Connection to Success

Job offers are few and far between for young women living in rural Guatemala, as most jobs are in urban areas. And even if you find a job posting outside of the city, many companies do not hire young people, stigmatizing them as violent, unmotivated or unqualified. This forces young women to resort to informal work, like cleaning houses or selling food at roadside stands. These jobs are unreliable, inconsistent and don’t pay nearly enough — which keeps families living in poverty for generations.

What are we doing?

The Connection to Success project focuses on young women and men in rural areas, where approximately 80% of people live below the poverty line. This project elevates girls’ voices and gives them the tools they need to achieve their dreams.

Each participant chooses between two training tracks: entrepreneurship or employment. Members of the employment clubs learn skills that will help them get a quality job, like interviewing and negotiating. Members of the entrepreneurship clubs learn about market demand and sustainability. All club members receive training to build their digital literacy with access to tablets, computers and other types of technology.

This program takes classes to the real world. Entrepreneur students create business plans and present them to a panel of specialists. The top 10 plans receive seed money to get their ideas off the ground. This means entrepreneurs are able to create more jobs.

Join us in providing young women in rural Guatemala with the skills, education and opportunities needed to end the cycle of poverty.