Support a Ruk'ux Student this year!

Ruk'ux is a scholarship program for exceptional Mayan youth, and our young scholars greatly appreciate your generosity!

Your donations support our ten students throughout their academic cycle that runs from January through October. Any donation in any amount helps our very special students stay in school. With higher levels of education and skill sets they learn while in our program, they are prepared to be agents of change from within their communities when they graduate.

Natik's Ruk'ux Scholarship Program invests in young, strong, visionary leaders and their families through study stipends that help students continue studying at the middle and high school levels. The costs of books, uniforms, and transport to public schools make it difficult for many families to support their children's education beyond 6th grade.

The Ruk'ux study stipends help families defray the added costs of studying, and also ensure that the students succeed through many extracurricular activities. All students maintain high academic standards, receive tutoring when needed, learn important life skills, participate in a group reading circle, write monthly essays, and participate in community service in and around Santiago.

Finally, our students are developing their entrepreneurial skills by working on projects that use their skill sets and generate income. Their first was a language and cultural immersion project that involves hosting international students, facilitating volunteer work in local organizations, tutoring them in the Spanish and/or Tz'utujil Maya language, and providing cultural experiences for them to learn about the Mayan culture. They have begun receiving international students and someday they hope to generate enough money for their scholarship fund through this venture, but they aren't quite there yet, and still need our support!

Special note:

Even though we say that each scholarship is for $600 per year, it actually costs us about $1,000 per student per year to run this program. All the student expenses (inscriptions, books, materials, transportation) and program expenses (salary, rent, electricity, internet, repair of donated laptops) increase annually, so the overall cost per student continues to go up. Thanks to support from loyal donors who cover the basic administrative expenses of the scholarship program, your donation will go directly to the student fund.