In 2005, our son and his wife adopted 2 beautiful children from Guatemala. In our effort to learn about their heritage we traveled to Guatemala the following year, returning every year since. In our subsequent 16 trips to our grandchildren’s birth country, we have been blessed by relationships with people in Mayan villages throughout the country.

In recent years we’ve focused primarily on a small village, Xix (pronounced “shish”), which was brutally targeted during a 40 year civil war. Like most Mayan communities, Xix is mired in extreme poverty. Their government provides only an inferior 6th grade education for its children. But Xix wants more. The people of Xix have shown us a spirit of determination and a hopefulness focused on a better life for their children. They are convinced that education is essential ending the cycle of poverty for future generations.

Using a small, dilapidated building on a very small parcel of land granted by the militia after the war, the Xix community developed a school for children in grades 7 through 9. Due to lack of space there is a waiting list for children to attend the school. Because of land limitation, the only way to gain more classroom space is to build up, adding a second story.

Last year we funded bathroom facilities for the students. We are currently working with them on building a roof for the first floor which will stop the continuous flooding into the current classrooms during the rainy season. The design of this roof will importantly serve as the foundation for a second floor. The next step is to add the second floor to provide additional classrooms.

The people of Xix are hard-working, family-oriented people who want their families to stay together in Guatemala. They have grown up with tremendous loss, extreme poverty, and military dominance, with no limit to their needs in every aspect of life. Yet they are doing everything they can to make make a better life for their children. They want what we all want for our kids. Will you help the people of Xix build this needed classroom space for their kids?