“I changed the cycle of many girls in my community."

By Kate Lord, Director of Advocacy & Communications

“I live in a society where women only reach elementary school, then look for work or get married. That was my destiny. My father did not want me to continue my studies, but I wanted to continue studying. When I found out about the opportunity that MAIA offered me, I looked for a way to obtain the paperwork together with my mother, so I could enter and achieve my goal of continuing with my studies.”

Wendy Palax, a 21-year-old university student from rural Guatemala, is challenging expectations placed on Indigenous girls in her community. A 2022 graduate of our long-time partner MAIA Impact School, Wendy is now studying psychopedagogy and using her voice to advocate for girls’ rights through art, poetry, and leadership.

“MAIA gave me the chance to graduate with a high academic level,” Wendy says. “That wasn’t possible in my community before.”

Graduating from MAIA was a turning point. Wendy remembers how proud her parents were. “That day showed me that I was capable of more,” she says. “It was the start of a new chapter.”

“Changing my parents’ mindset wasn’t easy, but now they support me. I’ve learned to be resilient.”

“I graduated from MAIA in 2022, and that day meant a lot to me and my parents. Thanks to MAIA, I changed the cycle of many girls in my community. That day, my parents cried not from sadness but from joy as they saw their daughter fulfill one of her many dreams.”

“Because of my education, I managed to identify who is Wendy? Wendy is a girl who is not afraid of anything, believes in herself, is delighted to help people who need her, happy, sociable, and above all, is an empowered woman whose impact will be infinite, wherever she is.”

Wendy is the first in her family to receive a quality education and attend university. Her older sister also finished high school, but under different conditions—working and studying without the same support. Wendy is now fluent in English and involved in leadership and advocacy work, including campaigns with She's the First.

“MAIA helped me believe in myself,” she says. “I learned to speak up, to share my goals, and to know my voice matters.”

Wendy has contributed artwork and poetry to global campaigns, including She’s the First’s Reproduce This! art show. Her poem “Seré Quien Soy” speaks directly to the pressures Indigenous girls face to follow traditional paths. Wendy wrote it when she felt rejected and unsure if she’d be able to continue her studies.

“I wanted to show other girls that we don’t have to accept what society tells us we should be,” she explains. “We have the right to choose our own futures.”

For Wendy, art has always been a way to express emotions and connect with others. As a child, she found comfort in drawing when she felt alone. At MAIA, she discovered poetry and was inspired by authors like Pablo Neruda.

“I wanted to show other girls that we don’t have to accept what society tells us we should be. We have the right to choose our own futures.”

Wendy’s artwork for She’s the First’s Reproduce This! Art Show.

“When I create, I want other girls to see that they’re not alone,” she says. “That we’re here to support each other.”

Through her work with the Girls Advisory Council at She's the First, Wendy has built confidence and leadership skills. She’s helped plan events, connected with other youth leaders, and shared her story to inspire change.

Her long-term goal is to start a project that supports children’s learning through art. She wants to create safe spaces where girls feel heard, valued, and able to reach their potential. In 2024, she interned with She’s the First and assisted our annual Ellas al Frente event for organizations working with girls in the Northern Triangle.

“When I create, I want other girls to see that they’re not alone. That we’re here to support each other.”

 Wendy assisting at the 2024 Ellas al Frente conference in Panajachel, Guatemala. Photo by Kincho Films.

Wendy’s journey hasn’t been easy. She’s faced rejection from family and pushback from her community. But she credits her parents, mentors, and peers for helping her stay focused.

“Changing my parents’ mindset wasn’t easy, but now they support me,” she says. “I’ve learned to be resilient.”

“For my family, I am the first to participate and influence spaces of leadership, empowerment and speak another language, in this case English. I am the first in my family to continue my studies at university. For my parents, it means a family achievement and a result of the love, affection, and trust they planted in me."

Her message to other girls: “Believe in yourself. Be brave. Your dreams are possible.”

How I Found Hope in Advocacy by Speaking to Congress

By Lara Almeida, Girls Advisory Council member and President of STF Plano
Photos provided by Global Campaign for Education-United States

Often, I feel powerless and that those in power will rot this earth. When I think about my future, I fear I'll live in a greedy, overheated, and arbitrarily divided world. But on July 15, 2025, I talked to Congress on Capitol Hill— and ever since, part of me has changed my mind.

I never thought I would be “good enough” to speak to members of Congress at my nation’s capital. But when STF staff member Kate Lord encouraged me to apply to the Global Campaign for Education-United States’ (GCE-US) Youth Advocate program—and I got in—I started to realize that maybe I was.

My paternal grandfather grew up in a low-income family with a single mother in Brazil. He was the first in his family to earn a college degree—one in civil engineering that just so happened to break that cycle of intergenerational poverty. He married my grandmother, who was also the first in her family to graduate from college. Together, they raised a children’s psychologist, a lawyer, and my dad—a data scientist. Now, my brother and I will be the third generation to graduate from college.

Because of that one degree, we have warm beds and full plates. It was a no-brainer when my maternal grandfather moved from Nicaragua to Brazil for school,  or when my parents moved from Brazil to the U.S. so my dad could grow a career, or when we moved from Washington to Texas so my dyslexic brother could attend an accessible school. We know the value of an education.

That was the story I told to the offices of seven U.S. senators and representatives—Keith Self, Mike Simpson, Robert Garcia, Mike Crapo, Alex Padilla, and Adam Schiff—as I advocated for American support of international basic education.

GCE-US’s 2025 Youth Advocates program brings young people to Capitol Hill to lobby for global education. In groups of youth with an accompanying adult, we pitched three priorities to legislative assistants: 1) funding for international basic education, 2) foreign assistance for children, and 3) participation in the Basic Education Caucus.

I was in awe of my team. Alongside me was Disability Justice advocate Helena Donato Sapp, who has four non-apparent learning disabilities, grew up bullied, and, like my family, her family spent years trying to find an accessible school. Refugee rights advocate Divine Irakoze shared how she grew up in a refugee camp in Malawi after her parents fled the Burundi civil war in 1994. She talked about how she recalls school meant sitting on rocks under trees and having fellow refugees as their teachers. We were guided by GCE-US executive director Giulia McPherson—a total sweetheart and one sharp leader.

After advocacy day, GCE-US asked us advocates to fill out a simple, short reflection form. But one question struck me: “What did you learn during Advocacy Day that you wish more people knew?” For me, the answer was simple: you matter.

First, you matter because your voice is valuable. She's the First has said it, and I’ll say it again: we are experts of our own communities. You don’t need to be a UN ambassador or global revolutionary to deserve a seat at the table. Your lived experience, girl expertise, local advocacy, and rockstar feminine confidence are enough.

“You don’t need to be a UN ambassador or global revolutionary to deserve a seat at the table. Your lived experience, girl expertise, local advocacy, and rockstar feminine confidence are enough.”

And second—despite frequent legislation that implies otherwise—there are people who care that you matter. As a clinically anxious, depressed, and sometimes passively suicidal teenager, as a queer person, and as the daughter of Latinx immigrants—it is so easy to feel utterly hopeless about the future. To feel that the entire world wants your downfall. But that’s not the truth. Right now, there are vast swaths of people doing everything they can to protect you. We even met some staffers who explicitly said our stories affirmed the work they were doing for education in the first place. When we stopped by a House committee meeting on the 2026 Appropriations Bill, we saw powerful, fierce people—including women—defend foreign assistance and the power of the purse. Even when we feel small, I promise: we are bigger than you can imagine. And we will not stop until you are safe. Stay here. Keep on going.

“Even when we feel small, I promise: we are bigger than you can imagine. And we will not stop until you are safe. Stay here. Keep on going.”

I still believe the powerful hurt this world. They have done it before and they are doing it now. After all, they are why organizations like She's the First and Global Campaign for Education need to exist. But I also believe that I—and the Helenas, Divines, Giulas, fervor-filled congresspeople, and passionate legislative interns— refuse to go down without a fight. Together, our presence is prominent and our demands undeniable.

I am Powerful

By Saraswoti Puri, Anita Thapa, Jamuna Karki, Pasang Sherpa, Dolma Sherpa, Salina Basnet, Furwa Sherpa, Muna Tamang at our partner The Small World in Nepal

In every breath, a spark ignites,
within my soul, where power alights.
Through trials faced and battles won,
I stand resilient, a force begun.

In every word, a thunderous roar,
Echoes of strength, forevermore
with courage, coursing through my veins,
I conquer fears, break free from chains.

In every step, a quake beneath.
As mountains move with my belief.
I am the architect of destiny’s flight,
Guiding my path with unwavering might

In every heartbeat, a symphony, 
of resilience, of possibility.
For in my being power resides,
A force unstoppable, where dreams collide. 

I am powerful, a force untamed,
infinite potential, never to be tamed.
With every breath, every pulse, every stride,
I am powerful, I shall never hide.