Giving to Guatemala Poca a Poca: Creating big change through sustainable health, education and community development
Join the Alternative Break Program this spring break, March 12th- 18th 2017, on adventure to Santa Catarina, Guatemala. Our community partner, Small Change 4 Big Change, started in 2012 focusing on sustainability through health, education, environmental issues and community development. One in four people in Guatemala are illiterate, with the average school time consisting of only 3.5 years. Our English classes will help give students an advantage to combating illiteracy. With over 85% of the population living in poverty, our work in the gardens, building of stoves and tilapia ponds will put food on their tables, provide goods to sell for extra income and help battle malnutrition, which plagues half of the population. Our health course will help families with basic hygiene, as the doctor to citizen rate hits a low of 0.0009:1. Accompanying high poverty rates is deforestation due to wood as a large source of income. The ecological stoves we will build use 65% less wood and we help replenish the forests by planting various trees. Our overall focus is sustainability through these various social issues and how we as a group can directly contribute to the overall well-being of the local population of Santa Catarina Barahona.A brief summary on our community partner Small Change 4 Big Change
"Our goal is to assist rural community development and connect donors with humble Guatemalan families interested in changing their future. We work in the small town of Santa Catarina Barahona in two main areas: health and education. Education includes school supplies, English classes, cooking classes and the reading room, a safe place for children to spend their afternoons with books, puzzles and activities. Health includes ecological stoves, gardens, chickens, the goat co-op and tilapia ponds.
We believe strongly in ongoing support for each family and project, and we ensure that all resources are utilized to their maximum benefit. We are constantly in touch with people involved in the project- visiting supported families, checking up on progress, and developing meaningful relationships with people. We have no plans of expanding into other areas; we would prefer to add more programs for the people here in the town of Santa Catarina Barahona and raise the community up poco a poco."
You check learn more about this organization at: http://bigchange.net/history/
