40 Years of Building Better Lives

For over 40 years, PCI has empowered communities in Guatemala, working to improve maternal and child health, food and nutrition security, and the readiness to respond in times of disaster.

Today, we’re working in 25 Guatemalan municipalities, both rural and urban, to transform vulnerable communities into resilient, safe and productive communities.

We’re implementing projects designed to diversify agricultural practices, enhance the health and nutritional status of women and children, assist communities in improving their resiliency to disasters and other shocks and ensuring global food security. Last year, we reached more than 390,000 Guatemalans through our programs that enhance health, end hunger and overcome hardship.

PCI’s USDA-funded McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (FFE) program provides school feedings in Guatemala. Nutritious school meals help keep students in the classroom where they have the opportunity to receive an education and work toward a better life.

Not only does FFE provide a meal for students but the program also teaches more effective farming and food storage techniques. In 2015, we reached more than 245,000 Guatemalans through FFE.

In collaboration with USAID’s Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, PCI’s Barrio Mío project is transforming high-risk urban neighborhoods in Guatemala into resilient, safe and productive communities.

As a model for urban renewal, Barrio Mío is based on a “Neighborhood Approach,” which mobilizes local communities to identify and address their own development needs based on available resources and local solutions. Last year, we reached more than 24,000 people through Barrio Mío.

More than 50,000 rural households benefited from PAISIANO (Programa de Acciones Integradas de Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional del Occidente) last year. Funded by the USAID’s Office of Food for Peace, PAISIANO increases economic productivity, reduces chronic malnutrition among pregnant and lactating women and children under five and helps support community resilience to disasters and shocks.

At the heart of PCI is helping families lift themselves out of poverty and create opportunities to build better lives for generations to come. We help ensure the impact we have is real and measurable and that communities carry on this work long after we’re gone.

Watch PCI Guatemala’s 40^th anniversary celebration video here.

Photos and video by: Gesler Castillo, Field Supervisor, PCI Guatemala