Guatemala

I just got back from a six week trip to Guatemala and I visited a bunch of NGOs that have really stuck in my mind. 

If you feel like supporting any spectacular organizations I have a lot that I love.

Two that really touched my heart are Safe Passage or Camino Seguro and Chico Mendez.

Chico Mendez is a one-man reforestation project in a town called Pachaj, near Xela, the second biggest city in Guate. His project started out with two other men, but the government sent mercenaries to try to kill them after they spoke out repeatedly against the government and the other two men abandoned the project. Now, Armando collects and plants seeds, cares for the seedlings and then plants them in the mountains around his village with just the help of his family and any outside volunteers like my group. Armando has also continued to speak out against his government for its unfair treatment to the Mayan people, focusing  on the negative effects of the Montana mining company which the government has allowed to continue working despite legitimate votes by the villages to force them to leave. He had many sayings and stories to tell our group, but his whole outlook on life centered around his idea that trees are man's best friend. They give them everything they need in life, and because of this, every man should plant a tree with the birth of a new child so that their child will have a friend to protect them and provide for them throughout their life. Unfortunately at this point, Armando is trying to plant enough trees for all of those people who don't follow his thinking. This year was his hardest financially, and even with the amount of determination he has, he considered closing up shop this year, when he couldn't even pay for the bus to take his kids to school at some points. If you want to help Armando, feel free to leave me a note and I'll get you in contact!

The other organization is Safe Passage. It's such a huge project I can't really try to describe the whole thing here. Basically, they work with children who's parents work at the municipal dump in Guatemala City to give them a safe place to be a kid and to learn. They have the main project, the tudor center where they have extra classes, homework help, a meal plan, a health clinic and many more things. They have a new nursery where children who are too young to go to the tudor center can go during the day and they are taught in a Montessori style. Then they have the mother's literacy center and their jewelry making project. But it's all so much more than I could describe here! The most impressive thing was that this was started only nine years ago by an average woman who decided something needed to be done for those children and already it has become one of the most effective and efficient organizations I've visited. If you want more information on the organization, volunteering or sponsoring a child look at the Safe Passage website or again, feel free to contact me!

Basically I love Guatemala and all of the people i met and lived with there and I want everyone else to love them too!