Happy New Year, everyone! Our year started out wonderfully, with a (too) short trip to Xela, Guatemala to visit Thalia, Loyda, Valentina, and Pascuala, as well as all our friends at Colectivo Vida Digna. I and my friend Ariel flew down and spent a whirlwind 4 days jamming everything in that we could!

It’s been seven years since our last visit to Guatemala, and we concluded that was far too long. Between the pandemic, several surgeries, and an overfull plate, it just took a long time to get back. We won’t let that happen again! It was an exercise in beauty, hope, and joy to reconnect with everyone there.

Colectivo Vida Digna (CVD) is a non-profit organization based in Xela and which works with the Indigenous populations there and elsewhere in Guatemala. They have several foci or “pillars”—women, education, culture, migrants, and economics. But each prong of the organization is very complex, and all are intertwined. They have a scholarship program that gives partial scholarships to more than 25 students. Our three students are part of that program, only we provide full scholarships.

CVD helps people understand their Mayan culture with classes, art, a medicinal plant garden, and support for the families. They work with youth who have been deported back to Guatemala, sometimes after an entire lifetime in the US, helping them to reintegrate, find work, and return to their culture. They have economic initiatives to help people learn business skills, how to save money, and look for jobs or start small businesses.

At the base of their work is always culture and family. The Mayan culture is always considered and family is always consulted. Most of the people who work at CVD are younger, but they have their cultural leader, Don Carlos, who is a traditional Mayan spiritual guide. A younger member of the staff, Judiel (who is Loyda’s brother) is also a traditional spiritual guide, so they work together and learn from each other.

Anna and Gloribel are our contacts with CVD, and they ran a fabulous show. They introduced us to the programs during a visit to the office the first morning. Everyone spoke about the work they do, and we got a short tour of the medicinal plant garden. Then we began the home visits with Thalia, Valentina, and Loyda.

The families had been waiting for nearly a year for the visits, since the first time I planned a trip was for April of 2025, but an illness rescheduled that one. Then, the government shutdown caused cancelled flights so the trip was postponed again. But la tercera vez es la vencida (third time’s a charm), and we finally got to see everyone.

Each family had made improvements to their homes in anticipation of our arrival: painting, finishing floors, even building a new room. We spent a few hours with each student and family and we always brought snacks and presents. It was truly joyful to see everyone again, and meet family members that we didn’t know.

Home visit with Thalia and her family

These families are incredibly close. Loyda and her niece Lady are like sisters. Thalia’s mother and her siblings  have learned sign language so they can all communicate. Valentina and her brother Nery are best friends.

Family is the most important thing in the Mayan world; I learned that when a decision needs to be made, everyone from the youngest child to the oldest adult discusses it and has input, and all the input is valued. They were surprised and saddened to hear that the elderly in the US are often ignored and perceived as useless or a drain.

The highlight of the visit was a trip to the village of San Juan la Laguna, which is a wonderful, very touristy art town on the shores of Lake Atitlan. Only Loyda and Pascuala had ever been to the lake before, as part of a music performance and thesis research, respectively, and they had not visited that town. We wanted to introduce everyone to another part of their country, and it was a very special experience for all of us.

Our visit included a walk up to a spectacular overlook for a view of the lake, a tour of a women’s weaving cooperative and local Mayan archeological museum, a lot of walking exploration of the town, and a short boat ride on the lake. Each student brought one family member. Valentina brought her older brother Nery; Loyda came with her niece Lady (who is nearly the same age as Loyda); Thalia was accompanied by her mother, Yaneth, as well as her sign language interpreter Karla.

The group on the way up to the overlook of Lake Atitlan. L to R: Nery, Valentina, Gloribel, Christa, Pascuala, Karla, Thalia, Yaneth, Lady, Anna, and Loyda

A very sunny day at the overlook!

Pascuala, Lady, Loyda, Gloribel, Christa, Thalia, and Valentina. It’s easy to feel a bit “drab” in this group!

The Calle de las Sombrillas (Street of the Umbrellas) in San Juan la Laguna

Enjoying sunset at Lake Atitlan

During our visits Ari worked her occupational therapist magic with massage and some special techniques to help sore arms, shoulders, and necks (which, as you might imagine, these people have a lot of). I spent time reconnecting with our students and had some wonderful discussions with them, learning more about each of them in the process.

I learned that Thalia is so expressive and animated when she signs; it’s a fascinating joy to watch her. She is also a very talented seamstress. Valentina loves her art and her family (and is a new auntie to her sister Angelica’s baby girl!), and is excited about moving on to upper secondary school and picking a carrera (course of study).

Loyda appears really happy; Anna and I agreed that her light is back. She’s passionate about her music and has a quiet wisdom that seems far beyond her years. It was also wonderful to reconnect with Pascuala again after so many years (she was ONE’s second high school graduate), and to hear about her current endeavors. They are all thriving, despite numerous challenges, and we are really excited to continue this journey with them.

It will take a while to get all their pages updated, but please check back from time to time. There are a lot of inspiring photos and much happy news. It truly was a rejuvenating trip, and I so look forward to seeing all of them again soon.

Finally, a bit of business: our 2025 annual report is up on the website. Please look it over. I added an accounting of all our students over the past 14 years as an addendum, and it’s quite interesting.

Thank you  so much for all for your donations and support, which means that not only can we support these young women in their educations, but that you are sowing hope for the family and helping an entire community.

With much gratitude, Christa