Some people may not understand my desire to give back to Guatemala, the country of my daughter’s birth. For me it is fairly simple and straightforward: I have a remarkable little girl in my life thanks to the country of Guatemala allowing adoptions to take place. For that I will be eternally grateful.

I’ve mentioned before that when you adopt a child, you adopt a country: politically, physically, emotionally, spiritually, and if you choose, financially as well. Well, I’ve finally decided how I’m going to give back financially.

Although there are many renowned charitable organizations and NGOs around the world, I chose not to go with any of them because often less than 10 cents out of every dollar you donate reaches the source it was intended for. However, there are some organizations that are not well known but do amazing things for people in Guatemala. One of these organizations is “Mayan Families.” At Mayan Families every dollar donated goes to fund a worthwhile project.

I researched Mayan Families after reading hearing about it from my “epal” Carla who also adopted a little girl from Guatemala. I was more than satisfied with the information I obtained. Mayan Families is run by devoted, down to earth, compassionate, organized and intelligent volunteers who are making a difference one child at a time and one family at a time.

Here is their mission statement:

Hello, we are the volunteers of Mayan Families and we are living in the highlands of the Lake Atitlan area in the small town of Panajachel, Guatemala, Central America. With your assistance we are making small miracles happen each day in peoples’ lives: One child at a time - One Family at a time. Every dollar donated goes to fund our many worthwhile projects. We work within the Indigenous Mayan Communities on projects ranging from enrolling and keeping kids, especially girls, in school, helping single parent families deal with HIV/AIDS, Malnutrition, Basic Health Care, Organizing Medical and Dental Clinics, Animal Rescue and so much more. MayanFamilies.org provides assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters. We do so irrespective of race, creed or religion. Our projects are varied but because we have lived and been involved with indigenous community life in Guatemala for many years we find ourselves able to respond in a personal way to the immediate and actual needs as they appear. We need your help, prayers and assistance!

I am delighted to report that our family is going to be sponsoring a young girl so that she can attend school. She is 10 years old and in the second grade. With us donating a mere $110 a year, she will be able to continue her education.

I believe that the only way to make long term changes in the lives of the poor and indigenous population of Guatemala (or anywhere for that matter) is through education. Donating money to put a child through school is a wonderful commitment to making one little person’s life a little better.

When Ella is a little older we will begin traveling to Guatemala on a regular basis; I plan on doing volunteer work while Ella gets to know her birth country’s culture, people and language. I get excited just thinking about it. Maybe we’ll even get to meet our sponsored student one day. My sister sponsored a young girl in Kenya for several years, and has finally met her while doing volunteer work there. It is a small world after all!

I don’t get any “kick backs” for advertising about Mayan Families. I told Sharon Smart-Poage that I would be talking about Mayan Families on my blog and she thanked me profusely; she never approached me to say a word.

Go read the information on their website; I promise you will be moved to do something, however small, for the people of Guatemala.


Links you might find interesting:

Skills development in Guatemala.
Organizations working in Guatemala
Charity Navigator: all you ever wanted to know about charities

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