Asociación AMA (AMA) is a nonprofit organization that promotes adolescent girls’ rights in Petén, a rural region in Guatemala. AMA’s mission is to strengthen girls’ leadership and to prevent early pregnancies and gender-based violence through education and advocacy. Since its founding in 2016, the organization has empowered more than 75,000 adolescent girls through its programs. One of the organization’s most successful initiatives is a comprehensive sexual education curriculum, which was implemented in 215 primary schools and has contributed to a more than 60 percent reduction in pregnancies among girls between the ages of 10 and 14.
Access to education is an ongoing challenge for girls in Guatemala, particularly for those who are indigenous and living in rural areas. According to the Center for Global Development, only 25 percent of indigenous Guatemalan girls remain in school by the age of 16. Cultural norms and precarious economic conditions contribute to the low enrollment rate. AMA works to ameliorate these issues by providing girls with knowledge, opportunities, and support.
The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund will support AMA’s Play For Your Education project. Play For Your Education is a sports-based, leadership development program. The project will include 12 interactive sessions, which will be led and developed by Maya Q’eqchi` and Mestizo facilitators who understand the unique challenges that indigenous girls face. The sessions will emphasize the importance of staying in school through sports and other activities focused on life skills development, including sexual and reproductive health education. In addition, AMA will implement a bilingual Spanish-Maya Q’eqchí radio program focused on sexual and reproductive health to reach a broader audience of girls and communities in Petén.
AMA plans to implement Play For Your Education in four communities and urban areas in the South of Petén. It will directly support 120 Q’eqchi`, Mopan, and Mestiza Mayan girls between the ages of 10 and 14. AMA expects to reach an additional 5,000 girls and community members through its radio program. Key outcomes for the project include: increasing school attendance and retention rates; preventing early pregnancies, gender-based violence and child marriages; and developing girls’ leadership capabilities. The ultimate goal of the project is to uplift adolescent girls who have been historically marginalized, inspiring them to envision a brighter future for themselves.
To learn more about Asociación AMA, please visit the organization’s website and social media pages:
See more projects: Latin America & the Caribbean, Education, Leadership & Life Skills Development, Sexual & Reproductive Health & Rights