ICAmigos

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ICAmigos is a non-profit, non-partisan, non-religious, and non-governmental organization founded in 1991. It was created due to the desire of the students, teachers and administration of I.C.A. to be part of the solution to problems that have affected and continue to affect our Mayan communities. ICAmigos is motivated by principles of respect for human dignity and social participation in the pursuit for the common good.

Once founded in June of 1991, ICAmigos decided they wanted to provide solidarity to fellow Guatemalans by supporting urgently needed projects. Since then, the NGO has been working diligently in the six currently existing projects:
• Reforestation Project: In 1989, the Reforestation Project was initiated by a group of individuals including teachers and Spanish language students from I.C.A. It is financially supported by I.C.A. and helps the Quetzaltenango community. We have worked together with the assistance of public school students, sawmill owners and the municipality to organize reforestation campaigns.
• Bilingual Education: In 1992, the villages of Buena Vista, Los Corrales, Cabricán, and Quetzaltenango solicited the financial help of ICAmigos in their bilingual Mam-Spanish primary school. Mam is one of Guatemala's official Mayan languages, spoken by over 670,000 inhabitants. The school is a model for bilingual education because it is one of the six best schools in the entire department of Quetzaltenango.
• Urban and Rural Education: After various years of working in the Bilingual Education Project, ICAmigos was interested in helping to support an education project in Xela.We offer help in the form of Math tutors, Geography, Natural Sciences and English classes through foreign volunteers. In addition, volunteers participated in ecological projects, like cleaning up garbage in the community and reforestation.
• Medical Clinic
• Women’s Prison: Literacy and Education Program for inmates of the Women’s Prevention Center of Quetzaltenango.
• Development of Artisan Groups

The ICAmigos projects are organized so that one project can lend support to others. As a result, the girls receive help from other ICAmigos projects which include: medical and dental care, along with the organization of sports, theater, reforestation and group activities.

I.C.A. is the pioneer Spanish school in offering extracurricular cultural activities and social projection in addition to Spanish language instruction.

Gabriela Díaz is the Student Coordinator of the Spanish School ICA.

For other net participants we can offer an expert guidance through trained staff, give an expert opinion, procure expert information and establish new contacts in the field of our work.