If you have thought of gathering a group of people and coming to help, please do and let us know so we can reserve your spot. Here is the letter we recently composed to send to team members. Maybe it will help get you psyched up to come and help. We have a medical team here now and I will be posting some of their pictures some.
Los Robles, Guatemala
Dear Volunteer:
Thank you for sacrificing your time and hard-earned money
to make a difference in the lives of the Mayan Indians. The United Nations has rated the Highlands of
Guatemala as fourth in the world for chronic malnutrition and you will soon
experience why and understand something about our dedication. You will also get to enjoy the hospitality of
Mario and Dominga, our leaders. Past
teams give them very high marks.
There is some concern about financial integrity among
certain non-profits, and we want to say upfront that all monies donated to Safe
Homes go into the Guatemalan programs.
Currently, there is no US overhead.
We take no salary or money for travel or anything else. You can be assured that any donations you
make go into the programs you intended them for.
Our work there started ten years ago as a family project,
but as you are about to experience, the need far exceeds our resources. While you are down there, think about
partnering with us on a long term basis.
We have over 60 children in these outlying areas attending middle and
high school and many of them need sponsors to be able to continue—in Guatemala only primary school is free. The Mommas & Tots feeding program
provides prenatal nutrition as well as supplemental infant formula and incaparina, a soy-based nutritional
drink, to 250 mothers and 450 children per month. We have after-school feeding and tutorial
programs nurturing 360 children. We
have programs in five communities with over 25 more communities begging us to
add them. We also give away hundreds
of pounds of clothes and shoes each year as well as provide medical and dental
clinics. We provide the more complicated
medical care for about 25 medically fragile children. We are in the process of opening an orphanage
for children who have been abandoned or have no family to take them in.
After all this time helping in Guatemala we have come to
the conclusion that we cannot change things ourselves but can provide the catalyst
through these programs for these young people to change their own future.
Here are a few Dos and Don’ts for your safety:
·
Drink only bottled water that is provided and
that goes for brushing your teeth.
·
Be discreet with any valuables (cell phones
& computers) and cash.
·
Do not give out money. It gives the wrong impression. If you want to help, do it through us. We will give you the credit.
·
We try to avoid traveling after dark and suggest
you do the same.
·
Please do not tip the employees. We pay them above the local “going
rate.” If you see some area of need,
work through us. Again, we will give you
the credit.
·
This is a very modest culture: no tank-tops, short-shorts or the like. No bare chests.
·
The weather is cool all year round and nights
are cold from November through February.
Bring warm clothes, sweatshirts and sweats. Bring rain gear from May through October.
On your way down, here are a few things you can bring
that we desperately need: instant infant
formula of any kind—this is by far our greatest need. Secondarily are school supplies and kids’
shoes of any kind. After you’ve returned home, think about
sponsoring a child or family. One of the
simplest ways to help is to adopt a young family for $20/month in the Momma and
Tots program or sponsor a student for $30/month (times 10 months). Or sponsor an orphan for $30.00 a month. Ask about fund-raising ideas if that interests
you. And talk to your friends about the
third world poverty that you’ve seen and ask them to sponsor. With a big enough fund-raiser, we can provide
a speaker. For smaller ones, we can provide a power
point.
Sincerely,
Vicki & Jody
Dalia
1-276-388-3092
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