“Give a man a fish, and he eats for a day; teach a man to fish, and he eats for a lifetime.”

Currently, Seeds of Help Foundation uses its resources to serve 12 remote communities in the department (administrative division) of Huehuetenango, located in the western highlands of Guatemala where families survive by subsistence farming.

We believe in providing the “Seeds of Help” necessary to break the cycle of poverty and foster progress in these rural communities. We teach that we are providing a small “seed” of knowledge and information that they can then use and grow for themselves. And by sharing this “seed” with family, friend and neighbors, they will be impacting their own homes, communities and eventually the world. These “Seeds of Help” are offered in the form of the following:

Educational programs and opportunities

Children in these rural communities often face numerous barriers to stay in school. It’s not uncommon for them to drop out before grade six in order to work or simply because they don’t recognize the benefit of education. Oftentimes, girls aren’t encouraged to attend school due to gender inequality. In effort to implement change in these matters, we stress the importance of traditional and non-traditional education to motivate and teach youth and their parents about the importance of educational attainment for boys and girls. In addition, we work with higher grades by offering special classes and programs, materials, encouragement, and support in the form of scholarships for students to continue their education at a technical school.

Women’s groups

Women – the central-binding force of the family unit – possess the greatest potential to make positive changes for future generations. Through our women’s groups—custom-designed development programs— we teach about family planning, health and nutrition, medicinal herbs; hold cooking classes to introduce alternative cooking methods and recipes; and help in coordinating school development and community organization. Following each session, we encourage these women to return to their communities and share what they’ve learned with others.

Construction projects

Though the focus of Seeds of Help is on education we do occasionally participate in a project that requires building and materials. When funding is available, we also undertake small construction projects for local families, communities and schools. We only use locally available materials and techniques to teach the recipients how to construct the project themselves. This practice allows them to maintain the project and enables them to replicate the project for family, neighbors and other communities. These construction projects include the building of the appropriate technology showers, the appropriate technology stoves, small ovens, water tanks, irrigation tanks, latrines and water pumps.