Pueblo a Pueblo (PaP): Strengthening youth leadership.

Youth Leadership

At Pueblo a Pueblo we have the Youth Leadership project. From 2021 to 2022  we have two groups of young people, one in San Martín and the other in Santa Ana, in the municipality of San Lucas Tolimán. The project consists of initiating a training process with the young people that allows them to first get to know themselves by identifying important aspects which will enable them to lead processes within their own communities. Our process includes 6 different types of training sessions on theoretical/practical topics of leadership, entrepreneurship and business model. 

The duration of the project is 2 years in which, in addition to the training, the young people are provided with a quarterly incentive for their participation in the project and their support of the community. They are also provided with a seed fund so that they can start their businesses. Before starting their entrepreneurship, a professional in the area of choice is sought to train them so that they can start their entrepreneurship with the basic tools required for their business. 

So for Pueblo a Pueblo, contributing to eradicate poverty in rural communities in Guatemala is something that motivates us to move forward as an organization. From 2015 to date we have been involved with 9 communities working with a total of 64 young people. This is all thanks to the support of people who have believed and trusted in our process. If you are not yet part of this initiative we invite you to join our work in progress that contributes to the improvement of Guatemalan families.  

This is a story of one of the young people from San Martín, San Lucas Tolimán. 

My name is Gervert Canil, 20 years old and I only managed to complete third grade. I have 4 siblings and I live in San Martin in the municipality of San Lucas Toliman. 

I participate in the project Youth Leadership from Village to Village. Something new that the project has changed in my life is learning how to carry out and manage a project myself. I learned how to be more aware of things. The good thing is that every day within the project we learn new techniques on how to work and carry out the projects.

This year the most important thing I learned is how to organize a group. Leadership helps people be present and involved in the projects. Besides learning new things I would say that it has also helped me to live with my other companions. 

I am also in a youth group in a church. What a young person wants is to be motivated and thanks to God I learned a lot from Pueblo a Pueblo. I have used the techniques, dynamics and the knowledge that I have obtained from this project every day.”