Beneficiarios
Number of people benefited by the Intervida projects: 79,358
Geographic location
CTG, the Concepción Tutuapa TERRA (Territory of Active Solidarity, in Intervida nomenclature), covers communities in two municipalities in the San Marcos Department: Concepción Tutuapa and San Miguel Ixtahuacán. Approximately 95% of the population is indigenous, predominated by the Mam and Ladino ethnic groups and the Mayan language, Mam.
List of communities
Aldea Antiguo Tutuapa; Aldea Belajuyape; Aldea Chipomal; Aldea Huispache; Aldea Ixcamiche; Aldea La Laguna; Aldea Lacandon; Aldea Ninchim; Aldea Piedra de Los Encuentros; Aldea Saquichinlaj; Aldea Sichivila; Aldea Sochel; Aldea Talquito; Aldea Tictucabe; Aldea Tierra Blanca; Aldea Tuichuna; Aldea Tuimuca; Aldea Tuizmo; Aldea Yamoj; Barrio La Unión, Aldea Ixcamiche; Cabecera Municipal Concepción Tutuapa; Caserío Buena Vista, Aldea Saquichinlaj; Caserío Chamul, Aldea Tuichuna; Caserío Corral de Piedra; Caserío Cuatro Caminos, Aldea Antiguo Tutuapa; Caserío El Mirador Soloqui, Aldea Tictucabe; Caserío El Porvenir, Aldea Tierra Blanca; Caserío El Remate; Caserío El Rosario, Aldea La Laguna; Caserío Flor de Belén, Aldea Tuimuca; Caserío Independencia, Aldea Ninchim; Caserío La Estancia, Aldea Ninchim ; Caserío Lacandon Chico, Aldea Lacandon; Caserío Las Brisas; Caserío Las Murallas, Aldea Tictucabe; Caserío Las Nubes; Caserío Las Pilas, Aldea Ixcamiche; Caserío Llano Grande; Caserío Loma Linda, Aldea Ixcamiche; Caserío Los Cerritos, Aldea Ninchim; Caserío Nueva Esperanza; Caserío Nueva Reforma, Aldea Huispache; Caserío Nueva Victoria, Aldea Sochel; Caserío Nuevo Progreso; Caserío Panteón Buena Vista, Aldea Sichivila; Caserío Plan Matazano; Caserío Plan Quiguique, Aldea Sichivila; Caserío San Luis, Aldea Huispache; Caserío Santo Domingo, Aldea Sichivila; Caserío Tojchalum, Aldea Piedra de Los Encuentros; Caserío Trampa de Coyote; Caserío Tuichun; Caserío Tuijoj, Aldea Talquito; Caserío Tuizactzoc, Aldea Talquito; Caserío Unión Nueva Linda, Aldea Huispache; Caserío Villa Nueva Aldea Talquito; Caserío Vista Hermosa, Aldea Yamoj; Paraje Buenos Aires, Caserío Nuevo Progreso, Aldea Belajuyape; Paraje Chapil, Aldea Sochel; Paraje Chiquila, Aldea Sochel; Paraje La Montañita, Aldea Tuimuca; Paraje Las Tablas, Aldea Sichivila; Paraje Piedra Parada, Aldea Talquito; Paraje Salama, Aldea Lacandon; Paraje Tejkijel I, Aldea Sochel; Paraje Tejkijel II, Aldea Sochel; Paraje Tijhuichi, Aldea Sichivila; Paraje Tuizactzimaj, Aldea Ixcamiche; Sector Los Chunes, Aldea Saquichinlaj; Aldea Agel; Aldea Baljetre; Aldea Cabajchun; Aldea Chicas Zapote; Aldea Chilive; Aldea Chininguitz; Aldea El Colmito; Aldea El Salitre; Aldea El Triunfo; Aldea Ixpuna; Aldea La Cumbre; Aldea La Florida; Aldea La Patria; Aldea Las Escobas; Aldea Maquivil; Aldea San José Ixcaniche; Aldea Shanshegual; Aldea Sicabe Bella Vista; Aldea Subchal; Cabecera Municipal San Miguel Ixtahuacan; Caserío Belén Cancela, Aldea Sicabe Bella Vista; Caserío Cantzela, Aldea Shanshegual; Caserío Chiquilila, Aldea El Salitre; Caserío Chistan; Caserío Chuena; Caserío Exial Linda Vida; Caserío Ixchoim; Caserío La Estancia; Caserío La Lima; Caserío Las Maravillas, Aldea Chicas Zapote; Caserío Legual; Caserío Los Domingos Quince de Mayo Aldea Chilive; Caserío Mulebac, Aldea Las Escobas; Caserío Nueva Democracia, Aldea El Colmito; Caserío Piedra Parada, Aldea El Triunfo; Caserío Sacchilon, Aldea El Triunfo; Caserío Sacpic, Aldea El Salitre; Caserío San José Nueva Esperanza; Caserío Sholtanan; Caserío Sibinal, Aldea El Triunfo; Caserío Siete Platos, Aldea El Salitre; Caserío Tierra Blanca El Zapote, Aldea Chicas Zapote; Caserío Tierra Blanca Muvil, Aldea Agel; Caserío Tierra Colorada, Aldea Las Escobas; Caserío Tierra Nueva Las Ardillas; Caserío Tuicampana; Caserío Tzale, Aldea La Florida; Caserío Vista Hermosa Twikyaqja, Aldea Chilive; Caserío Zatla, Aldea Baljetre; Paraje El Pito, Aldea Subchal.
Improving educational quality
This program aims to increase educational quality in all school centers in 390 communities in western Guatemala. To achieve this, the organization works on improving school infrastructures, resolving learning problems, strengthening community participation in school issues, and offering training workshops for educational staff using pedagogical tools.
Active learning
One of the projects Intervida works on to increase school performance consists in training educational staff on new pedagogical techniques, while also providing them with more modern and effective didactic material. The teachers also receive guidance on how to make the cultural diversity in which they live into one of the basic foundations of their teaching. These efforts encourage shared learning and a respect for values, beliefs, customs and gender equality.
- Promoting reading and investigation
- Providing didactic material to teacher and technical administrative coordinators
- Providing didactic materials to schools
- Training teachers on how to apply the active learning methodology
- Workshops on the intercultural and bilingual education methodology
School continuance
With the aim of reducing school absenteeism, Intervida carries out several actions such as providing materials, books and backpacks; this facilitates better learning while also serving as a an incentive for students. Preventive and curative health days, as well as the strengthening of sports as a means of distraction at school, are activities which seek to increase the value both students and parents place on staying in school. To address the problem of extremely poor students who, despite showing aptitude in their studies, must leave school to go to work, Intervida offers scholarships equal to the child’s salary to encourage him to stay in school. This also combats the problem of exploitation through child labor.
- Support for school sports
- Scholarships
- Provision of school supplies to students
- Selection of scholars
- Celebration of Children’s Day
- Improving school health
- Comprehensive medical attention
Improving school infrastructure
The “Improving school infrastructure” project covers both the renovation of school buildings and the construction of new spaces which facilitate the teaching-learning process and promote the security and comfort of the students and teachers. In coordination with the Ministry of Education (MINEDUC), the organization renovates and constructs classrooms and equips these with school furniture, recreational areas, perimeter walls, sports installations and sanitary facilities.
- Care and maintenance of school infrastructures
- Classroom construction
- Construction of sports installations
- Construction of perimeter walls
- Comprehensive school sanitary facilities (above-ground water tanks, drinking water systems, sinks and sewage treatment)
- Construction of recreational infrastructures
- Renovation of school infrastructures
- Diagnosis of equipment needs
- Support for administrative school management
- School water supply
Addressing learning problems
The project’s aim is to integrate students with learning problems into regular school courses. To do this, educational psychologists use a series of psychometric tests which enable them to detect possible learning disabilities. When a child is diagnosed with a learning disability, he receives targeted therapeutic treatment. At the same time, 25 mothers in each community are selected and trained in hygiene, nutrition and food preparation, with the aim of improving school children’s dietary conditions.
- Nutritional support for children with learning disabilities
- Detection and diagnosis of students with learning disabilities
- Support for children with learning disabilities
Community participation in school
This project is comprised of four activities: The “Strengthening support for educational organizations” activity seeks to promote direct community intervention and participation in school projects. At the same time, the “Parents’ school” activity encourages parents’ participation in educational activities. Towards this aim, they receive complete information about their children’s educational development and are offered literacy classes, so that they can become more involved in their children’s school work and in their overall educational process. The celebration of “National School Day” seeks to increase the awareness of teachers and parents as to the importance of community participation in school. The parents’ reading-writing and basic math “Literacy” activity encourages parents to get more involved in their children’s school activities.
- National School Day
- Parents’ school
- Strengthening and supporting educational organizations
- Literacy
Promoting cultural diversity
The main objective of this program is to increase municipal investment in those projects which benefit the development of children and adolescents. The program’s main working lines are: raising awareness among the municipalities and civil society through training, the establishment of local commissions, the elaboration of a public policy report per municipality, and guidance on the execution of key projects; The creation of recreational spaces and the provision of necessary resources to facilitate sociocultural exchange between groups, communities and countries; and increasing community participation in the management and enjoyment of both traditional and academic popular culture.
Backing municipal support for children and adolescents
The project’s main goal is to strengthen municipal public policies aimed at increasing social investment in child and adolescent development. Through the Municipal Planning Office, and using a database which contains information on education, health, nutrition, protection and demographics, the current situation can be analyzed. Based on this analysis, a representative diagnostic of children and adolescents by municipality can be provided; each municipality can then design and elaborate a public policy which follows these guidelines. In this way, each municipality becomes a society which thinks and acts in consideration of the well-being of its children and adolescents.
- Establishment of a database of children and adolescents
- Training of unified commissions for children and adolescents
- Support for the formulation and management of a municipal public policy in favor of children and adolescents.
- Training for the database creation
- Organization of municipal councils on childhood and adolescence
- Elaboration of a diagnostic on the situation of children and adolescents
Backing municipal support for children and adolescents
The project’s main goal is to strengthen municipal public policies aimed at increasing social investment in child and adolescent development. Through the Municipal Planning Office, and using a database which contains information on education, health, nutrition, protection and demographics, the current situation can be analyzed. Based on this analysis, a representative diagnostic of children and adolescents by municipality can be provided; each municipality can then design and elaborate a public policy which follows these guidelines. In this way, each municipality becomes a society which thinks and acts in consideration of the well-being of its children and adolescents.
- Establishment of a database of children and adolescents
- Training of unified commissions for children and adolescents
- Support for the formulation and management of a municipal public policy in favor of children and adolescents.
- Training for the database creation
- Organization of municipal councils on childhood and adolescence
- Elaboration of a diagnostic on the situation of children and adolescents
Sponsorship
In response to the poverty affecting the countries in the South, the “Sponsorship” program was created with the aim of materializing the solidarity of the North countries through child sponsorship. The collaborator’s periodic contribution does not exclusively benefit the sponsored child, but rather the whole community in which the child lives.
Uniting our sponsors and children
To form a link between sponsor and child, Intervida establishes first contact between them by sending the sponsor a photo of the child along with a personal profile. This relationship will be maintained in order to establish a link between sponsor and child, Intervida establishes first contact between them by sending the sponsor the child’s photo and personal profile. This relationship lasts for seven years, while the child is in primary school, or until the sponsorship otherwise ends. An annual “Artwork Collection” campaign is also organized; “artwork” is the term used to refer to the school work which the children elaborate for their sponsors. The sponsors receive a drawing, craft or letter elaborated by their sponsored children in school twice a year. The school work sent is determined by the child’s age and school course level.
- Artwork Collection
- File Collection
Community business development
The aim of this program is to generate and increase the economic income of families in all communities. To do this, Intervida offers community members advanced techniques in production and return on investment which are useful for training rural business associations or individuals. At the same time, Intervida promotes the administration, organization and commercialization of agricultural activities. This requires a process of capitalization and self-management through funding which Intervida organizes according to the identified needs. - Seed capital: an external contribution or start-up capital is provided by Intervida which should be managed by the group, with profits being reinvested in the process. - Fund for Strengthening Businesses: external funding is provided to formal and legally constituted business which seek to improve their productive and commercial conditions.
Productive artisan-industrial and services development
This project aims to strengthen productive development by trainings young people in various aspects of agricultural. Together with the Culture division, the Production team imparts training courses to future business owners with the aim of preparing them to promote profitable productive activities. The final objective is to promote work and the labor supply in the rural areas.
- Artisan-industrial production
- Training to strengthen the commercialization of artisan-industrial products
- Community organization of production
- Strengthening of community organization for production
Productive agricultural and livestock development
The “Productive agricultural and livestock development” project works to equip beneficiaries with the skills needed to increase animal and vegetable production, not only in terms of quality, but also in terms of volume; at the same time, it teaches them how to obtain a maximum yield from the natural resources available. Actions are also organized to strengthen the administrative aspects of productive processes, starting with the identification of those groups with over three years of intervention and which demonstrate a strong level of organization and recovery of the initial capital. These then become beneficiaries of the “Strengthening Businesses” project.
- Crop diversification
- Laying farms
- Implementation of community medicinal gardens
- Handling and exploitation of other minor species
- Management of natural resources
- Training on the protection of natural resources
- Community organization of production
- Strengthening of community organization for production
- Training to strengthen the commercialization of agricultural and livestock products
- Establishing commercialization networks for agricultural and livestock products
- Participative rural diagnostic
Mother-child health
The “Mother-child health” program encompasses all those projects aimed at reducing the high rates of mother and child mortality. Educational sessions are offered to mothers on good hygiene and dietary practices in order to prevent malnutrition problems among minors and the prevalence of easily preventable infectious contagious diseases. Pediatric care services are also offered to children under 5 years old. Finally, a midwife training project is implemented to avoid bad birthing practices and to guarantee better prenatal and postnatal care for both mothers and children.
Food security
The project seeks to improve the nutritional state of pregnant women and children under five years old. A diagnostic is made on the population’s health status to be able to measure the project’s progress along the way. A personalized plan for nutritional recuperation is established, including provision of those micro and macro nutrients needed to minimize deficiencies. To ensure the sustainability of the process, production is increased, thereby improving families’ economic conditions through new agricultural and livestock products. Good hygiene practices in food preparation and consumption are also taught, incorporating new local products into the daily diet while monitoring the adoption of dietary habits.
- Nutritional diagnosis of pregnant women and children under 5 years old
- Nutritional treatment
- Diagnostic of productive potential
- Family livestock farms
- Diversified food gardens
- Training in Nutrition, hygiene and food preparation
Environmental sanitation
The project aims to improve communities’ environmental and sanitary conditions as a strategy for fighting against the proliferation of easily preventable infectious contagious diseases. To do this, the organization works to improve community infrastructures, building drinking water systems, latrines, garbage dumps and drainage systems. At the same time, Intervida organizes educational activities aimed at teaching the population how to optimize their natural resources without endangering them, with special attention on their conservation.
- Environmental health training
- Natural resources training
- Protecting water sources
- Control of water quality
- Construction of basic sanitary infrastructure
Obstetric care
Intervida offers obstetric care to women of child-bearing age and expecting mothers, monitoring the gestation process to guarantee that children enter the world in the best possible conditions. Midwives also receive specific training on the risk of mortality during childbirth, difficult births, or in cases where the mother-to-be is at risk for her age or due to chronic illness. Finally, necessary care is provided to mothers and their newborns in order to prevent postnatal complications in the 40 days following birth.
- Prenatal care
- Postnatal care
- Training on obstetric risks
- Training of traditional midwives
- Monitoring of midwives
- Training and organization of a local health committee
- Training of the health committee on the identification of the “four delays”
- Elaboration of an emergency obstetric plan
Pediatric care
The aim of this project is to provide medical attention to young children, following the protocols of the strategy for the ‘Integral Management of Common Childhood Illnesses (AIEPI)’. Among the activities included in this project, we highlight the following: - In each community, a ‘health monitor’ is selected and trained who is responsible for monitoring sick children and documenting each case with a clinical history. - Trainings are organized on the AIEPI strategy for health team staff and volunteers. - All children under 1 year old are vaccinated. - Talks and trainings are organized so that mothers can recognize the warning signs in their children and seek help at specialized centers. - Finally, talks are organized for mothers on preventive health.
- Training of institutional staff on the AIEPI strategy
- Care for children under 5 years old
- Training of volunteer staff on Integral Management of Common
- Childhood Illnesses (AIEPI) by the community
- Training of mothers on preventive health