There are no students in the impacto school. Instead, over 260 "Jóvenes Pioneras" (young pioneers) flock into the classroom every morning. This is what the teachers call their protégés, whom they not only teach math, English and geography, but also, for example, also dealing with money or the basics of a healthy lifestyle. In addition, you will be prepared to take on responsible tasks in your communities and in your professional life. What the girls have in common: They belong to the Maya people and they have big things-their dreams are as different as they are. That everyone can realize their dream is the goal of Maia, an organization of Maya women. The Terre of the Hommes partner organization has been running the "Colegio Impacto" in Sololá, in southern Guatemalas since 2017. It is the first secondary school led by indigenous women in Central America. This year the first year of Abitur will do. Among them is Ester. The 19-year-old wants to study political science and use her skills for a just world.

Being a woman means not being allowed to decide

Because their living environment is characterized by injustice. Ester and their classmates are triple discriminated against: they are poor. You are Maya. And they are women. Indigenous girls in Guatemala go to school on average only three and a half years. Only 20 percent of them complete the school. And only two percent make it to the university. Half of all young Maya is a mother at the age of 18. Around 80 percent of all Maya women live in poverty. Guatemala is one of the countries with the highest rates of fatal violent offenses in women. Machismo and racism are widespread in society. Girls and women have nothing to say, nothing to decide. For Ester too, there was no chance of education for Ester either. "After primary school, my parents told me that I couldn't go to school because I was a girl and the money was not enough," says Ester. But she was able to assert herself and became one of Maia's "Jóvenes Pioneras". In 2019 she represented the "Colegio Impacto" at the Zayed Sustainability Prize in Abu Dhabi. She was the first in her family to travel abroad - and her parents were proud of her.

Young women for a fairer society

A year later, Ester finally applied to the Rise scholarship program. 50,000 young people from 178 countries had applied. Ester was among the 100 winners and developed an online platform that networked young women and gives them the opportunity to tell their stories. However, many of them first have to learn to trust themselves. That is why Ester is there workshops for young Maya women: With the help of poems and stories, she teaches them to use their voices in a targeted manner. It is about your rights, self -determination, social expectations and ways to change them. With her own history, Ester helps to make more and more young Maya women confidently raise their voices and thus lay the foundation for a just society.