Without Help Oliva Lopez Will Drop Out in January
Oliva Lopez is struggling to remain in university. She studies for a business degree on Saturdays in Chichcastenango at Rafael Landivar University.
She gets up at 4:30 am, catches a bus for an hour, goes to classes for ten hours, and then rides back to Panajachel. She gets home around 10:00 pm.
“There are no part time jobs for students. Many people in tourism are on reduced salaries or have been dismissed,” she reports.
Her Canada Maya Scholarship of $1200 a year is not enough. She will have to drop out of university in January. Just finishing this semester is going to be extremely difficult.
Canada Maya Scholarships’ Orillia Committee (a division of Paso Por Paso) is mounting an appeal campaign to raise a $3000 scholarship for Oliva. “She only needs two more semesters to graduate,” reports Roger Pretty, the scholarship coordinator.
“It would be a shame if Oliva had to drop out. Less than on percent of Maya women have university degrees, and one a few of those have degrees in business.”
The cost of a year in a Canadian university business school would be ten to fifteen times the Guatemalan cost.
Oliva is a natural leader. She is involved in community causes and environmental action. The eldest of nine children, she manages the family sewing business on Calle Santander. But there a few tourists this November, and winter is high season and the business is completely dependent on tourism.
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