Ronaldo Andrés Gómez serves as the CEO of the Ixtatán Foundation where he leads several education projects addressing the youth of Huehuetenango, Guatemala. Ronaldo graduated with an education degree from the Universidad del Valle of Guatemala and master's degree in research from San Carlos de Guatemala University. Ronaldo is very passionate about with educating the youth and he has a passion for reading. Currently, Mr. Gomez is managing several education projects sponsored by the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala to promote prosperity and social mobility in Guatemala. 

2023 IVLP Impact Award Project: Reading Club about Human Rights, Environment, and Financial Literacy in San Mateo Ixtatán (Continued)

Ronaldo was selected as an Impact Award recipient for the second time for his unique project. The project reached new audiences and worked with 60 Chuj Mayan leaders and continued teaching about environmentalism, human rights and financial literacy. Following the 40 reading sessions, teachers and parents noticed an increase in the participants’ reading fluency and critical thinking skills.

Bracelets created by participants of the reading club in the entrepreneurial approach.

The participants’ happiness is highlighted in their faces by seeing the final result of their creation.

Participants create bracelets to promote and develop their entrepreneurial skills as one of the approaches of the reading club.

2022 IVLP Impact Award Project: Reading Club for Chuj teenagers of San Mateo Ixtatán

This project was a reading club for youth that focused on themes of environmentalism, human rights and financial literacy. This project was developed in collaboration with the community library of the Ixtatán Foundation, which aims to develop and strengthen the reading and writing skills of adolescents of Chuj Mayan origin from San Mateo Ixtatán Huehuetenango, Guatemala. The project’s purpose was to promote a habit of reading in teenagers to develop the critical capacity that helps them enhance their imagination and develop their critical thinking. It was a dynamic, playful, recreational, and participatory process, with 64 participants between the ages of 10 and 15 years old. The activities of this project were executed in from June to November 2022. The themes covered in the reading club were: Mayan peoples and the environment, climate change, deforestation and reforestation, recycling, the right to equality and non-discrimination and the right to identity. The club also focused on personal finance, including saving, budgeting and sharing stories of entrepreneurs in the community. All of these topics are used to support and encourage positive reading habits in the participants.

"I felt delighted with the project results, especially to see those children and [youth] enjoying each lesson; it does not have a comparison." - Ronaldo Andrés Gómez

IVLP Exchange Experience 

Ronaldo was a participant in the IVLP Project The Problem We All Live With: Dismantling Racial and Social Injustice in 2021, organized by the U.S. Department of State and FHI 360. He was a participant in the IVLP Project The Problem We All Live With: Dismantling Racial and Social Injustice in 2022, organized by the U.S. Department of State and the Institute of International Education.

Ronaldo's exchange experience led him to develop his IVLP Impact Award Project: "The discussions on social inequality allowed me to reaffirm my commitment to continue working, from different areas, fields and angles to build a more inclusive and equitable world."

U.S. Communities Visited in 2022

Montgomery, AL; Washington, DC; Chicago, IL; Tulsa, OK

Country: Guatemala

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