Where Do Your Donations Go?

School & Home Infrastructure

We use donations to build wells, renovate homes, and build up our school classrooms. We pay local workers to do this construction so we can stimulate the local economy and provide jobs.

School Tuition

It costs $360 to put a student through a year of schooling. Children have free schooling up until 6th grade. After that they go back to work in the fields or family trades, receiving no further education. Six years of scholarships get a student through middle school and high school. After that, they are eligible to get jobs in accounting, teaching, and other careers that pay them enough to send money home to their families and pay for their own further educations. 

Crafts, Goodie Bags, & Lunches

During our trip there, we hang out with the kids during their school day. Your donations bring them sandwiches, juice, chips, milk, and cookies to enjoy for lunch. Donations also pay for crafts and activities. One of their favorites every year are bead and pipe cleaner bracelets! We put together goodie bags with stickers, candy, and toys that we leave for them at the end of the week.

Food Buckets

The local market has a small store where we put together food buckets with enough beans, rice, pasta, salt, sugar, oil, and oatmeal to feed a family for a month. These buckets cost $25 usd.

Causes & Projects

We like to fill needs as they present themselves. If we see a school needs a new 'pila' (watering system), a classroom needs new supplies, or in the most serious of cases, a child loses a parent and needs some care, we use your donations to help.

When we set out to fill one of these needs, whether it be a school tuition, infrastructure project, craft or goodie bag for each student, or project, we use your donations to fill the need. If donations don't cover what we set out to do, we finish it with our own personal donations. I also have resolved to always be funding a student through school myself. I am currently funding my third student because how can I ask you to do something for my organization that I am not doing myself?

I want to thank everyone who has contributed, is still contributing, and will contribute in the future. I love and believe in everything that we do in Raising Guatemala and am thankful that you do too!