Meet Mayra!
Greetings! Today we're starting something new: on the first Friday of the month, we'll tell stories about individuals. We'll begin with stories about the leadership and the begin to tell you stories about team members and individuals impacted by each organization. We'll rotate through all our partners in alphabetical order.
ANADESA — The Association of the New Dawn of Santiago Atitlán — takes its name from the morning after Hurricane Stan triggered the devastating 2005 mudslide that destroyed the community of Panabaj.
Mayra, ANADESA’s current General Director, was ten when the hurricane struck. With the electricity out, the wind and rain raged through the darkness. Her parents gathered the children to pray and later moved them to her grandparents’ home to keep vigil with extended family. Just before dawn, a thunderous explosion and rumbling shook the earth — many feared the volcano had erupted.
At sunrise they realized the sound had been the mudslide swallowing homes. Many neighbors died, though her family survived. For two years they lived with relatives until a Spanish organization financed new homes in a relocated community. Through it all, Mayra continued her studies.
After graduating as a secretary from a technical high school in 2015, she was hired by ANADESA to promote products made by the women’s group. Within a week she was invited to teach in the educational support program. By 2017 she was assisting with legal matters and representing ANADESA before local government agencies, gradually assuming greater administrative leadership. In 2019, the outgoing director chose her as his successor.
At the start of the pandemic, when students were told to attend classes online or fail, Mayra encouraged her team to share their computers so students could continue studying. A mid-2021 Natik fundraiser enabled ANADESA to purchase 10 computers. Since then, under her leadership, the team has assembled 21 laptops shared among 145 primary and secondary students in two locations near Santiago Atitlán.
The women’s entrepreneurship and self-esteem program and the balanced family psychological support program for men continue transforming families’ lives. Now in their second year of Natik’s Sustainable Livelihood Program, ANADESA is developing a Solidarity Tourism initiative to generate income for participants, subsidize operations, and model opportunity for the wider community.
Mayra leads through strategic networking, attentive listening, and a focused work ethic that inspires those around her. In addition to overseeing women’s economic empowerment and youth education programs, she has coordinated reforestation efforts to help prevent future mudslides. While serving as a wife, mother of two, and executive director, she has also earned diplomas in leadership, environmental stewardship, recycling, sexual and reproductive health, and women’s legal rights.
Mayra is cheerful, fearless, and brilliant — inspiring admiration, loyalty, and love in all who know her.
Saludos,
Anita Smart
Executive Director, Natik Esperanza
