About Us

GuateMaya Alliance (formerly known as Ixtatan Foundation) is a productive Nonprofit Organization founded twenty-three years ago, soon after the Guatemala Peace Accords were signed in 1996. The Foundation operates from Guatemala in the department of Huehuetenango and is based in Charlottesville, VA. GuateMaya Alliance supports the power and capacity of Guatemalan youth to foster participatory pathways to community well-being. In 23 years, it has gone from school infrastructure to innovative education models to graduating the town of San Mateo Ixtatán first youth from high school and college.

The Foundation Initially focused on the population of northern Huehuetenango which is primarily of Mayan descent, a demographic group in Guatemala that, despite being more than half the total population, has been systematically discriminated against and excluded from the national education system. Indigenous students must learn in a foreign language (Spanish vs their native Mayan) and most of the country does not have access to middle or high schools so many only achieve 3rd or 6th grade in their communities. Lack of education opportunities is a key reason why  Mayan youth make the excruciating decision to travel undocumented to the U.S. in search of better opportunities for themselves and their families. GuateMaya Alliance focuses on these indigenous people in rural communities in the Western Highlands of Guatemala and more specifically empowering youth from underprivileged communities in Huehuetenango and other rural areas of Guatemala through education. Our mission is to support the power and capacity of Guatemalan youth to foster participatory pathways to community well-being.

The foundation’s main goal is to improve access to quality education, develop leadership skills, and provide practical experiences for students. It aims to expand its community development programs in the Huehuetenango region and beyond.