Guatemala Service Projects Inc.
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Guatemala Service Projects Inc.
  • Home
  • New Projects
  • Ongoing Projects
    • Potable Water
    • Water Filters
    • Health Clinic and Medical Fund
    • Stoves
    • Vitamins
    • Student Sponsorship
    • Fund a Library
    • 10 Bucks a Cluck
    • Seeds
    • Economic Development
      • Entrepreneurship Program
      • Meet the Entrepreneurs
  • Ways to Help / Shop
    • Overview
    • Memorials and Honorariums
    • Shop 100% Donated to GSP
    • Buen Provecho Guatemalan Recipes
    • The Blue Q
  • Travel Teams
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Our Mission
    • Who We Support
    • Student Advisory Board
  • DONATE

Semana Santa in Antigua
Blog Post
Fountain of the Sirens, La Merced, Parque Central, Semana Santa

Holy Week in Antigua is a very special time of year. The processions and sawdust carpets, Roman soldiers and funeral…

April 20, 2021
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New things in Guatemala
Blog Post
covid travel, Pollo Campero, remittance, travel team

Early morning flight This return trip to Guatemala included a few “new” things, the first of which was an early…

April 6, 2021
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Roadside Relaunch
Blog Post
economic development, french fry cart, pollo frito, small business

Last week, Olga and her family relaunched their business with the enhancements funded by our generous donors.  These exciting changes…

January 21, 2021
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2494

Spend one week building a home in Guatemala
Blog Post
boy scout troop service project, build a home, Chutzorop, Guatemala, Rotary club, work team

We’re looking for an enthusiastic group to build a home for a needy family in Guatemala. It can be a…

November 17, 2020
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Entrepreneur First meeting

Supporting Small Business in Guatemala
Blog Post
economic development, small business

To provide economic development to the municipality of Chichicastenango and stimulus to multiple aspiring entrepreneurs and their families, we have…

November 13, 2020
1
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Installing a TivaWater filter
Blog Post
TivaWater filter, water filter

Installing a TivaWater filter overcomes a contaminated water supply and eliminates the need to boil water to make it safe…

November 3, 2020
0
2826

Provide a Scholarship, Practically Guarantee a Future
Blog Post
scholarship, student sponsorship

There are many kids in Guatemala that, given a fighting chance, could attend school and with the education acquired break…

November 2, 2020
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2078

Cantón Chucám needs Clean Water
Blog Post
Christmas tamales, Chucám, marimba de tecomates, potable water

Cantón Chucám belongs to the municipality of Chichicastenango. We have friends and trusted contacts who live there. They need clean…

November 2, 2020
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Mask gift from Miguel Ignacio at Moreria Santo Tomás

Arte Ignacio
Blog Post
Chichicastenango, Los Mashitos, marimba de tecomates, mascaras, Miguel Ignacio, Moreria Santo Tomás

Miguel Ignacio comes from a long line of craftsmen, musicians, artists. There are several generations of photos on the wall…

November 1, 2020
1
3984

Looming up ahead…
Blog Post
backstrap loom, weaving

Parts of every trip are spent learning about Maya culture. What better way to learn than by studying the weaving…

October 31, 2020
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Copyright ©2025 Guatemala Service Projects. All Rights Reserved
Peggy McDaniel

My name is Peggy McDaniel.  I discovered my love for Guatemala and the Mayan culture on my first volunteer trip there in 2012. I have been fortunate to return many times since. I’ve worked with several coffee farmer groups, women weavers, rug hookers as well as building homes and delivering water filters to the out lying and remote villages. The resilience of the Guatemalan people and the smiles of the children keep me going back.  I recently retired after 35 years being a potter and now I get to enjoy extended stays down there. I hope to continue working with the people of Guatemala in any way I can to enrich their lives as much as they have enriched mine!

Guatemala Service Projects Inc

LA NECESIDAD

Guatemala es un país en desarrollo con belleza en todos lados: volcanes activos, diversos ecosistemas, mercados de artesanías de fama mundial, una rica historia colonial Maya y Española y un paisaje montañoso increíble se combinan para formar la Tierra de la Eterna Primavera.

Su gente, igualmente hermosa en herencia y tradiciones indígenas Mayas, enfrenta desafíos en la vida diariamente que la mayoría del mundo desarrollado da por hecho. La desnutrición crónica, el analfabetismo, las escasas oportunidades económicas, el aislamiento social, el acceso deficiente al agua potable y el ingreso sistémico y la desigualdad de la riqueza son resultados duraderos de la guerra civil de 36 años del país. Las estadísticas son sorprendentes, como el 59% de la población que vive por debajo del umbral de pobreza nacional y el 23% que vive en la pobreza extrema, con el 13.4% de las familias que dependen del trabajo de menores para sobrevivir.

A pesar de todo esto, la verdadera belleza de Guatemala es la perseverancia, los valores y la esperanza de su pueblo para un futuro mejor. Cuando los recursos están disponibles, los miembros de la comunidad se unen para mejorar sus condiciones de vida, salud y educación.

 

NUESTRO DESAFIO 

Guatemala Service Projects, Inc. existe para llevar estos recursos escasos a las comunidades que estan ansiosos de mejorar los resultados para las generaciones  presentes y futuras. Los miembros de nuestra junta y los intermediarios de confianza en Guatemala se comunican directamente con los comités, educadores y organizaciones de las aldeas que especifican la prioridad de sus necesidades e identifican los recursos que podemos proporcionar. Las mejoras en las instalaciones escolares, los programas de vitaminas, las bibliotecas, los patrocinios educativos y los jardines comunitarios son solo algunos ejemplos de los programas que tenemos en marcha. Los miembros de nuestra junta viajan periódicamente a Guatemala con equipos de viaje para participar de primera mano en los proyectos que apoyamos mediante la entrega de suministros, la colaboración con educadores, la instalación de equipos y la distribución de productos donados. Ser testigo de la resolución, la laboriosidad y el aprecio de nuestros beneficiarios nos da el ímpetu para seguir ofreciendo estas oportunidades.

 

TU APOYO

Agradecemos su visita a nuestro sitio web para explorar todas las formas en que Guatemala Service Projects, Inc. crea nuevas posibilidades para las comunidades desfavorecidas e indígenas en Guatemala. Su apoyo es la fuerza impulsora de nuestra organización y esperamos su ayuda con nuestras iniciativas.

Michael Margolies

Hi, I’m Mike Margolies. Lillian (my wife) and I brought Andrew home from Guatemala on October 11th, 2001. It was exactly one month after 9/11, the horrendous day that no one will ever forget. From the window of my parents’ apartment, I watched the smoke billow out from Ground Zero, having the same fears and sorrow as the rest of the country, but also feeling intense personal sadness that despite all the time, work, and effort which had exhausted us emotionally and physically, our hopes were floating away as well. It is just one more reason why I have always considered the adoption as a gift, which demanded some type of repayment. That feeling grew even stronger over the recent past, as I’ve learned about the refugee crisis, and heard “Guatemala” mentioned so many times on the news.

The “right” opportunity arose when I learned about a travel opportunity for adoptive families which would include volunteer work and cultural sightseeing. Being members of that team had a profound impact on me, Lillian and Andrew. Not only were we able to make a real connection to our son’s birthplace, but we met incredibly warm and generous people, all of whom we now consider to be a part of our “family.” In addition to the volunteer work I shared with the Team, I also was able to “give back” by performing as my alter ego, “Farfel the Clown” at a barbecue for children of The Backyard School. It will remain one the proudest and happiest memories of my life.

While in Guatemala, I got to know some of the most courageous and impressive people I’ve ever met in my life, people that create opportunity and help the Guatemalan people. Through participation on that team, I had the wonderful pleasure to meet Jennifer Demar, who not only always promptly responds to my FB messages, but “gets” my offbeat and silly humor. Through the donation of my time, money and ideas, as well as via future repeat trips to Guatemala, I am committed to the mission of Guatemala Service Projects.

I feel very proud and honored to have been selected as a member of the GSP Board, and I am looking forward to serving and assisting with the foundation to the best of my ability.

Trent Faith

I found Guatemala through a Transcultural Healthcare trip I took with WCTC in 2016.  I graduated in May of 2017 after  studying Surgical Technology.  I am the father of two terrific boys, JT and Barret and have been married to their mother, Cindi Faith, for 25 years.  I am a cycling enthusiast and enjoy playing the drums, but have found my life’s calling over the last several years with many trips to Guatemala.

Jennifer Demar

My husband and I adopted two children from Guatemala when they were toddlers, and then were blessed with a homegrown third child a number of years later. We live in Oconomowoc, WI.

Our first trip to Guatemala as a complete family was in August 2015. We wanted our older kids to have familiarity with their birth country, as it would offer a clear picture as to the struggles that many in Guatemala face and hopefully an understanding of some underlying issues that may have had an impact in their adoption stories. We traveled with four other families, two which also had the international adoption tie to Guatemala!

Each one of us was blessed by the trip, some more than others, and perhaps in different ways. As for me, my life was changed forever. I knew that service work and helping the people of Guatemala would be in the forefront for a very long time.

Aside from the fact that we have children born in Guatemala, we choose Guatemala because it is a less-developed nation with needs so much greater than ours and so much less government support for those that truly need it. Plus, the cost of “doing” there is so much less that a little bit of money goes a LONG way.

Diego Xirum

Diego grew up in one of the poorest communities in Chichicastenango, Quiché, Guatemala.  Having lived in poverty for many years and living with many difficulties, Diego decided to improve the quality of life for himself and his people of Guatemala through employment with various nonprofit organizations doing work there.

Diego is a motivated and flexible team player who enjoys working on a project from inception to completion.   He is an experienced project manager with a proven track record of developing accounting plans, managing staff, and coordinating international volunteer group activities.  He is multilingual, with excellent communication in English, Spanish, and K´iché (Mayan Language), and utilizes technical skills in developing administrative programs for nonprofit organizations and companies.

In 2007, he graduated as an Accountant in Guatemala and then continued his studies in the United States.  Diego received an Associate Degree in Applied Science Individual Studies from Broome Community College – State University of New York in 2013 and worked as manager and administrator for a US-based company before returning to Guatemala.

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Monday, 12, Aug
Remarkably Unremarkable (still)
Thursday, 13, Jun
Responding to a LinkedIn post from the Luis von Ahn Foundation
Saturday, 30, Dec
That Book Woman… and Me
Tuesday, 9, Aug
A Non-Success Story (and that’s ok)
Wednesday, 11, May
Our Priceless Gifts
Friday, 1, Apr
Remarkably Unremarkable

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