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Cooperant update: Commemoration and Convivir
By: Meara Donovan, BTS cooperant (2026) At 5:30 a.m., students and teachers began to show up at the New Hope Foundation's (FNE) office in Rabinal. Motorcycle after motorcycle of shockingly un-sleepy teenagers roared up to the huddles of students, teachers, and guests invited to the February 13th ceremony commemorating the [...]
Cooperant update: The sacred fire deserves respect too
By: Meara Donovan, BTS cooperant (2026) At the New Hope Foundation (FNE), spirituality is ever present. It is not separate, but rather interwoven with every aspect of learning at the Centro Educativo Comunitario Bilingue Intercultural (CECBI). ⁂ This morning, alarm clocks went off at 4:30 a.m. for teachers at the [...]
Intern update: From curiosity to connection: Witnessing justice in Rabinal
By: Nitya Ramírez, BTS intern (2025) I returned from Rabinal a month ago, but in many ways I am still there. Four months is not a long time in the abstract. But it is long enough to build routines, to learn people’s names, to recognize faces on the street, to [...]
Guatemala’s current gang crisis: What are the political implications?
On January 17th, chaos erupted in Guatemala’s prison system when members of the Barrio 18 gang rioted in three different prisons (Renovación I, Fraijanes 2 and el Preventivo de la Zona 18) and took 46 people hostage. Prison authorities and police were eventually able to regain control of the situation [...]
Interested in an international internship in 2026? Apply to be a BTS Intern!
Former BTS Interns working with our partners at the Mesoamerican Permaculture Institute, the New Hope Foundation, and the Rabinal Community Legal Clinic. Apply to be a BTS Intern Applications for the Atlantic Council for International Cooperation’s (ACIC) International Youth Internship Program will open in early February — and BTS [...]
Important BTS update
Dear BTS friends and supporters, Warm greetings on behalf of the Breaking the Silence Community Council. We are writing to you now because many of you will have received a letter from Tatamagouche Centre, indicating the need to pause programming and recognizing major financial challenges which may necessitate permanent closure [...]
Intern update: The hands that feed us: Reflections from my time in Guatemala
I came to Guatemala for a placement connected to rural and Indigenous agriculture, and although my time with the Campesino Committee of the Highlands (CCDA) gave me a starting point, most of what I learned came directly from the farmers and community members themselves. It was in their fields, kitchens, [...]
Intern update: Walking away from anonymity – Rabinal, CECBI, and the Maya Cosmovision
Anonymity doesn’t really exist here in the way I’ve come to know it growing up in Canadian cities. Rabinal boasts a vibrant sense of community. Sometimes it feels like everyone knows each other, a fact which can be both beautiful and overwhelming. Connecting with one person means connecting with their [...]
Intern update: La curiosidad mató al gato?
As I sit here reflecting on my time in Rabinal with a cup of sweet black coffee in hand listening to the cacophony of roosters, there is one word that comes to mind as emblematic of my experience: curiosity. It’s hard to believe how quickly the 88 days since my [...]
Intern update: Macho Creek – More than a century of resistance
The Q'eqchi' families living along the coastal stretch of Izabal in Eastern Guatemala have been here for over a century. Census records from 1913 document their presence, though their roots go back even further. This land is not just a political issue or a legal battle. It's home. It's where [...]