A Discussion with Werner Lopez, Director of Financial Resources, Rafael Landívar University, Guatemala City, Guatemala
With: Werner Lopez Berkley Center Profile
May 27, 2015
Background: As
part of the Education and Social Justice Project, in May 2015 student Nicolas
Lake interviewed Werner Lopez, director of financial resources at Rafael
Landívar University (Universidad Rafael Landívar). In this interview, Lopez talks about the structure of the
Development with Justice scholarship program, as well as its successes and
challenges.
Can you explain the
structure of the Development with Justice program?
Sure, the program has four parts. First is the infrastructure. The program funded the construction of regional campuses, including all the buildings and classrooms, because if the university has better infrastructure, it can offer more to the students. Second is the improvement in the educational offerings. We sought to train professors better and give them more access to technology and the resources they need. Third are the scholarships. We’re looking for students from low economic levels that live in poor places and normally don’t have access to an educational opportunity. The idea is to give them an opportunity to study and that they will help bring about the changes the country needs. Fourth is improved access to the justice system. We work with the law department; law students need to get practice in real situations, and we also need people to work with those who don’t have access to a lawyer.
Why does the program target women and indigenous peoples in particular?
Historically this country hasn’t given many opportunities to women and indigenous peoples. In the history of the country, access to universities has been very difficult for women and indigenous peoples. Severe discrimination and racism exists. The woman is always seen as the person of the house. The man works, and the woman stays in the house. This program gives access to women who have been discriminated against. It gives opportunity to people who have been marginalized.
What have been the successes of the program?
We consider the program a big success, because it’s had an impact in a clear and measurable way. We’ve built beautiful regional campuses; we’ve had a special impact on students who hope to work on justice related issues. We’re talking about students who have transformed their lives through this program. We hope that the opportunity we’ve given to the students through the scholarships, and with all the support they provide, that these students can change Guatemala.
What have been the challenges or difficulties of the program?
We have had students who have had problems keeping up with the schoolwork. For whatever reason—either economic, familial, work-related—sometimes students have to drop out or repeat years. All those lost scholarships are lost money and students.
Is there something you can do to make sure students don’t drop out in the future?
I’m not sure. We make sure that all the students have tutors, who are people that help them, accompany them, and ask them how it’s going with their classes and home life. We have two tutors at each regional site, working to make sure all the scholarship students are doing well. One of the problems is that we work in the areas that are filled with social conflict. Sometime students’ families run into economic difficulties, and we have students with problems in their communities; these things all affect their studies.
Do you think the structure of the university, with a central campus and regional sites, is designed as an act of charity or as social justice?
After KfW [development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau] financed and equipped the campuses, they told us to maintain them. All the buildings, gardens, security features, and land need to be taken care of. There [in the regional campuses] the students only study on Fridays and Saturdays, and the rest of the week, there’s nothing. Obviously, then, it’s difficult to achieve sustainability. But, here’s what we’re trying to do. As Christians, we seek a society that doesn’t exclude anyone, without discrimination and racism. And through this project, we’re trying to include everyone in society, including the discriminated.
Do you believe the university should do more in the name of its Jesuit mission or tradition?
I believe the university is completing its mission as a Jesuit university. We do work that focuses on social protection. The university always gets more and more focused on the politics of the country. For instance, the university has been very attentive to the present crisis. We’re watching to see how our democracy works. Guatemala is missing a lot of things, but this university has prestige; it’s well-known and carries weight with its viewpoints and actions.
Why does the Development with Justice scholarship work in the locations it does and not different ones?
Along with KfW, we prioritized the west, because it’s an area where the poverty level is very high and there’s a large indigenous population, so we thought that our work could have a lot of impact in that section of the country. The other places we work have the highest levels of malnutrition, along with high rates of indigenous population and poverty.
What do you think will be the greatest difficulties in the future for the program?
We’re already designing the next phase of the project, because we don’t think it should end, and the results from the second phase have been good, so thanks to our good relationship with the Germans we’re going to have another project. If right now we have 400 scholarships, we’re thinking about doubling that, maybe getting up to 1,000 scholarships. Infrastructure also needs to continue being built in some places. We’re also thinking of having a new area called “community formation,” where we could assist the population through certain workshops that have information they need, on health care, human rights, whatever subject, and not necessarily for university students. That’s just one idea we have.
Sure, the program has four parts. First is the infrastructure. The program funded the construction of regional campuses, including all the buildings and classrooms, because if the university has better infrastructure, it can offer more to the students. Second is the improvement in the educational offerings. We sought to train professors better and give them more access to technology and the resources they need. Third are the scholarships. We’re looking for students from low economic levels that live in poor places and normally don’t have access to an educational opportunity. The idea is to give them an opportunity to study and that they will help bring about the changes the country needs. Fourth is improved access to the justice system. We work with the law department; law students need to get practice in real situations, and we also need people to work with those who don’t have access to a lawyer.
Why does the program target women and indigenous peoples in particular?
Historically this country hasn’t given many opportunities to women and indigenous peoples. In the history of the country, access to universities has been very difficult for women and indigenous peoples. Severe discrimination and racism exists. The woman is always seen as the person of the house. The man works, and the woman stays in the house. This program gives access to women who have been discriminated against. It gives opportunity to people who have been marginalized.
What have been the successes of the program?
We consider the program a big success, because it’s had an impact in a clear and measurable way. We’ve built beautiful regional campuses; we’ve had a special impact on students who hope to work on justice related issues. We’re talking about students who have transformed their lives through this program. We hope that the opportunity we’ve given to the students through the scholarships, and with all the support they provide, that these students can change Guatemala.
What have been the challenges or difficulties of the program?
We have had students who have had problems keeping up with the schoolwork. For whatever reason—either economic, familial, work-related—sometimes students have to drop out or repeat years. All those lost scholarships are lost money and students.
Is there something you can do to make sure students don’t drop out in the future?
I’m not sure. We make sure that all the students have tutors, who are people that help them, accompany them, and ask them how it’s going with their classes and home life. We have two tutors at each regional site, working to make sure all the scholarship students are doing well. One of the problems is that we work in the areas that are filled with social conflict. Sometime students’ families run into economic difficulties, and we have students with problems in their communities; these things all affect their studies.
Do you think the structure of the university, with a central campus and regional sites, is designed as an act of charity or as social justice?
After KfW [development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau] financed and equipped the campuses, they told us to maintain them. All the buildings, gardens, security features, and land need to be taken care of. There [in the regional campuses] the students only study on Fridays and Saturdays, and the rest of the week, there’s nothing. Obviously, then, it’s difficult to achieve sustainability. But, here’s what we’re trying to do. As Christians, we seek a society that doesn’t exclude anyone, without discrimination and racism. And through this project, we’re trying to include everyone in society, including the discriminated.
Do you believe the university should do more in the name of its Jesuit mission or tradition?
I believe the university is completing its mission as a Jesuit university. We do work that focuses on social protection. The university always gets more and more focused on the politics of the country. For instance, the university has been very attentive to the present crisis. We’re watching to see how our democracy works. Guatemala is missing a lot of things, but this university has prestige; it’s well-known and carries weight with its viewpoints and actions.
Why does the Development with Justice scholarship work in the locations it does and not different ones?
Along with KfW, we prioritized the west, because it’s an area where the poverty level is very high and there’s a large indigenous population, so we thought that our work could have a lot of impact in that section of the country. The other places we work have the highest levels of malnutrition, along with high rates of indigenous population and poverty.
What do you think will be the greatest difficulties in the future for the program?
We’re already designing the next phase of the project, because we don’t think it should end, and the results from the second phase have been good, so thanks to our good relationship with the Germans we’re going to have another project. If right now we have 400 scholarships, we’re thinking about doubling that, maybe getting up to 1,000 scholarships. Infrastructure also needs to continue being built in some places. We’re also thinking of having a new area called “community formation,” where we could assist the population through certain workshops that have information they need, on health care, human rights, whatever subject, and not necessarily for university students. That’s just one idea we have.
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