This Christian nonprofit association connects North American farmers and other people concerned about food security with development organizations like World Renew, investing in the household farmers who make up the vast majority of those we serve. Their support makes possible the work of our Guatemalan partner ADIP as they help families strengthen their livelihoods there.
In the village of Saquina Papalha, La Tinta, 38-year-old Maria Macz lives with her husband, Nazario Chu Coy, and their six children. Remote and underdeveloped, this northeastern part of Guatemala sees little support from the national govern ment and has the lowest level of literacy in the country. World Renew partners here with the Presbyterian Service Committee of Kekchi, whose Spanish acronym is ADIP. Kekchi is both the name of the region and the Mayan people group that live here.
Maria and her husband Nazario have worked hard to care for themselves and their children with few resources. They farm on rented land, growing corn and beans to feed themselves and their children. Neither have had any education; Maria's father said education was not for girls.
Sometimes Nazario would travel to other communities for work and Maria stayed with their children, feeding them with the little she had. When their youngest, Pablo Angelito, was diagnosed with malnutrition, María considered finding a job herself in order to feed him more, but how could she do this with five other children to care for?
As Maria and her husband sought options to improve their family's situation, Maria spoke with her friend Mateo Chub, who had begun attending agricultural trainings offered in their community by World Renew and our local partner, ADIP.
Maria decided to give this a try and attended trainings in crop diversification, building enclosures for poultry, and other topics of interest to her. She shared what she was learning with her husband and he began to attend trainings too.
Maria and Nazario planted camote (sweet potato), quequexcamote leaf (sweet potato leaf), plantains, yucca, and a variety of indigenous herbs, addressing not just her youngest child's malnutrition, but the entire family's health as well. Maria learned to weave, and started selling her crea tions, providing much-needed income for her family without having to leave home.
Maria celebrates the many fruits of better nutrition and more financial security. “I am so thankful for God's mercy and so full of joy,” she says. "When we started to attend ADIP's trainings, my life changed. My husband doesn't work in other communities because now he grows food in our small rented plot of land.
This has truly changed my life and created more unity between my husband and I. We are able to be an exam ple for our children and keep using the resources that the earth provides us, such as the fruit trees and raising poultry. God bless the donors and ADIP for all the things that you do here in Guatemala.”
World Renew is thankful for our partner in Guatemala and the critical support of Growing Hope Globally in investing in families' thriving in Kekchi, Guatemala.