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| Here I am with Ancelma, my Guatemalan hero. |
I had the honor of spending some time last weekend with Ancelma Ortiz, who was visiting Cincinnati from her home in Guatemala.
Anclema is an absolutely adorable young woman...she is smart and lovely with a terrific sense of humor. She is fluent in three languages. She first learned Kaqchikel, an indigenous Mayan language, then Spanish, and most recently English.
Ancelma is remarkable and most fierce.
She is fierce because when she was very, very young she began to ask for an education and refused to stop until she was taken seriously.
I can't begin to imagine where she got her resolve at such a young age.
When she was five years old, and saw her friends going to school, she asked to go also but was told that she could not. She was needed at home to work instead. She was laboring in the fields with her father and then selling their produce in the market very early in the morning.
As she labored in the fields with her parents, she begged them to let her go to school for a part of the She was most determined and very persistent.
She would cry and plead with her parents to allow her to begin school.
She said, that when she was seven, she thought that it was too late. She felt like the time to start school had run out and she missed her chance...she felt too old.
She had the weight of the world on those little seven year old shoulders.
But at eight, her persistence paid off and she was able to start kindergarten.
I
was already seven and never had the chance to study. I thought it was
too late for me; that I was never going to get the opportunity to go to
school.” Finally, her insistence paid off, and at age eight Ancelma
started primary school. - See more at:
http://coeduc.org/blog/special-fall-fiesta-guest-ancelma-ortiz/#sthash.0Y4J3cwI.dpuf
I
was already seven and never had the chance to study. I thought it was
too late for me; that I was never going to get the opportunity to go to
school.” Finally, her insistence paid off, and at age eight Ancelma
started primary school. - See more at:
http://coeduc.org/blog/special-fall-fiesta-guest-ancelma-ortiz/#sthash.0Y4J3cwI.dpuf
I
was already seven and never had the chance to study. I thought it was
too late for me; that I was never going to get the opportunity to go to
school.” Finally, her insistence paid off, and at age eight Ancelma
started primary school. - See more at:
http://coeduc.org/blog/special-fall-fiesta-guest-ancelma-ortiz/#sthash.0Y4J3cwI.dpuf
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| Ancelma in middle school |
And she loved school and even though it was difficult, she was used to doing hard things and thrived in the classroom. It was in primary school where she decided that she was going to someday become a "professional" instead of a laborer. Ancelma began to imagine a bright future for herself and her family too. But then her dreams were shattered when she was told that a middle school education was a luxury that her family couldn't afford. She was told that should be happy that she was able to attend primary school. She wanted to go to middle school but did not know how this would be possible.
Her drive did not go unnoticed by her teachers, and when the folks of Cooperative for Education asked for teacher recommendations of promising students, Ancelma was offered a scholarship by Co-Ed.
Her parents were skeptical at first, but Ancelma insisted and through hard work and determination, became a very successful middle and high school student .
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| Ancelma today |
Cooperative for Education made sure that she kept her scholarship, they gave her the support that she needed when the odds were stacked against her.
Now Ancelma is a working professional.
She works in customer service for a Canadian cell phone company in Guatemala... and when asked how she managed to stay motivated, her reply is this...
"I had to succeed because failure was not an option."
This year, Cooperative for Education has awarded 670 scholarships to students like Ancelma... driven students that are working hard to get and education.
However they have 12 students who are still waiting for sponsors.
The Guatemalan school year begins in January and Co-Ed is doing what they can to help match those 12 students with sponsors who will help them.
Please consider a donation to the Cooperative for Education scholarship program.
Thanks Maggie! We're so glad you enjoyed the time spent with Ancelma. She is indeed an amazing young woman.
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