Building the Future of Northern Guatemala

I recently had the opportunity to travel to the beautiful northern Guatemala jungle on a mission with Hearts in Action International, a US-based 501(c)3. They are a 20-year old mission-based organization working to end the cycle of poverty by building a school and providing education to the children in this remote and impoverished region.

To support this work, Hearts In Action founded ITZA wood.

All profits from ITZA Wood help fund Hearts in Action. The goal for ITZA Wood is to:

• create a source of income to support their school and educational projects

• provide highly skilled jobs to local workers

• give families a way to stay in their communities instead of immigrating north

As a recent retiree and woodworker, I was thrilled to join them in their shop. What moved me is their generous spirit, positive outlook and amazing craftsmanship. What also moved me is their total lack of modern tools.

They make heavy use of outdated lathes and saws that are constantly in need of adjustment and repair. Every day they do endless workarounds with this equipment. And yet to their great credit they produce some of most beautiful wood products I have ever seen.

Their challenge is their equipment.

They need 5 lathes, a new table saw and a new miter saw.

A simple donation today will help me raise money to get them the equipment they so desperately deserve so that Hearts in Action (www.heartsinaction.org) can continue this important mission.