Growing vegetables consists of teaching participants what the hydroponic farm is all about and also, producing vegetables that do not need large amounts of insecticide and thus offering a more natural and innovative product to consumers. With the funds received, pylons will be purchased, since it is necessary to adapt the plants for cultivation, because the climate where it will be produced is very cold. The necessary supplies will also be purchased to create the space where the water must flow for production, which would be PVC tubes and wooden structures to place the tubes on. In addition, it will be necessary to hire the services of a professional so that they can provide regular advice, both on the construction of the area and on production of the crops. With this project, we want to impact the lives of the participants in this initiative and also the inhabitants of the municipality of Cantel, Quetzaltenango, since they would be offered a quality product.

Our church cares deeply about preparing our youth with job skills. That’s why we created a bakery workshop where students can learn about bakery and how to start a small business! Our bakery currently is a place for learning, but due to the conditions of the building, we are not able to sell the products that the students bake. Our goal is for this bakery to be a learning opportunity and a small business! With the profits from the bakery, we would be able to pay for all the bakery supplies year after year and have it be a completely self-sufficient project. To have healthy and safe bakery conditions, we need a proper ceiling, easy to clean flooring, and industrial handwashing and dishwashing stations. We are requesting these funds for the materials and labor to renovate the 56 sq meter bakery. As you can see in the photos, our youth create beautiful baked goods and learn important employment skills while doing so. This project has been extremely successful for us, and we want to do this renovation so it can become an income generating opportunity for our church. If you are ever in Guatemala, you will have to visit us to try some of our infamous bread! We look forward to sharing an update with you of the final product: a new ceiling, flooring, and real bakery washing stations!

Our church is blessed with the ability to teach the students who attend our program basic sewing skills. You can see the photos of the sewing workshop and some of the beautiful items the students learn to make! When they graduate, they are then able to work as seamstresses and earn an income for themselves and their family! One young lady received this training and got a job making clothes after graduation. She is working for someone else, but desires to start her own small business. We want to help more students like her be able to achieve their entrepreneurship dreams and also that as their business grow they can provide work for other people. This project is also done with the goal that as beneficiaries see more opportunities in Guatemala, they can avoid migration and the risks it has. We want to buy equipment for 2 outstanding students from our sewing workshop. The equipment consists of 3 industrial machines to work in items such as t-shirts, pullover/hoodies and exercise pants, etc. One of them is a current beneficiary in the Compassion program, and the other is a recent alumni. We are excited to see what these sewing machines could do in these students’ lives! Once we receive the funds, it will take us one month to purchase the sewing machines and get the two recipients set up with their new equipment. After that we will share photos of them, as well as an update about how their small businesses are going.

Our church is passionate about supporting mothers, because we know that when the mother is employed, she can improve the quality of life for her whole family. Unfortunately, many mothers in our community have no formal education and only studied up to 2nd grade. This makes it difficult for them to find jobs that pay enough to support their families. We saw this issue in our community and decided to start a bakery workshop for 10 mothers to learn about baking and how to start their own businesses. At the end of this training the mothers receive a certificate from the Ministry of Education which helps show their qualifications to potential employers. Two of the mothers from this workshop want to start their own small businesses, and we want to support them! We are fundraising to purchase stoves with ovens and baking molds for these two women. They have already received training on how to start a business in bakery, and now all they need are the startup supplies! Once we receive the funds it will take about a month for us to get the mothers set up with the equipment. Then we will share updates about how their new businesses are going!