GIVINGTUESDAY PROMOTES GENDER EQUALITY IN RURAL GUATEMALA

about COVID-19 and the vaccine, including videos for preg‐nant or lactating mothers and about the vaccine and that their children should receive it. I was also part of the videos of the Adolescent Health program where we were interviewing the participants to raise funds. At the moment, we are working on videos where we talk about contraceptive methods. The videos that I loved producing were when we inter‐viewed the teens and their parents inside their homes; we got to know our participants more, and they told us their expe‐riences and the knowledge they got from the program without any hesitancy. I was also surprised about how open the parents were and the way they supported us. Can you see the positive impact these videos have had on the community? Yes, because many people don’t have access to good informa‐tion, especially in Mayan languages. I’ve heard positive com‐ments from friends and relatives saying that our videos were sources of valuable information for them. The videos are very important since we, as promoters, when giving a talk, can only share information with eight to ten people at a time because of our COVID safety protocols, but when a video is published, thousands of people can see it at once and thus we are able to transmit the information to a wider audience. Why is it important to share information in this medium (videos produced in Tz'utujil and Spanish) compared to sharing information through text? I think it’s important to make videos inTz'utujilbecause in the community most people understand this language. We also take into account that in parts of Guatemala some people only speak Spanish and it’s important that these videos reach more communities in addition to San Pablo and San Juan La Laguna so we always add Spanish subtitles. I think it’s easier to transmit information orally and through videos because now most people have a cell phone, and most have access to the internet and they pay more attention when information is transmitted orally. I also think that we need to keep in mind that some people can't read so the only way for them to receive this informa‐tion would be through this medium. What has been the response of your family and friends to your videos? My family and friends support me and have encouraged me to be able to work on these videos. When I started, I had no knowledge of filmmaking, but my family members encour‐aged me by telling me that no one is born knowing every‐thing; we learn new things every day in life and every day we have new experiences. Anything else you want to add? I am grateful to ODIM for this opportunity and for trusting me personally. I’m grateful to the people who gave me their support and shared their knowledge and I’m very happy to be part of the creation of these videos that are so important to the community.

#GivingTuesday Promotes Gender Equality in Rural Guatemala

This year ODIM Launched a #GivingTuesday cam‐paign for Gender Equality to support our Adolescent Health program. As part of our campaign, we filmed and produced videos with adolescent participants and their family members and launched an extensive social media campaign to share important statistics on the need for comprehensive sexual health education in Guatemala. Thanks to the hard work of our Adolescent Health team, the participation of students and their families, and the loving support of our network of donors, we are excited to announce that this campaign raised over $17,000 in sup‐port of Gender Equality in rural Guatemala! Check out our videos on Facebook @ODIMGuate