Bryan, youngest of all our Adopt-a-Village volunteers, is a six-year old Guatemalan-born boy who lives with his American family in South Carolina. Though small in size, he is big in raising funds to help impoverished children in his birth country, recently raising $974 by selling Mayan handicrafts and baked goods at a local fair.
It all began with the annual “international peace project,” an educational program at his Montessori school intended to build awareness of poverty and need in developing countries. Bryan decided he wanted to sponsor a boy his age through Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala. It would be up to him to raise the funds. And raise the funds he did! He not only earned the $225 fee, but an additional $749.
As with millions of Guatemalan children suffering from chronic malnutrition, Bryan, too, knew hunger and poverty as a toddler. His donation will go directly to combating malnutrition in a remote region of northwestern Guatemala. His monies are being designated to Adopt-a-Village’s bold new initiative—a regional bio-intensive garden program. Families, with the aid of our organization, will grow organic calorie crops (grains and root vegetables, such as sweet potatoes) to offset the extreme hunger in the area. Guatemala has the highest level of malnutrition in the Americas, and fifth highest in the world, according to United Nations statistics. In this region, hunger is the standard for most indigenous children. They suffer from low daily nutritional intake to outright malnutrition which stunts them physically and mentally. Some, notably orphans and children of widows and single mothers, eat only every other day.
And for Bryan, he now has a new little Guatemalan friend, José. Through their friendship, he will stay connected to his Guatemalan heritage. The two boys will exchange photos and drawings, and later write to one another when they are older.
Bryan, you are amazing, and thank you!
Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala is a small, grassroots non-profit that works with remote villages in the rugged northwestern highlands region. This is an area of extreme poverty with few public services or other forms of assistance. AAV partners with leaders of these Mayan villages to build a more promising and sustainable future for their children by providing education and other critical support. Adopt-a-Village also helps adopted children from Guatemala connect with their cultural heritage by fundraising to support and by writing to another child in Guatemala. You can see more about our work at www.adoptavillage.com.
Written by, Frances Dixon, Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala
Photo Credit: Adoptavillage.com
