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SemAnahuac

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Areas of expertise & Fields of activity:	Economic and Social: Children Culture Decolonization Education Family Human Rights Indigenous Peoples Youth Gender Issues and Advancement of Women: Education and training of women Human rights of women Indigenous women Men and boys The girl child Public Administration: Knowledge Systems and E-government
Geographic scope:	International
Country of activity:	Guatemala Mexico United States of America El Salvador
Millennium Development Goals:	Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Develop global partnership for development
Mission statement:	SemAnahuac (‘Semillas’) is a social safety net for children at risk of disenfranchisement and social marginalization through community-based self-determination. Increasingly, the children Semillas serves are at risk of family separation through forcible deportation, incarceration and death. Over 90 percent of Semillas students live in poverty. The majority of Semillas students reside in communities with the highest gang violence rates in the city of Los Angeles. Semillas is a non-governmental, community-based, educational organization led by Indigenous Mexican educators whose mission is to promote academic excellence rooted in the cultural and intellectual heritage of Indigenous Peoples and the advancement of social justice. Semillas Community Schools is a non-profit community-based educational organization committed to founding and sustaining high quality charter schools in East Los Angeles. Semillas currently operates two schools; Xinaxcalmecac Academia Semillas del Pueblo for grades kinder through eighth and Anahuacalmecac International University Preparatory High School of North America for grades ninth through twelfth. Our schools are dedicated to serving disadvantaged children, children at risk of gang membership, and children at risk of cultural alienation in mainstream schools, in particular Native youth. We seek to cultivate wise, community-engaged and internationally-minded youth ready to assume leadership and champion their communities’ causes. Beyond the minimal standard of instruction, Semillas aims to meet the rigor of internationally recognized rights of children, and Indigenous Peoples as proclaimed by the United Nations through cultural relevance and parental empowerment. Almost one hundred percent of the over four hundred Semillas students are Indigenous children of Mexican origin whose parents have migrated to Los Angeles in the hopes of finding a better future. The community where the majority of Semillas students reside has one of the highest gang violence rates in the city, making prison an all too common prospect. Public schools Semillas’ students would otherwise attend have alarming drop out rates of over 60 percent. Of those that are fortunate to graduate, less than five percent attend four-year universities. Semillas believes that community-based education can reverse the marginalization so ingrained in the City’s reality. Semillas organizes a community sanctuary where our children find support and hope. Semillas is setting an international standard of education for Los Angeles where students strive to become internationally-minded, culturally-sensitive community members. Beyond the minimal standard of instruction, Semillas aims to meet the rigor of internationally recognized rights of children, and Indigenous Peoples as proclaimed by the United Nations through cultural relevance and parental empowerment. Semillas is decisively paving the way for university success on the international stage for students in our communities. Semillas provides a haven for students to cultivate intellectual and social potential to become our communities’ future doctors, lawyers and educators. Moreover, Semillas organizes parents to be informed and proactive in their children’s education. Semillas is particularly sensitive to students with special needs, offering individualized instruction and a caring environment to support all learners. In a city with the largest concentration of Indigenous Peoples in the United States, Semillas is the only school in Los Angeles that teaches an Indigenous language, Nahuatl, which is the most-spoken Indigenous language in the Americas.
Year established:	2002
Year of registration:	2002
Number and type of members:	500-1000
Affiliation with NGO networks:	Indigenous Peoples
Funding structure:	Grants from Governments Other sources Funds from other Non-Governmental Organizations Donations and grants from domestic sources

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