Beneficiaries
Number of people benefited by the Intervida projects: 91,383
Geographic location
JQG, the Joyabaj TERRA (Territory of Active Solidarity, in Intervida nomenclature), is located in the southeast part of the El Quiché Department, in Guatemala. The TERRA attends to three municipalities: Joyabaj and Zacualpa, in the El Quiché Department, and San Martín Jilotepeque, in the Chimaltenango department. Its headquarters are located in Joyabaj.
85.23% of the population of El Quiché is indigenous, a far higher percentage than the national average of 41.9%. The K'iche' y Cackchiquel ethnic groups predominate. By municipalities, the ethnic groups are as follows: in Joyabaj, K'iche' and Ladino; in Zacualpa, K'iche' and Ladino; and in San Martín Jilotepeque, Cackchiquel and Ladino.
While Spanish is spoken as the official language, the people in these municipalities also speak K’iche’ and Cackchiquel.
List of communities
Aldea Rosario Canajal; Aldea San José Las Canoas; Caserío Choabaj Grande; Caserío Choabajito, Aldea Patzaj; Caserío Chonoxte, Aldea La Estancia; Caserío El Aguacate; Caserío El Limonar, Aldea Patzaj; Caserío El Retiro, Aldea San José Las Canoas; Caserío El Sapito, Aldea Patzaj; Caserío La Buena Esperanza; Caserío La Comunidad, Aldea Rosario Canajal; Caserío La Esperanza, Aldea Canajal de Medina; Caserío La Estancita; Caserío La Providencia; Caserío Las Venturas; Caserío Los Jometes; Caserío Los Magueyes, Aldea Rosario Canajal; Caserío Los Osorios, Aldea Canajal de Medina; Caserío Los Potrerillos; Caserío Los Tunayes, Aldea La Estancia; Caserío Los Velásquez, Aldea Rosario Canajal; Caserío Palo Blanco, Aldea Patzaj; Caserío Patzajito, Aldea Patzaj; Caserío Plan Buena Vista, Aldea Patzaj; Caserío Río Motagua, Aldea Rosario Canajal; Caserío San Antonio La Merced; Caserío San Isidro, Aldea Quina; Caserío San Jerónimo, Aldea San José Las Canoas; Paraje Chirramos, Aldea Patzaj; Paraje El Rancho, Aldea Patzaj; Paraje lo de Silva, Aldea Patzaj; Aldea Caquil; Aldea Chuaquenum; Aldea Cruz de Palibatz; Aldea El Temal; Aldea La Estancuela; Aldea Pachilip; Aldea Pachilip I; Aldea Pachilip II; Aldea Quiacoj; Aldea San Rafael Chichop; Cabecera Municipal Joyabaj; Cantón Parlache, Caserío Los Llanos; Cantón Paxtup, Caserío Xebalanguac; Cantón San José Chuacorral; Caserío Chijuc; Caserío Chixquina, Aldea Las Cruces; Caserío Chorraxaj; Caserío Chosavic; Caserío Concepción Caquil, Aldea Caquil; Caserío El Aguacate Chuacorral; Caserío El Boquerón; Caserío El Infiernito; Caserío El Pericón Chuaquenum, Aldea Chuaquenum; Caserío La Cantun, Aldea San Rafael Chichop; Caserío Laguna Seca, Aldea Caquil; Caserío Las Lomas; Caserío Los Llanos; Caserío Mucaj-Raxanep; Caserío Nuevo Chorraxaj; Caserío Pájaro de Plata; Caserío Panchun; Caserío Paraguay; Caserío Pericón Chuacorral; Caserío Piedras Blancas; Caserío Portezuelo; Caserío Portugués; Caserío Río Grande Los Llanos; Caserío Sancho; Caserío San Antonio Coyoya; Caserío San Antonio Ixoc; Caserío San Antonio, La Comunidad; Caserío San Isidro, La Comunidad; Caserío Talaxcoc; Caserío Tunaja; Caserío Xeabaj; Caserío Xebalanguac; Caserío Xechpup; Caserío Xepepen; Paraje Chirij Tz'aq, Caserío Pajopop; Paraje El Guapinol, Caserío Los Llanos; Paraje El Manantial 4 Centro, Aldea El Temal; Paraje La Cuchilla, Aldea La Estancuela; Paraje Los Cimientos, Aldea El Temal; Paraje Muculinquia; Paraje Pajuya, Caserío Xeabaj; Paraje Pamixa, Caserío Pajopop; Paraje Patzula; Paraje Quiacchaj; Paraje Sajquim; Paraje Samabaj, Caserío Pajopop; Paraje Santa Elena; Paraje Seabaj, Aldea Quiacoj; Paraje Segundo Centro, Caserío Chugerja; Paraje Segundo Centro, Caserío Nimchaj; Paraje Tercer Centro, Caserío Tzalam, Aldea Temal; Paraje Tzajma, Caserío Xeabaj; Paraje Tzitzil, Caserío Xeabaj; Paraje Xe'oj, Caserío Pajopop; Primer Centro San Luis, Aldea La Comunidad; Aldea Arriquin; Aldea La Vega I; Aldea Potrero Viejo III; Aldea San José Sinache; Aldea Trapichitos I; Aldea Trapichitos II; ldea Tunaja Segundo Centro; Aldea Tunaja, Primer Sector; Aldea Turbala Primer Centro; Aldea Xicalcal; Cabecera Municipal Zacualpa; Cantón La Vega, Segundo Centro, Aldea Tablón; Cantón Las Joyas; Caserío Pasojoc; Caserío Piedras Blancas; Caserío San Antonio Sinache I; Caserío San Antonio Sinache II; Caserío Turbala, Segundo Centro, Aldea Turbala I; Paraje Camacutz III, Aldea Protrero Viejo III; Paraje Chicha; Paraje Chixocol, Aldea Potrero Viejo III; Paraje Potrero Viejo I, Aldea Potrero Viejo III.
Juan Benito Son. 40 years old. 8 children.
Paraje Santa Elena Chichop, Joyabaj, El Quiché
"I have known about Intervida for many years because I knew that they helped various communities in Joyabaj, although they didn’t implement projects in our community. In 2003, they began to help us with the construction of our school’s extension, and then with our drinking water and latrine projects. Currently, I work on the egg production project and the organization supports me with a scholarship for one of my daughters. Intervida´s work has been a great support for our community because they have helped us to improve our lives, the health of our community, the education of our children, and they provide us with support for productive projects which enable us to make it on our own because we generate income. Before, in our school we had provisional classrooms, but Intervida built an extension with classrooms and a kitchen, and the technicians have trained our teachers to give our children a better education. In the case of the water project, before there was more stomach illness and now this has been significantly reduced. And, thanks to the productive projects, we are able to earn money which allows us to support our families without leaving our community. When the Intervida projects started in our community, we realized that the staff had the intention to help us to improve our lives. All this would not be possible without the Intervida staff, who are on our side and always willing to help us and share what they know with us.”
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 Intervida’s projects to increase school performance consists in training educational staff on new pedagogical techniques, while also providing them with more modern and effective didactic material. Teachers also receive guidance on how to convert 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 promotion 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
- 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
Addressing learning problems
The project’s aim is to integrate students with learning problems into the 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 good development of children and adolescents. The program’s main working lines are: Raising awareness among the municipalities and civil society through training, the distribution 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.
Strengthening community recreation and culture
With this project, Intervida provides communities with the tools they need to manage their patrimony and to recover those cultural aspects which constitute their identity and values. Towards this aim, the organization promotes the development of traditional recreational activities like dance, festivals, music, literature, language and expressions through local communication media. The objective is to promote participation from all groups and to create cultural services for historically excluded communities.
- Supporting public libraries
- Cultural organization and participation
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 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: Intervida provides an external contribution, or start-up capital to 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.
- 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
- Broiler chicken farms
- Laying farms
- 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
Strengthening businesses
The “Strengthening businesses” project is directed at groups of producers who have been working together for more than three years and who have demonstrated a strong organizational level and recovery of initial capital, as well as strong positioning of their products in their market segment. This project provides them with the technical assistance necessary to create small and mid-sized rural business.
Mother-child health
The “Mother-child health program encompasses all those projects aimed at reducing the high rates of mother and infant 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
- 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.
- Construction of comprehensive drinking water and basic sanitation systems
- Environmental health training
- Natural resources training
- Environmental health committee
- Protecting water sources
- Control of water quality
- Administration of basic sanitation services
- Construction of basic sanitary infrastructure
Obstetric care
Intervida offers obstetric attention 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 of the health committee on the identification of the “four delays”
- Elaboration of an emergency obstetric plan
- Strengthening the organization of local health committees
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 Integral Management of Common Childhood Illnesses (AIEPI) strategy
- Care for children under 5 years old
- Training of volunteer staff on community Integral Management of Common Childhood Illnesses (AIEPI) at the community level
- Training of mothers on preventive health