Maya-Mam Association for Research and Development.
Vision
To be a community expression of struggle, which promotes to reach the good living of the Maya Mam people from Comitancillo.
Mission
We contribute to reach the good living of the Maya Mam people from Comitancillo, by strengthening their cultural identity and their technical and political capabilities.
History
The history of the AMMID association dates back to the year of 1,976 when the earthquake that affected our country significantly, the family of Tomhas Grauman and Wendy Neander representing the organization named Partisans People of Canada arrived in the country with a brigade to support those affected; during their stay in Guatemala, they met Nicolasa Cardona Mauricio from the village of Taltimiche who invited them to visit Comitancillo and thus the friendship and collaborative relationship were born.
In 1992, the Partisans People organization of Canada, through Adriana Wiebe and Arturo Ávila, began its intervention in the municipality of Comitancillo, through the implementation of a training and community development program for leaders of the communities. The program included five work areas, which are:
- Productive and Promotion Projects for Women,
- Sustainable Organic Agriculture,
- Ethnographic Research,
- Popular Education and
- Technical Support for Infrastructure Projects.
The simplicity, kindness and human quality of Adriana Wiebe and Arturo Ávila were determining factors to achieve the friendship of the people from Comitancillo and thus promote an important historical process in Comitancillo. As a result of this process and with the support of Mrs. Nicolasa Cardona, Isabel Miranda and Rubén Feliciano, a group of women was formed called: “Asociación Comiteca de Mujeres Mames”, as a pioneer organization of Mames women organized in the Municipality of Comitancillo, San Marcos composed of eighty-four women, promoting the participation of Comitecan women and improving their standard of living.
In 1993, the nascent women's association formed groups of farmers from other communities that gave the association a mixed nature and an inclusive vision.
For the year 1,995, the retreat of Partisans People from the municipality of Comitancillo was envisaged and the problem of extreme poverty and the massive migration on the coffee and cotton farms of the inhabitants of Comitancillo was envisaged as a result of the exclusion and marginalization of the Guatemalan State and also in the face of the need to strengthen and follow up on the organizational processes already initiated, the decision was made to establish a representative association of the communities of the Mam people of this town, called the Maya-Mam Association for Research and Development AMMID. The idea of founding AMMID was born from Rubén Feliciano Pérez with the motivation of leaders trained and organized in the communities. For the management and legal constitution of AMMID, the vision and struggle of Rubén Feliciano Pérez was decisive, who from the beginning was involved in the actions initiated by Partisans People of Canada and showed social commitment and strategic vision to see a different Comitancillo. In this historical process of constitution of AMMID, the accompaniment and support of Adriana Wiebe, Arturo Ávila, Serapio Coronado, RIP Carlos Pascual and RIP Eberardo Feliciano Pérez were important.
In 1997, with the advice of Legal and Social Services -SERJUS- of Guatemala city, specifically Mr. Lázaro García, the Legal Personality of AMMID was achieved through Ministerial Agreement No. 373-97.
The leaders who signed the Constitution of the association were: Jacinto Ramírez y Ramírez and Otilia Magdalena García Gabriel from Chamaque, Victoria Aguilón Crisóstomo and Cruz Jiménez Gabriel from Taltimiche, Olga Agustín Aguilón from Los Bujes, Aida Ileana Témaj Feliciano from Chicajalaj, Micaela Marroquín López from Ixmoco, Delia Orozco López from Chixal, Luis Pérez Zacarias RIP from San José Frontera, Virginia Miranda Berdúo RIP from San Pablo, Nicolasa López García from Molino Viejo, María Julia Pérez Gómez from San Isidro and Roselia Feliciano Salvador from El Eden". The name of other people that although they were not signatories of the Act of Constitution, were important for the constitution of AMMID: María Eulalia Jiménez, Nicolasa Cardona Mauricio and Isabel Miranda from Taltimiche, Lucila Navarro Velásquez of San Pedro Sacatepéquez, Máxima Agustín Félix from Ixmoco, Natalia López García from Molino Viejo, Aurelia Ramírez López from Chamaque, Petrona Miranda López from Ixmoco, Josefina Salvador from Cantón San Pablo.
With the withdrawal of the support of the organization Partisans People in 2003, AMMID suffered the biggest institutional crisis in its history, as it was left without financial support and added to its weak capacity in the management processes, for 2 years, it was almost inactive. During this period of crisis, Rubén Feliciano with the support of the Board of Directors on a voluntary basis and ah honorem continued to lead AMMID looking for some support to overcome the crisis. At the end of 2003, a group of volunteers from Canada called Friends of AMMID, whose liaison was Mr. Arturo Avila, he got a small fund, but decisive for the process of management and identification of some sources of support. In early 2004, thanks to Mr. Erwin Rabanales de Santa Lucía Milpas Altas, Sacatepéquez, he contacted Rubio Caballeros, official project of Dan ChurchaAid for the start of AMMID's institutional relationship with this organization. Mr. Erwin Rabanales and Rubio Caballeros in 1996 had come to carry out a study on the peasantry in Comitancillo through Avancso, so that this background and the friendship that Rubén Feliciano continued to maintain facilitated communication. In July 2004, AMMID's institutional relationship with DCA was initiated through a pilot project and laid the foundation for a crucial milestone in the life of AMMID that ended the institutional crisis.
During the years of intervention, the AMMID association has had the following presidents: Jacinto Ramírez and Ramírez, period 1995-1998, Isabel Miranda Aguilón period 1998-2001, Bertila Violeta Ramírez and Ramírez period 2001-2004, Estanislao Jiménez García period 2004-2008 , Aurelia Ramírez López period 2008-2010, Juan Crisóstomo period 2010-2012, Carmelita Ramírez Velásquez period 2012-2016 and María Magdalena Velásquez Marroquín period 2016 to 2020.
During its years of operation, AMMID has had the support, advice and financial cooperation from Partisans People, Canada; Change For Children, Canada, Stoves for Guatemala EPG of Canada, Bank of Grains of Canada CFGB, PWS&D of Canada, Dan ChurchaAid of Denmark, Broederlik Delen of Belgium, Fastenopfer of Switzerland, Norwegian Development Fund FDN, Canadian Center for Studies and International Cooperation -CECI-, Guatemala, through its FDD Democratic Development Fund, Peace Corps Guatemala and GlobeMed of the United States.
