In 1990, 120 Mayan men and women from the area joined together to form a non-profit organization under Mexican law called the "Yashalúm, Civil Association." The purpose of Yashalúm ("Green Country" in the Tzeltal Mayan language) was to continue the scholarship program for junior high and to expand it to cover the high school and university levels.
Fr. Loren soon realized that with monetary support from stateside sponsors, the self-help Yashalúm organization would be able to provide opportunities to young Mayans at a much accelerated pace. Toward this end, the Mission Teaching Foundation was started in 1997, acting in partnership with Yashalúm for the purpose of funding the education program in Chiapas. The goal of MTF is to find sponsors for each of the students to help with school supplies, uniforms and, in some cases, room and board.
With MTF’s help, the program has grown over the past 10 years t
o include a young men's and a young women's residence for students who have finished elementary school in their own mountain villages and now need to live closer to the town to be able to continue their education. The scholarship program currently offers assistance to 250 young Mayans. Yashalúm has also been able to offer sustainable development programs to the Mayans of the parish in Yajalón thanks to the efforts of the university students returning to the area after graduation to give a year of service back to the community.
Beginning in 2007, MTF will be joining forces with a new non-profit, FUNDESI, an acronym in Spanish for "Foundation for Sustainable Development for Indigenous." This organization was founded by five Yashalúm university graduates to promote scholarships for postgraduate studies and to support appropriate technology throughout the state of Chiapas. It has already established a formal agreement with the Chiapas State University (UNACH) to offer advanced courses to our students.
For more information about MTF, please access the various descriptive links in the right-hand column of this page. If more information is desired, please go to the “Contact Us” link. We will gladly answer any questions you may have.
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California, volunteered to go on mission to Chiapas, Mexico. There, he served for 21 years as pastor of the parish in Yajalón. The parish covers an area of 42 square miles (108 square kilometers), and is the spiritual center for 7,000 people living in town and 25,000 Mayans living in 54 towns and villages. During his time in Yajalón, Fr. Loren constantly promoted the education of the Mayans. In 1980 he began to offer scholarships for junior high to a few youth of the parish catechists.
