Project - Adopt A Village

Adopt A Village
www.adoptavillage.com

See our updated report on the project completion.

Adopt-A-Village was founded in 1991 to aid Mayan families of northwestern Guatemala rebuild their lives after the country's longstanding 36 year civil war. The mission of AAV is to help empower the Mayan people of this region by providing education and resources so they may develop social and economic improvements in their communities.

AAV has completed more than 60 major projects including constructing primary schools, providing teachers and books for primary and middle schools, and founding and building a residential high school. AAV has helped build water systems and roads and implement many health programs. Orphans and widows benefit from special programs that AAV has initiated.

The specific problem that the grant is intended to address in the villages is malnutrition. According to UNICEF, Guatemala ranks first in the Americas and sixth in the world for chronic malnutrition among children under five. In the region where this organization works, malnutrition is pervasive not only among children but across the population. The purpose is twofold, one to enable families to produce healthy food, specifically vegetables and two to improve economic conditions in communities by selling surplus vegetables.

It is estimated that a population of approximately 5,000 people will benefit from the project which will initiate a vegetable garden at the Mayan center training facility, funded by the AAV organization.

The grant will also sponsor soil testing equipment which will be used to assess soil conditions in the villages prior to planting, in ensure the best results possible..

In May, once students have been trained, they will initiate a regional community service project. Student groups will work with mothers to launch organic vegetable gardens.

The project contributes to the organization's overall mission first by educating and second by empowering the Maya to develop nutritional and economic improvements in their communities.