Proyecto Itzaes

Proyecto Itzaes (PI), a 501c3 non-profit organization is a free, community service based, educational program in Yucatán, Mexico, founded in 1995 by Cynthia Wilber. Proyecto Itzaes serves communities where traditional subsistence lifestyles dependent on farming and seasonal fishing can no longer support families.

The name, Proyecto Itzaes, means "Project of the People." Dedicated to the goal of democratizing learning and knowledge, PI provides real reasons and avenues for the villagers (primarily of Maya descent) to develop new skills, promote literacy and to teach those that follow. Children acquire learning skills and build strong academic foundations in three languages (Maya, Spanish and English) in after school programs that emphasize early childhood education, family literacy, special education, cultural preservation and more. To visit the Chicxulub Puerto web page created by participants in the program www.proyectoitzaes.org

In the past eleven years, as a measurable outcome of PI, the children of Chicxulub Puerto are continuing on not just to high school, but to the university and via the Leamos Juntos program, the level of literacy of the entire village has changed dramatically. PI Yucatán is a community effort and every learner at Proyecto Itzaes is also a teacher. This is reflected in the motto of the project: Kaambal U tia'al Ka'ansaj == Aprender para Enseñar == Learning in Order to Teach.