriel said that he was scared to do this, but at the same time he thanks us for giving him a huge opportunity in his life.   He thinks that this speaking to the group has helped him because he must learn to speak in front of groups in college and this will help him get over that fear.

At the end of this activity we asked for two volunteers to give talks at the next meeting.  I think they are all fearful of doing this but we need to give them this experience.

This is the first time that the scholars from Rabinal were able to come.  We have three of them in the program so we had to explain to them about the rules of participating in the program.  They were happy to be with us and they were accompanied by one of the mothers who is the President of the Rabinal women’s weaving group.  The mother asked permission to talk to the scholars and she said a few words that touched our hearts.  She wished that she could be a youth and be a part of the program because she never had this opportunity.  She encouraged the scholars to participate, follow their dreams, and to be thankful for this opportunity that not many people have.

 

The cost is $500 per year for each student.  If you are interested in sponsoring a student, please make your check out to “Friends of Sharing the Dream” and send it to: 

Sharing the Dream
125 E. Main
Vermillion, SD 57069

If you have questions, contact us by email at info@sharingthedream.org.