The Teresian Association is present in Guatemala through various projects, such as the Colegio Mixto Teresa Martin and the Pedro Poveda Foundation for Integral Formation and Human Promotion. To learn more about both initiatives, we spoke with Ting Mapeso, a member of the TA and finance director of the Colegio Mixto Teresa Martin.
Human formation
The Colegio Mixto Teresa Martin is located in the city of Quetzaltenango, and the TA took over its management in 2020. Its origins date back more than 80 years, and it currently focuses on the education of pre-primary, primary, basic and diversified students, i.e. from pre-school to university entrance.
‘About 60 per cent of the population served by the school is of Mayan culture,’ says Ting Mapeso. All of this makes it unique in many ways. ‘Since the TA took over its management, work has been done to instil a personalised style of education in the style of Povedan pedagogy,’ she adds.
‘At Colegio Mixto Teresa Martin, we provide a humanistic education, regardless of religion or belief. It is a Catholic school, but there are students who are not practising Catholics. However, for us, the most important thing is the education and support of young people as they grow as individuals,’ explains Mapeso, who was entrusted with the assignmment in 2021 after working at the Teresian Association's Women's University Residence in Mexico since 2014.
Quetzaltenango, where the school is located, is the second most important city in the west of the country and the largest in the department. However, ‘as it is located outside the big city of Guatemala, its inhabitants are simple and they belong to the rural environment. In fact, in terms of education, there are many needs, especially for the youngest children. There are also problems with nutrition and there is a lot of poverty. Based on all these realities, the methodology and style of the TA offers another unique way of educating, which defines our charism and mission, and thus, within the fabric of this indigenous culture, it integrates itself into the world,’ says Ting Mapeso, who is of Filipino origin.
Building together
The other presence in Guatemala is through the Pedro Poveda Foundation (FPP) for Integral Formation and Human Promotion, an educational and non-profit organisation that has been operating since August 1997. The Foundation promotes actions in the municipality of Chinautla, which belongs to the department of Guatemala (the country is divided into 22 departments in total).
With its Socio-Educational Project ‘Xajanaj Kahalepana’, whose name in Poqomam means ‘building together, moving forward together’, it seeks to ‘contribute to the right to quality education for children, adolescents and young people in situations of vulnerability and social exclusion, promoting comprehensive and inclusive socio-educational processes’.
Throughout the implementation of this and other projects, the FPP has established and strengthened strategic relationships with educational authorities, community organisations, NGOs, and public institutions present in the intervention area to ensure the sustainability of its actions.
Since 2004, the Foundation has had the support of InteRed, the Teresian Association's NGO.
Although Ting Mapeso is not responsible for this other project in Guatemala, she assures us that the Xajanaj Kahalepana Project currently carries out numerous activities for the formation of children and young people, in addition to receiving considerable support from Spain through various organisations and InteRed.
Finally, it should be added that there is also an TA Center in Guatemala where various activities and conferences are held with the participation of TA members (five from the Primary Association and about 20 from ACIT). ‘Occasionally, meetings or conferences are held in the capital itself, and many ACIT members who collaborate and work in their own professions also help with other projects.’
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