An eventful year full of highs and lows
At the beginning of last year, we started enrolling the first children in our Guardian Angel program, our main project, and distributing school supplies and food packages to them and their families. Over the course of the first few months, we were able to provide access to education for 50 children. However, throughout the year, we experienced much more.
Joshua urgently needs surgery
In spring, we received the first bad news from one of the students in our Guardian Angel program. Joshua's parents informed us that he was suffering from kidney failure and that while his treatment would cost only about 300 Swiss francs, they did not have the resources for it. So, we decided to help him and cover the costs of his treatment. Joshua was able to be cured thanks to a small surgical procedure and has since been healthy. That was the moment when we decided to include healthcare in our Guardian Angel program.
Reinforcements for our team
In July, Elisa began her volunteer internship in multilingual public communication with us. She is studying Applied Languages (with a focus on English and Spanish) at ZHAW in Winterthur, and is completing her internship semester at The M Story until the end of January. She gradually took over and fully managed social media communication on Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook from August onwards, and also wrote posts for the blog on our website.
Lesli was shot
In August, we received the second bad news - Lesli was shot in the head during a shootout at a small supermarket and was hospitalized. Since only emergency care is free in Guatemala, not even X-rays were taken to see if she would suffer permanent damage or where the bullet was lodged. In this case as well, we decided to provide her with the money for the X-rays and bullet removal as a first step, and then see what further treatments she would need. Miraculously, the bullet was removed without complications, and Lesli suffered no permanent damage. Today, she can already go back to school and play with her friends.
More than 100 families without access to food
At the end of September, we were informed that there had been a landslide near Vuelta Grande, a remote village inhabited exclusively by indigenous people just outside of Antigua, following heavy rains. This landslide buried all the roads leading to the small village, cutting off the residents from basic supplies. The village could only be reached by a half-hour walk. We immediately launched a fundraising campaign, through which we were able to generate enough donations to deliver the first groceries to the village a few days later. In total, we were able to support more than 100 families with essential everyday products and food during this exceptional situation.
Día de los Niños in Santa Bárbara
On the first Sunday of October, Elvia and Michelle, along with other volunteers, drove to Santa Barbara to spend the entire day with the children. They wanted to provide the children with a very special experience, so they not only prepared many different activities for them but also cooked a delicious meal on-site for more than 50 children.
Collaboration with a Maya family in San Antonio
From the end of October, we began our collaboration with Sandra and Olga, two women who run their own business and produce beautiful textiles from handmade Maya fabrics. With much love and the support of their entire family, they crafted the toiletry bags for our Christmas gift set. With our order of 500 toiletry bags, we were able to guarantee their financial independence for at least six months. We hope that by doing so, we can contribute to supporting the local community.
Visit from Switzerland
At the end of November, Barbara (Michelle's mom), Timo (our photographer & videographer), and Elisa set off for Guatemala. After hearing so much about the projects and Guatemala, Timo, Barbara, and Elisa were thrilled to finally be able to visit everything on-site. During their visit, they not only gained insight into all the projects but also immersed themselves in the culture of the country and met all the other staff on-site.
Santa Claus in Santa Bárbara
During our visit in Guatemala, we took the opportunity to surprise the children in Santa Bárbara, not only spending the day with them but also presenting them with Christmas gifts - new backpacks and pencil cases for the upcoming school year. We even had Santa Claus with us, who personally handed out the gifts to each child!
A special gift
In mid-December, we began the delivery of our gift sets to ensure that everyone received their gift set before Christmas. With the sale of the gift sets, we were able to raise a total of 13,973 CHF, which will now go directly towards expanding our Guardian Angel Program and benefiting the children in Santa Bárbara.
A heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported us in 2022!
