About ATLAS
History
In November of 2022, the Q Fund Executive Committee travelled to Guatemala to congratulate 14 young women who received their university diplomas and participate in their graduation ceremony. Six of these young women invited the committee to listen to their dream, their plan for giving back to their communities. They acknowledged all the challenges they encountered, and the enormous support and benefits they received on the long road to their university graduation. What they proposed was a plan whereby they would identify girls in the local schools who could succeed in and benefit from a MAIA education and provide these students tutoring to catch up in subjects that had been deeply impacted due to COVID restrictions.
Once identified, these girls will take part in after school tutoring that will prepare them for entrance into the MAIA school or other area educational opportunities. The expectation is that the girls will meet the requirements for entrance into MAIA with mentoring and tutoring.
The Name
Both MAIA and ATLAS are among the brightest stars in the Pleiades (Seven Sisters) Constellation. The ATLAS members chose the name for their program.
Mission
The mission of the ATLAS Program is to supplement the public-school education of indigenous girls at the primary level to prepare them for secondary school in Sololá, Guatemala as part of a program of community self-development.
Management
In contrast to the other initiatives, ATLAS is a community-driven endeavor. The leaders of this program are university graduates of Starfish and the Quetzal University Fund. Since the leaders are from the same communities and have overcome many obstacles to receive their education, they are responsible for the design and implementation of the program which includes the following: selection of students and families, teacher selection, curriculum development, fundraising for local support, and financial reporting. In 2023, ATLAS achieved a major milestone having received certification from the Guatemalan government to function as an NGO-like organization in Guatemala. ATLAS has hired an experienced senior advisor and some staff for the program.
ATLAS underwent a major re-organization in 2025. They hired an Executive Director and formed an engaged 5-member board. All of the ATLAS board members are university graduates of the Quetzal University Fund and are founding members of ATLAS. Importantly, they have forged a collaboration agreement with the MAIA Impact school, and other local organizations.
ATLAS receives oversight from two organizations, The Ward Foundation and the US based ATLAS Advisory Committee. The Ward Foundation administrator, Travis Ning resides in Guatemala and has been meeting with the Executive Director weekly. The ATLAS Advisory Committee meets quarterly.
Partners:
The Evergreen Rotary Foundation (ERF) in Colorado https://www.evergreenrotary.org serves as fiscal sponsor for ATLAS. As a 501(c)3 organization recognized by the IRS, the ERF enables ATLAS to receive tax deductible donations. Funds for ATLAS are provided by The Ward Foundation, the ATLAS Advisory Committee, Q Fund graduates and other Guatemala donors.
Students
In 2026, the program serves 30 students. The students are low-income indigenous girls entering the 4th, 5th, and 6th grade living within commuting distance of the MAIA school and other secondary schools in Sololá, Guatemala.
The Program
The focus of the program is teaching math, language, and communication. ATLAS also provides mentoring on health, lifestyle issues, empowerment, and understanding emotions. They provide enrichment outings periodically as well. The fourth and fifth grade students attend two three-hour sessions two days a week. The two grades meet on different days. They meet in the rented space ATLAS provides in a local school. ATLAS also provides a healthy snack and mini-bus transportation to and from the school.
All of the 6th grade students passed MAIA’s criteria for applying for a scholarship to their school. They now receive classes with the MAIA’s Impluso Program for our students and for other selected girls who meet the criteria for applying for admission to the school. It is an intensive program and meets 3 week half-days and on Saturdays for the full day.
Because poverty is so great, recruitment has been a challenge. Parents want their daughters at home to help the family. ATLAS decided to pay parents a “scholarship” of approximately $5 per week to offset the work their daughters would be doing for the family vs being in school. In addition to girls’ education, Atlas offers periodic parent educational meetings where, among other things, they hear testimonials from some of the parents of the Quetzal University Fund students whose daughters have achieved a university education.
Future
The program will grow and be re-evaluated yearly.