• Healthcare Resources for the Maya Community

    MAYA HEALTH TOOLKIT

    Maya Children USA Inc. and the Maya Heritage Community Project at Kennesaw State University conducted national focus groups to develop a network of trained Maya language interpreters and a toolkit for health and mental health care providers.

    The toolkit identifies health care barriers between Maya and medical professionals, and in addition offers resources to bridge gaps in communication. Our applied partnership methodology demanded that we recognize Maya knowledge and beliefs in order to better understand the Maya and seek their participation. Dozens of Maya, individually and in focus groups, gave information and advice in the construction of this toolkit.  Maya have long traditions of medical practices and beliefs, and understanding and appreciating their views and their holistic health beliefs allowed for the success of the toolkit.  According to data, over 35,000 downloads have been made, widely across the United States.

    • Section one of the toolkit gives an overview of our vision, objectives, and methodology, and explains in some detail why a toolkit is needed for the Maya.  

    • Section two gives a cultural and historical profile of the Maya, and is compiled from academic sources and Maya testimony.  This section demonstrates how tradition and religious spirituality profoundly influence concepts of health. 

    • Section three, through testimony and case examples, gives insight into Maya views of health and the special situations they face in the United States.

    • Section four contains the Toolkit Resources, which were carefully designed to meet the specific and unique needs of the Maya community.  The body chart and other resources were designed keeping in mind that Maya immigrants may neither read nor write in any language, and they may not be accustomed to the printed page.  Maya consultants assisted with the development of all educational materials.  This section links to video files in three Maya languages that explain and give advice about prenatal care and diabetes.

    • Section five contains a comprehensive literature review of best materials on Maya health in the United States, and other published or online materials helpful in the making of the toolkit.

    • Section six introduces the Maya Interpreters Network; explains the need and value of the network, and the plans that were made to construct the network.  After several years, the network passed over to a private Maya-owned language company.

Handbook for Teachers

Children of the Guatemalan Maya: A Handbook For Teachers

As a companion work to the Health Toolkit we created the Handbook for Teachers. This is an informational handbook for schools and teachers who work with Maya children, with the goal to help teachers understand the complex and unique situations of the Maya in the United States. We transferred this handbook to the Bridging Refugee Youth and Children’s Services, where you can access or download at no cost through the BRYCS website.

Conferences

The Maya Project expanded between 2004 and 2007 through hosting four national Maya conferences at Kennesaw State University. Each following year we have supported with planning and grant writing national conferences held elsewhere in the United States.   

  • 2008- Villa Maria, Pennsylvania
  • 2009- Omaha, Nebraska
  • 2010-  Omaha, Nebraska
  • 2011-  Portland, Oregon
  • 2012-  Alamosa, Colorado
  • 2013-  Belfair, Washington
  • 2014-  Los Angeles, California
  • 2015-  Greenville, South Carolina
  • 2016-  Greenville, South Carolina
  • 2017-  Cookeville, Tennessee
  • 2018-  Cookeville, Tennessee
  • 2019-  Seymour,  Indiana

Conferences on general migration co-sponsored by the Maya Heritage Community Project:

  • 2010- "Conference on Immigration in the Southeast: Defining Problems, Finding Solutions" (Kennesaw State University)
  • 2012- "4th Conference on Immigration to the Southeast: Policy Analysis, Conflict Management." (Kennesaw State University)

Grants

The MHCP has received approximately $500,000 in grants and contracts from government and non-profit organizations. Some examples: the five year grant from the Georgia Governors Office of Highway Safety, which awarded the Maya Project and Kennesaw State University the prestigious 2008 Planning for Zero Deaths Award. The Maya Health Toolkit for Medical Providers was funded under contract from Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services. In 2015 the MHCP co-directed a Needs Assessment Survey in Metropolitan Atlanta for the Latin American Association, and developed information videos in Maya languages for the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.  

Maya Children USA Inc.

Maya Children USA has been the "arm" of the Maya Project for various grants, including the Maya Health Toolkit, and for the national conferences. Children of Mayan linguistic heritage face special difficulties in the schools. But hopes and dreams point toward inclusion and their aspirations reach for the success long denied to their parents and ancestors. [Taken from Maya-American Youth: A New Population at Risk in the United States, in YOUTH TODAY, published May 9, 2016] Maya American Youth

Maya Interpreters Network

Unfortunately we disbanded the National Maya Interpreters Network, but during its three of years of existence we helped connect Maya speakers to language programs, and we promoted Maya-owned interpreter agencies. Needs for Maya interpreters remain high throughout the United States, especially for children and women who speak little or no Spanish. Our mission for the Network had been language legitimacy, ethics, and cultural congruency; to help preserve the Maya languages; and to promote respect and dignity for the Maya. 

Maya Language Videos

The Maya Project has produced language resources and videos for various situations.  For example,  prenatal and diabetes information videos and an extensive medical terms list in four Maya languages were produced to accompany the Maya Health Toolkit. Under contract from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops we developed video resources for the Federal Family Reunification Program ( subsequently canceled by the Trump administration) in Acateco, Chuj, Ixil, Mam, Q'anjob'al, and K'iche'. In 2020, census information videos were produced and widely shared with census advocacy groups. Some of the census videos can be seen on the Maya Project YouTube channel.   

Maya Census Videos