Building a Foundation of Hope: Supporting Guatemalan Households to Combat Shelter Challenges and Food Insecurity
Over the past few years, vulnerable communities in Huehuetenango, Guatemala, have faced the triple shock of COVID-19, prolonged periods of drought and increasingly severe hurricane seasons. In 2021 and 2022, heavy storms affected 44% of the population in the country, resulting in the evacuation of 78,877 people and placement of 14,757 in shelters. According to…
Read MoreWorking to Build Economic Resilience in Guatemala’s Crises-Stricken Highlands
By Gesler Castillo Guatemala’s Western Highlands continue to suffer long-term impacts from widespread destruction caused by Hurricanes Eta and Iota, including the loss of livelihoods and damage to infrastructure and public services. The region is home to a significant portion of Guatemala’s rural population, many of whom rely on subsistence agriculture to survive. Unfortunately, prolonged…
Read MorePass the Mic: Reinvigorating Global Efforts to Reduce Maternal and Child Mortality
By Paula Rudnicka, Sr. Manager for Public Affairs at Global Communities In 2012, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) partnered with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Governments of India and Ethiopia to convene the Child Survival Call to Action, which galvanized unprecedented commitments from governments and civil society around the…
Read MoreStriving to Find and Serve Missing Children in HIV Treatment & Care
By Betty Adera Despite tremendous progress in the fight against HIV and AIDS, outcomes for treatment and care among children remain low. Sadly, disparities in the HIV response continue to result in failure to meet the unique needs of children living with or are at high risk of HIV. At the end of 2019, an…
Read MoreRight to Care: Family-Centered Approaches for Vulnerable Children and Adolescents
By Betty Adera The impact of disasters, complexities of humanitarian crises and ongoing effects of climate change pose major threats to the lives of children. These challenges impact the most vulnerable among us and expose them to health, water and food insecurity; exploitation and sexual violence; deprivation and neglect. Long-standing, systemic human and child rights…
Read MoreSupporting Community Resilience and Economic Recovery in Guatemala
By Noah Steinberg-Di Stefano When speaking to families in rural communities throughout Huehuetenango, Guatemala, almost everyone mentions that things have gotten more expensive. For them, this is not quantified as an inflation percentage but rather the price they pay for staples like tomatoes or beans when they go to the market or buy fertilizer for…
Read MoreUsing the New Digital Savings Group Hub to Eliminate Paper, Inspire Savings
Digitization can feel overwhelming — and even risky when considering inherent equity and access issues. Yet, with the right resources, organizations can go paper-free, or at least reduce that paper output, and save money in the process. We chatted with Paulina Rudnicka, Senior Technical Advisor for Gender Integration at Global Communities, about the launch of…
Read MoreExpanding Possibilities for Women Entrepreneurs in Guatemala
By Jessica Ayala Just over a year ago, Sucely Rocsana Reyes Molina never would have imagined that she would own a flourishing formal dairy business with so many opportunities in the market. Today, the 30-year-old single mother has multiple people who help her deliver 15 types of cheeses and creams, expanding her business well…
Read MoreConfronting Climate Change with Bold, Community-Based Actions
By Tanner Roark Climate change is here. It can be seen in every corner of the world, from heatwaves in India and winter storms in Texas to hurricanes in Guatemala and drought in Madagascar. Climate change is cruel. It spares no people or place, and its slow creep of destruction results in the loss of…
Read MoreEngaging Men in Women’s Economic Advancement in Guatemala
PCI, a Global Communities Partner, and Promundo-US launch pilot program to transform harmful gender norms Working with women alone is not enough to bring about their economic advancement. Recognizing this, PCI, a Global Communities Partner, is partnering with Promundo-US to involve men as allies in a new women’s economic development project in Cuilco, Guatemala. Journeys…
Read MoreEquipping Families to Build Climate Smart Communities in Guatemala
In the dry western highlands of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, families prepare food over traditional open fires, consuming far more wood than would be necessary with a modern stove. Cooking this way not only results in greater deforestation, it also results in greater carbon emissions and causes families smoke-related health problems. PCI, a Global Communities Partner, is…
Read MoreSchool WASH Protects Students and Promotes Healthy Learning
Almost half of schools worldwide have no hand-washing facilities and around one-third of schools do not have safe water supplies or adequate sanitation (WHO/Unicef 2020). Without access to clean water at schools, student health is at risk and they lose valuable learning time by having to walk long distances to collect water, often from unprotected…
Read MoreRising the Tide with Michele Gay
If you ask LimeLife by Alcone, the perfect foundation to any beauty routine is contributing to a cycle of empowerment. Since 2017, the cosmetic line’s charitable arm, the Brighter Together Foundation, has donated more than half a million dollars to PCI’s Women Empowered Program. Contributions are raised by LimeLife Beauty Guides and go toward funding…
Read More‘Our Harvest’ Project Delivers Food, Hope to Guatemalan Families
Since the Government of Guatemala announced a “state of calamity” following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in Guatemala, PCI, a Global Communities Partner, has continued to coordinate the procurement and delivery of fresh food to local schoolchildren through Nuestra Cosecha. PCI implements Nuestra Cosecha (“Our Harvest” in Spanish) in partnership with Save the Children…
Read MoreGuatemalan Youths Cultivating Hope in the Face of COVID-19
For five consecutive years, farming families in the dry corridor of western Guatemala have watched their primary sources of income and food wither and die from severe drought. Season after season, failed harvests of maize and beans have led to grinding poverty and crisis levels of hunger and malnutrition among vulnerable households. These persistent challenges…
Read MoreSmall Change Adding Up for Children in Rural Guatemala
If money talks, then it’s never too soon to start a conversation about savings. And in the Cruz Regional community of Cuilco, Guatemala, a small group of children were the first to speak up. After watching their mothers form a savings and loan group through PCI’s Women Empowered (WE) initiative, five curious kids asked if…
Read MoreAIYD Calls on Congress and the Administration to Continue Support for US Government-funded Programs in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador
Washington, D.C. – The Alliance for International Youth Development, a group of leading US-based international development organizations, calls on Congress and the Administration to continue support for US government-funded programs in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. No one wants to flee their homes, but many young people are desperate to find alternatives to lives of…
Read MorePaying Success Forward, One Book at a Time
Kimmy Brooke understands firsthand how a network of empowered women can change a life. Before she became a successful entrepreneur, author and leadership coach, Brooke remembers the isolation she felt as a single mom, struggling to move forward with a stagnant bottom line. “I found myself at the age of 40 divorced and turned upside…
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