Don Agust n is an elder of a Zapatista community located deep in the Lacandonian jungle of Chiapas. When asked how he felt about his grandchildren being denied a government education, Don Agust n's reply encapsulated the view of many Indigenous peoples throughout Central America. Although he sees value in his grandchildren being able to read, write and understand mathematics, he regards this as just one dimension of an education. The children may learn those skills if they could attend government schools. However, if that meant subjecting them to a way of thinking and learning which excludes and negates their own culture, beliefs and values, then Don Agust n preferred to continue with the struggle for a truly representative democracy, which allows space for alternative ways of being and doing.
Basic education can play a pivotal rolein overcoming material poverty.
Alienation and poor self-esteem inevitably translate into lower retention and graduation rates, and the cycle of material poverty continues. Mario Ruben Noj is a Kiche Mayan working with Liga Maya, an Indigenous organisation working nationally to make the education system more sensitive and relevant to Guatemala's many different cultural groups. The education which we want to promote in our pluricultural and multilingual society is one that does not promote the idea of control and domination of nature, but one that provides our children with a vision of the world which looks beyond an obsession with economic growth and preserves our spiritual relationship with nature. The struggle of Indigenous peoples throughout the world for culturally appropriate education is a fundamental part of their right to maintain their own culture, language and world view. Community Aid Abroad is working to help to achieve these right in Central America by supporting organisations like Liga Maya, as well as education programs in Guatemala which reflect basic Indigenous values of sharing and respect for others in their learning environment.