Change lives through education University for impoverished youth

How you can help

  • $80/month covers a semester of university tuition
  • $475 covers 6 months of college
  • $950 covers a full-year tuition
  • $3,800 covers four years of university education and lets you name the scholarship
Sponsor a student

Change Lives Through Education

Help nurture the young, aspiring minds of rural Guatemala, where the average household income is $2 per day. This year, Roots and Wings International (RWI) is aiming to raise full-tuition university scholarships for 50 deserving youths. Your help will provide these students with the opportunity to pursue a future beyond subsistence farming and contribute to the development of their communities.

Currently, RWI has 23 scholars in the full-tuition university scholarship program. In 2010, we received 40 applications but were only able to award scholarships to six applicants.

Our scholarships are awarded based on financial need, academic promise, and commitment to promoting the development of indigenous communities. All scholars are expected to find employment to cover the cost of books, supplies, transportation and registration fees.

Who we are

Roots & Wings International promotes sustainable development through education, training and technology. We offer three educational programs - University Scholarships, Computer Literacy and After-School Tutoring - to help students from rural Guatemala work towards the development of their native communities.

Learn more

What we have accomplished

To date, Roots and Wings International has helped 23 deserving indigenous youth study at the university level in Guatemala. Their areas of study are varied and include pedagogy, computer engineering, social work, business administration, medicine, accounting and law. As part of the scholarship requirements, these scholars remain vested in their communities. They attend monthly development meetings and apply their education to discuss and resolve local development issues.

Learn more

Our sponsors

  •   
  •   
  •   


Our scholars are the first in their family to study beyond elementary school. Meet Bartolo, an RWI Scholar in His Own Words

"Roots and Wings [International] is the opportunity of my life. They have helped so much in my family. We are several siblings and my parents do not have any income. One of my brothers fell sick and we had to invest a lot in him, because his illness lasted for many years. For the past 4 years I have been paying for two of my brother's expenses. One of them is training to become a teacher, the other finished school this year and I'm thinking about him applying to college, something I can't afford just yet because I have another sister to provide for. I want them to be like me. Thanks to the [RWI] scholarship, I have been able to get a job that allows me to provide for an education for my siblings."


More about our Scholarship Program | Meet our Scholars