Ruk’ux Scholarship: A Guatemalan national soccer referee who studied Phys Ed on a Ruk'ux scholarship!

My name is Braulio Jeronomi Sol Tacaxoy.
 
When I was receiving a scholarship from the Ruk’ux program I studied to be a physical Education teacher. Now I’m working as a physical education teacher at a local school. I’m also working as a soccer referee at the national level of Guatemala soccer leagues.
 
My parents don’t have much formal education and they couldn’t afford the cost of my education. The Ruk’ux scholarship allowed me to study more than they had. Now I can help my family financially because I have good jobs, thanks to my education.
 
I’m so grateful for being able to continue living in Santiago, where I can be near my family and work to improve the lives of people through organized sports.  The most popular sport in Guatemala is soccer. For the players, it’s a way to burn off normal frustrations, learn about the importance of teamwork, and to build strong healthy bodies for a long healthy life.
 
It is also good for the community, since the games are social events where people can enjoy the excitement of watching family members, friends, and others play a game that we all love. Many older people played soccer when they were younger and like to shout advice to the players.
 
Now that I earn more money than my parents did, I can afford the expenses of my children’s education and we don’t need to apply for a scholarship. That means the current scholarships are given to really good students from poor families. We all know that education is important for our children. The problem is that when parents don’t have much education themselves, they have low paying jobs and can’t afford to pay the extra expenses of education. They also can’t afford for their children to spend time on their studies instead of working.
 
Ruk’ux has been helping students stay in school for over 15 years, and over 100 students have benefitted from the program during those years.