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

Mayan fire ceremony and learning my nahual
Blog Post
Lake Atitlan, Mayan fire ceremony, nahual, shaman, spirit guide

In some cases, we as foreigners enter the beautiful, magical world of indigenous Guatemala and are mesmerized by the beautiful…

August 25, 2019
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donating our 3rd library
Blog Post
Alfa y Omega, Lake Atitlan, library, Santiago Atitlan

On Tuesday, August 6th, Trent and Jen and I (the officers of Guatemala Service Projects) took a boat ride across…

August 17, 2019
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Canton Rio Camanibal, revisited
Blog Post
Canton Rio Camanibal, Chichicastenango, Chujupen water project, Saq B'e

The first project for our nonprofit (in 2017) was the installation of a library and tablet computer lab for a…

August 14, 2019
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Group travel in Guatemala, Here we Go Again
Blog Post
Guajimbo's, Panimache Quinto, shoe drive, stoves, vitamins, water filter

There are 14 of us on this trip… our largest to date.  In addition to having portions of all three…

August 5, 2019
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Who said collecting 416 pair of shoes would be easy
Blog Post
shoe drive

At the time of my last post, nearly six weeks ago, I shared a spreadsheet showing how many of the…

June 24, 2019
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building on the success of the community garden
Blog Post
bunk bed delivery, Canton Rio Camanibal, community garden, diaper ministry, elderly feeding center, feminine hygiene in Guatemala, Panimache Quinto, rainwater collection, San Jorge La Laguna, shoe drive, vitamin program

The last time we blogged about the Nuevo Reto Community Garden,  we showed vegetables in infantile stages, just sprouts poking…

May 14, 2019
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Lenten season in Antigua Guatemala
Blog Post
alfombras, Lent, procession, Santa Ana Guatemala, sawdust carpets, Semana Santa

From the very first time I visited, I wanted to experience the alfombras (sawdust carpets) and processions associated with Semana…

April 2, 2019
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another new challenge in Guatemala
Blog Post
alfombras, bunk bed delivery, community garden, feeding program, Nuevo Reto

‘Nuevo Reto’ means ‘new challenge’ in Spanish.  I’ve talked about Nuevo Reto many times on this blog.  We have supported…

March 31, 2019
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shopping for a mission, and one cool haircut
Blog Post
Antigua, artisan's market, Casa del Jade, Guatemala jade, Guatemalan barbershop, Jade Maya, jadeite

The primary purpose for today on our trip was to shop for things to bring back to the States and…

March 30, 2019
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Passing the torch and finding the arch
Blog Post
Antigua arch, Nim Po't

Since a few weeks before travel, I had been communicating with Sara and Bud Hudson.  Long-standing contributors to service projects…

March 29, 2019
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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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