Ronaldo Andrés Gómez, Executive Director of the Ixtatán Foundation, with two students Courtesy image
At the age of 13, Ronaldo Andrés Gómez had an experience that shaped him and made him discover that education is the key to development. At the time, he was on his way to the Guatemala-Mexico border to work on the coffee plantations. He spent a month in the field tasked with cleaning the cafe. He remembers having a lot of calluses on his palms and couldn’t stop working despite the pain. “This situation made me realize that I wanted something different for my life. When I returned home, I started studying until I actually found an opportunity. I discovered that the only way to develop a different life is through education,” says the 36-year-old leader, who is of Mayan Chuj descent and belongs to the Tiaktak community.
Currently, the Tiaktak community brings together about 300 families and is located in San Mateo Ixtatán, Guatemala. The Maya are one of the most numerous indigenous groups in the Americas; Of the peoples that make it up today (30 are recognized by the governments of the countries where they are located), the Chuj are one of them, with settlements also in Mexico.
According to the 2018 census, Guatemala has a population of 14.9 million, of whom 6.5 million (43.75%) identify as Maya, Garífuna, Xinca and Cróel indigenous peoples or as Afro descendants. These and other specialized studies show the profound inequalities that exist between indigenous and non-indigenous peoples, particularly in relation to health, education, jobs and income.
“Many believe that Mayan families do not want to send their children to school, but what is happening is that the priority in the communities is to ensure that the family is fed. The middle sectors that have economic income don’t have to worry about food. That’s already covered. So their priority becomes education and health,” explains Gómez.
Achieving a goal like access to education becomes a testimony to show others that it is possible
The reality in San Mateo Ixtatán is that many young people reach sixth grade and then work with their parents. Attending secondary school means leaving the community, and often families cannot afford the costs, even if they are minimal. Many have no access to drinking water, electricity or basic education. Gómez points out that there are no public programs that can meet this need.
“I come from a family that had many limitations when it came to accessing development opportunities. Education was the door to other opportunities. When you set a goal, it doesn’t matter how difficult it is. We must continue to achieve this goal. When this goal is achieved, you become a testimonial to show others that it is possible. Education has been liberating and transformative for me. For that reason, I want more young people to have access to it,” reflects Gómez.
The Ixtatán Foundation established the first secondary school in the city of San Mateo in 2005. The first graduates received the title “Chuj-Spanish Intercultural Bilingual Teachers”. Gómez, current CEO of the company, entered this school as a child to complete his studies and was part of the first promotion. “When I was little, I remember seeing some literacy workshops given in my community through a government program. It was nice for me to see how these people received their lessons. That got me hooked and made me want to be a teacher and help change lives,” he says.
Since its inception, the school has trained 185 professionals, including bilingual Chuj-Spanish teachers, experts, accountants, and graduates in science and literature. In 2012, the curriculum was adapted to the philosophy of project-oriented learning: As part of the academic training, the students prepare themselves in professional workshops for agroecology, baking or carpentry. In this way, income is generated for the school and the students gain useful life experiences.
After graduating from high school, Gómez continued his university studies. He holds a degree in Education from the Universidad del Valle Guatemala and a Masters in Research from the University of San Carlos de Guatemala. “After graduating, I worked in the public sector for five years. I was the coordinator of the training component in the Presidential Commission Against Discrimination (CODISRA), leading workshops on the importance of eradicating racism in Guatemala. The focus was on avoiding discrimination against Indigenous and Afro people and showing that it is a system that creates social inequality,” he explains.
In 2019 he approached the Ixtatán Foundation again and was offered the position of Managing Director with a team of 20 people in charge. “My routine is talking to different organizations to create projects. Exactly what I’m looking for is an investment in long-term development. I try to convince different institutions and organizations that the best investment they can make is in the education of children and young people who will be the future leaders of society,” he explains.
His passion is providing educational support to underprivileged youth in rural Guatemala. “I believe that teaching has the power to transform children’s lives, to give them hope and a better future,” he says. Gómez travels to communities near San Mateo every two to three months to assess the progress of the projects. “I enter into dialogue with local authorities and form alliances,” he says. Another part of his routine has to do with writing documents so that other organizations working with children can replicate the Foundation’s learning.
Currently, Ixtatán’s main focus is on educational innovation through the implementation of innovative learning. The project-based model (ABP) became his main work program as it is efficient to generate significant learning. It allows them to put into practice the knowledge they have acquired to solve real problems, which helps them to work autonomously to build their own learning and achieve concrete results that they have generated themselves. “They learn to see problems in their context and analyze them, investigate them and then propose a solution,” explains Gómez.
In 2021, the foundation’s director was invited to participate in a virtual program called the International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP), where more than 20 leaders from around the world learn about racism and racial discrimination in the United States. . 2022 was personal. In the third instance, he applied and won the IVLP Impact Award. “My goal was to use the scholarship to set up a reading club with children and young people in San Mateo Ixtatán. 50 participants benefit from this initiative. The proposal aims to raise awareness of the importance of protecting human rights and protecting the environment. At the same time, reading, leadership, teamwork, communication and critical thinking skills are developed,” he says.
When I’ve been with the foundation for 10 years, I’ll retire because it’s important to give space to new leaders
Ronaldo Andrés Gómez, CEO of Ixtatán
Today, Gómez directs several educational projects sponsored by the US Embassy in Guatemala to promote social mobility. “We started working together in 2008. We have run various training programs for young people. This helped many of them go to university. We also develop English programs together. In doing so, we are investing in the very young people who we believe can drive significant change in the short term,” he explains.
Throughout his career, Gómez has set various goals. “When I was working for the government, I wanted to stay for five years. I didn’t want to get stuck there. I knew I wanted to exploit other areas. I’ve been with the foundation for almost four years and my vision is to work for around ten years. After that, I’ll probably retire because it’s important to make room for new leaders. I’m trying to get the rest of my team involved so that when I leave there will be people willing to lead the work that we do as a foundation today,” he comments. He sees the academy as the next professional step. He wants to teach at universities, do research and bring this to the educational sector.
Looking back on his work, Gómez emphasizes: “In these years I have found young people with a lot of potential, with a different vision and who question things. Therein perhaps lies the hope of building a much more just society.”
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