As the photographer for She’s the First, a not-for-profit that raises awareness about girls education and encourages young people to creatively fundraise to sponsor a girl in the developing world, I recently had the opportunity to visit one of our partner organizations in Guatemala. Starfish One by One works with indigenous Mayan girls in middle and high school by providing tuition costs and placing them in a unique mentorship program. Each girl is placed in a group of 15 and is lead by an indigenous Mayan mentor who has herself graduated high school and beyond. This support system encourages the girls to push beyond the education level that their families could have provided for them. Most of them will be the first in their families to graduate high school, many the first to be educated beyond the 6th grade.
I was asked by Starfish One by One to document one girl in particular – 18-year-old Francisca Chiviliu Quinac. In October, Francisca will be the first person in her family to graduate high school. Amid studying and attending her weekly mentoring sessions, Francisca helps her mother and little sister Brenda complete many chores around the house, from making 70 tortillas three times a day by hand to harvesting corn in the family’s yard to washing clothes by hand. I’ve included a few preview photos from the project below, but will be producing a short photo/video documentary about her to be completed in the coming weeks — come back to check it out!
I also had the opportunity to meet some of the other girls in the program and their mothers at their homes, and to attend a few of the mentoring programs. You can read more about my trip with She’s the First on our blog and more about Starfish One by One on their website.
Francisca Chiviliu Quinac (right), 18, and her sister Brenda Leticia, 14, prepare dinner in their home in Santiago, Guatemala.
Freshly laundered items on the Quinac's line.
Francisca hand washes the family's laundry in their front yard.
Francisca pulls the kernels off freshly picked corn from her family's garden. The family dries the corn and takes it to the local mill. They use the resulting meal to make tortillas for the family.
Francisca laughs as she works on embroidery outside her home.
The Quinac family women: Brenda and Francisca live with their mother, Nicolasa Quinac Tacaxoy (center), and their father and brothers.
Francisca in her classroom. She will graduate high school in October.
Francisca will be the first in her family to graduate high school.
Starfish One by One operates on both sides of Lake Atitlan.
Ana Teresa Julujuj, 13, poses at her home in San Isidro, Guatemala. She's starting the 7th grade and is further along in her education than anyone else in her family. Full disclosure: I am sponsoring her education, along with my She's the First colleagues Christen Brandt and Maisy Page.
The farmland that surrounds Ana Teresa's home.
Mayra, 16, and her mother at their home in Buena Vista, Guatemala. Mayra's mother is 35 years old and has 8 children. She has been strongly influenced by the family planning aspect of her daughter's mentorship with Starfish One by One and she and her husband are considering family planning for the future.
Florinda, 17, and her mother. Florinda is the 3rd oldest in her family of nine children, but will be the first person in her family to graduate high school. Florinda's mother is very proud of her and pushes for her progress because she doesn't want her to have the same situation she had where she was unable to attend school. She is illiterate.
Florinda's mother with one of her younger children.
Lake Atitlan, the largest lake in Guatemala, is surrounded by three volcanoes. The communities in the area have been deeply affected by eruptions and mudslides.
Irma Josefina Ajcalon Cota demonstrates traditional weaving during a Starfish One by One mentoring session.
Irma demonstrates traditional Mayan weaving on a backstrap loom.
Irma demonstrates the backstrap loom, a traditional form of Mayan weaving.
Irma demonstrates the backstrap loom, a traditional form of Mayan weaving.
Elena Mendoza Ajtujal, 14, works on her beadwork during a Starfish One by One mentoring session.
Claudia Nimacachi Lopez laughs with her friends while she weaves a huipil (traditional Mayan blouse) during a Starfish mentoring session. She said it will take her about a month to complete.
Claudia Nimacachi Lopez laughs with her friends while she weaves a huipil (traditional Mayan blouse) during a Starfish mentoring session. She said it will take her about a month to complete.
Girls from the Starfish One by One "pioneer group" (the first mentoring group the organization put together) laugh and show one another the weavings on which they are working.
The market in Antigua, Guatemala.
I’m a visual journalist based out of New York, specializing in still photography and audio and video production.
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All content © 2012 by Kate Lord | Visual Journalist
Kate- The photos are WONDERFUL! They are so beautifully done with such an artistic eye. You so captured the people and the surroundings. Congratulations!
Fondly,
chris
These images are amazing! I love them!
Thanks, Chris and Amaris! I had such a wonderful time with all of the girls — I’ll be posting more content soon!
What a great story Kate!! Awesome job portraying the girls and a very worthy cause!
Kate – thank you for sharing your photos. I have been sponsoring Dalila Rufina Cali Chicajao from Santiago Atitlan for a little more than 1 year, and your images have brought me closer to the people and the place where they live.
Thanks, Ash!
Mary, I’m so glad that I can help you visualize Santiago Atitlan! It’s a beautiful place and the girls were all so inspiring. Check back soon for the video about Francisca!
Kate, you did an outstanding job with these photographs of the girls and women affected by the Starfish One by One program. They do a great job of telling the story. I sponsor an adolescent girl in Starfish One by One, and I think the program does a great job of empowering the girls to get their education and better their lives. Thank you for your work.
Thanks, Randy! It means a lot to hear that. I’ll be heading back next Spring to spend more time photographing the girls, and I’m really looking forward to it — they are all so inspiring!
Great work Kate! It was great meeting you in the airport in Atlanta!
Thanks, Erin! It was great to meet you, too! these are images from last year — I’ll be posting from this recent trip very soon! Can’t wait to see what you did in Guatemala City!!
Really nice!