“If you want to go fast, go it alone. If you want to go far, go together.
African proverb”
Partnerships are critical to working effectively across cultures and privilege. Together one step at a time we are collaborating to shape the future health of children as they move into adulthood. A more laudable goal I cannot imagine…
Our partners
The Cooperative of Nuevo Horizonte was initiated in 1998 following 36 years of war declared genocide by the UN. It was born from the determination of 100 ex-guerilla combatants committed to building a future based on social, political, and economic development that would benefit all involved.
Together they are engaged in community-based fish farming, diversified agriculture and cattle production, reforestation and ecotourism initiatives, as well as ensuring that education, healthcare programs, and women's participation are prioritized.
It embodies the vitality of its members and the hope of an entire people: to build a more equitable and just society based on the principles of the 1996 Peace Accords.
Cooperative of La Esmeralda
The Mayan People's Health Clinic is staffed by a dedicated team of highly trained volunteer community health promoters. They provide essential services including diagnosis and treatment of common diseases, maternal child health services, and emergency care 24/7.
The team also includes Hector, a dental health promoter who works in a dental clinic made possible by the La Esmeralda Cooperative membership through the donation of the building and seed funding from the West Kootenays for supplies. Alongside the health promoters, he provides essential dental services including education, hygiene, extraction, and restoration.
El Estor & Lote 8 women's groups
Angelica Choc, German Chubb Choc, and 11 Maya Q’eqchi’ Indigenous women are land defenders struggling to protect their ancestral territories from mining exploitation.
They are plaintiffs in a precedent setting case in the Ontario Supreme Court of Justice against Hudbay Minerals for gross human rights violations including murder, rape, and permanent spinal cord injury.
Human rights violations related to Canadian mining operations in El Estor date back to the brutal civil war and are well documented by Canadian NGO Rights Action as are the myriad of other mining atrocities by the Canadian extractive industry around the world by MiningWatch Canada.
We support small enterprise projects such as the piglet project they have prioritized to raise much needed funds for family sustenance.
We advocate through urgent action campaigns and support the creation of an Ombudsperson for Responsible Enterprise, a campaign championed by Amnesty International Canada in collaboration with the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability (CNCA).
AMES works with women labourers from the factories located in the free trade zones surrounding Guatemala City by providing education on labour rights, reproductive health, and skills training for alternative employment through an auxiliary nursing program.
The Association also liaises with other labour rights organizations throughout Central America to advocate for better working conditions and health and labour rights in free trade zones throughout the region.
Located in Nelson, B.C., Nelson United Church is a member of the United Church of Canada. It is an affirming congregation whose charism is expressed in the following purpose statement, “We dare to live the Way of Jesus, embodying the Love of God.”
Members of the congregation have a longstanding history of actively living their faith by engaging in actions that both directly care for those who are oppressed and marginalized, and challenge the very forces that create such oppression.
At both the regional and national level, Nelson United Church & the United Church of Canada have been in solidarity with Guatemala since the mid 80’s focusing on accompaniment of refugees during exile and the repatriation process, enactment of the 1996 Peace Accords, and respect for women’s and Indigenous people’s rights as well as the right to a healthy environment in the context of resource extraction projects, such as mining.
“Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. YOU can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.
― Nelson Mandela ”
