Human Security
We support communities in the struggles of and attainment of their basic rights for human security including the right to health, the right to education, the right to work, the right to livelihood, and the right to freedom. Our efforts focus on supporting our partners in their struggle of basic human rights. We see community leadership and empowerment as fundamental drivers for upholding human rights by holding governments and institutions accountable to the people.
Some subthemes in this area include basic human rights such as the right to health, right to work, right to livelihood; the Guatemalan government’s response to COVID-19 and hurricane affected communities; ongoing militarization of the country; feminicide; as well as threats, intimidation and violence against human rights defenders.
Related posts about security
2026 Dalhousie Fieldschool to Guatemala: Day 10
By Rojette Asingayan On our tenth day of the delegation, we had a slower and later morning than usual. While some headed for breakfast on foot, the others took the van. It was really cool seeing a bit of what the everyday-life looked like for the locals of Mataquescuintla. For [...]
2026 Dalhousie Fieldschool to Guatemala: Day 9
By Tek Omod We started the day with an early breakfast before heading out at 7:30 a.m. for the three-hour drive to Mataquescuintla. Along the way, we stopped at a mine blockage, where community members shared their work. Many of them volunteered their time to monitor and control the petroleum [...]
2026 Dalhousie Fieldschool to Guatemala: Day 8
By Roda Obang We started off our morning with breakfast. This was our last meal at IMAP. During breakfast all of us were discussing how great it was at IMAP! After breakfast, we gathered together and Javier gave a lesson on Maya cosmovision dates. He began by reviewing the sacred [...]
2026 Dalhousie Fieldschool to Guatemala: Day 7
By Amélie Charbonneau We started the day off with a beautiful breakfast of cut up watermelon and cantaloupe, banana pancakes (our favourite), and some Greek yogurt with fresh cut fruit. Afterward we headed to the Nahual circle for our daily lesson on the Maya calendar. Today’s day was 8 E [...]
2026 Dalhousie Fieldschool to Guatemala: Day 6
By Maggie Zinck Today we drove to Santiago Atitlán by truck to meet with a Maya activist named Dolores Ratzan for the day. Our group paid respects to the shrine of Maximón, a folk saint in the Maya-Catholic tradition. Maximón is represented as a wooden effigy where offerings such as [...]
2026 Dalhousie Fieldschool to Guatemala: Day 5
By Suzan Nyazungu We started the morning reflecting on the energy of the day with Inés, who explained that each Nahwal is associated with a different animal and today’s animal was the dog. The characteristics connected to the dog include loyalty, protection, guidance, and leadership. She also shared how today [...]