Help Us Double the Capacity of Yo'onik Learning Center!

In 2014, Natik supported two visionary Mayan leaders, sisters Xunka and Yoli, to actualize their vision to create a community learning center in Zinacantán, Chiapas, Mexico.

The Yo'onik Learning Center houses two Natik partner programs: Yo'onik Learning Center which provides both after school and summer programming for younger students and scholarship support for high school students, and the Mujeres Sembrando La Vida (MSV) women's weaving collective. These programs bring much needed support to the families of Zinacantán and use two of the most effective ways to stop the cycle of poverty: education for children and economic empowerment of women.

The first floor of the Yo'onik Learning Center offers academic tutoring and educational opportunities to 100+ Mayan children, teens, and their families. The children named the center "Yo'onik" which means "heart" in Tzotzil Mayan.

The second floor of the center will provide much-needed home base for the more than sixty artisans in Mujeres Sembrando La Vida artisans, for meetings, offices, storage, and commercial space.

The space also serves outside organizations that offer programs that benefit the community, such as early stimulation classes for mothers and their infants, and teen language and leadership training. The entire community will benefit immensely from this new addition!

Our goal is to raise enough money to build a second floor to the building - effectively doubling the potential impact of these already very successful programs. Help Natik support Xunka, Yoli and the community of Zinacantán to expand the valuable work that they are already doing! Construction is set to resume at the end of December, after the rainy season.

Thank you for your donation!

*Please note that all donation amounts are in U.S. dollars.