Manuela is 24 and the second oldest of four siblings. She lives in Pasac, Sololá and helps her family with crops and housework. Her father works as a day laborer for other landowners earning $35 per month.  Manuela is in her second year at University Panamericana, studying social work. She is the first in her family to study at the university level and one of the first women in the region to do so.