The Santa Clara Scholarship Program

In 2011, Ricardo’s daughters, Bel (who has a degree in Special Education) and Katia, founded the Santa Clara Scholarship Program. This scholarship supports Santa Clara’s employees with their children’s education, with the aim of helping the next generation learn and improve their job prospects. This is particularly important to the Zelaya family, as many children in Guatemala are forced to stop going to school early because the cost of school fees, and associated necessities like school uniforms, are unaffordable for their families. “My Dad has always seen education as the best way to help someone,” Bel told us. “Give someone a pair of shoes, when those shoes wear out they’re back to square one. But your education is something no one can take away from you.”
 

Since its inception, the Santa Clara Scholarship Program has helped over 60 students; there are currently 43 students being sponsored. These students receive money for tuition fees, uniforms and schoolbooks, as well as the opportunity to participate in weekly workshops that focus on important complementary tools, such as public speaking, resumé writing and interview skills.

In 2019, the Santa Clara Foundation was finally given formal non-profit status. The Zelaya family’s dream is for the program to continue its success and expand to include all the children whose parents work on the farm, as well as children from surrounding communities.
 

Market Lane has been contributing to the Santa Clara Scholarship Program every year since 2014, through a combination of funds raised by our public cuppings (in Prahran and Brunswick) and some of our ticketed Wholesale events, and via direct donation. To date, we’ve donated over $12,000 to the program.

Recently, one of the first students we sponsored through the program, Guadalupe (also known as Lupita), graduated from university, with a double major in Law and Education. Lupita is the daughter of long-time farm administrator, Marco Rompiche, whose family has worked with the Zelayas for three generations (Marco himself has been with the farm for 25 years). As Bel put it, “The Rompiche family is as much a part of Santa Clara as the Zelaya family.”

Lupita’s aim is to work in the legal department of Guatemala’s public education system so she can improve the future for the youth in her country. We deeply admire Lupita’s hard work and dedication, and the scholarship program’s support of her educational goals.  

To learn more about the fantastic Santa Clara Scholarship Program, head to the Zelaya family’s website.