AMIGOS DE SANTA CRUZ FOUNDATION
ANNUAL IMPACT REPORT 2023
Changing the world, one community at a time, one generation at a time.
Valérie
Leah
Marcin
Jaime
A LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Dear Friends,
In 2023, we celebrated our 25th anniversary of working to break the cycle of poverty in Santa Cruz la Laguna. That is 25 years of working in the Santa Cruz communities, forming a deep local connection that allows us to best respond to the unique needs of this once-forgotten community. We are resolute in our commitment to long-term investment leading to real and lasting impact.
I am both humbled and grateful for what we have accomplished together during this time. With your support, we are making a difference in our little corner of the world. Young men and women in Santa Cruz are growing up with greater access to education and economic opportunities. They are working toward a better future than their parents’ generation could have imagined. These are their stories of accomplishment and inspiration, which I am proud to share with you in this year’s Annual Impact Report.
While we celebrate these accomplishments, we also recognize that the remaining challenges are great. Too many in our community still struggle to escape the clutches of generational poverty. The community is ready for a change but constrained by a dysfunctional public education system that is failing local families. Children still graduate without the basic skills and critical thinking that they need to improve their lives and their community’s future.
Amigos staff and board have identified access to true quality education as the key to moving toward a stronger, healthier, and more resilient Santa Cruz, where families can live and thrive. Stay tuned in the coming months as we announce new initiatives that will address this gap in exciting and strategic ways.
I hope you will continue to support us in this endeavor, to make our world a better place – one community at a time, one generation at a time. We could not do it without you.
Jessie Cohn Executive Director
GET TO KNOW US
OUR MISSION
Amigos works to improve the lives of the indigenous people of Santa Cruz la Laguna and surrounding villages through support for education and sustainable economic empowerment.
OUR VISION
We envision Santa Cruz communities where all families live in a healthy environment and have access to sustainable sources of income; where schools provide quality education to all children; and where women, men, and youth have an active voice in decisions that impact their communities.
OUR ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES TRUST
We believe in the ability of our community members and our staff to be agents of change in the social transformation of their communities.
HONESTY
We uphold the truth so that it becomes a habit that reflects sincerity and transparency with our staff, and inspires high ethical standards in our community.
PASSION
We are passionate about our work and dedicated to promoting positive change for the people in our community.
LEARNING
We support innovative education by creating continuous learning opportunities with our staff and in the community.
OUR STAFF
FROM PARTICIPANTS TO STAFF
Many young people who were Amigos´ participants are now leaders on our staff. A generational change is already underway.
OUR STAFF
LOCAL STAFF
Of our staff of 29 people, 23 come from Santa Cruz, ensuring that our work is led by community members themselves. Community engagement is the cornerstone of our work. Community leaders set our strategic vision and are at the forefront of social change in their community.
FEMALE LEADERSHIP
Currently, 65% of theAmigos’ staff and all of our leadership are women! This contributes to closing the gender gap in Santa Cruz by empowering local female leadership.
OUR WORK
Our work is focused on the seven villages that make up Santa Cruz la Laguna, a municipality of 9,500 indigenous Kaq’chikel Maya. The villages are located along the shores of Lake Atitlan in the Central Highlands of Guatemala, accessible only by boat or rudimentary road.
WHY SANTA CRUZ?
“The persistent cycle of poverty.”
The Municipality of Santa Cruz has among the highest poverty rates and lowest Human Development Index in all of Guatemala. Access to the communities is physically challenging and economic opportunities are scarce, particularly for women, leading many to emigrate. The poor state of local public schools has left children between two and three years behind their peers.
OUR APPROACH
“Breaking the cycle, one generation at a time.”
• FOCUS ON ONE COMMUNITY: By focusing on the seven rural communities of Santa Cruz, Amigos can understand and respond to specific local challenges.
• LONG-TERM INVESTMENT: For 25 years, our programs have grown in response to changing local needs. Led by Santa Cruz community members, we are playing a crucial role in the powerful generational change currently underway in these communities, helping an entire generation attain an education for the first time.
• EMPOWERMENT, NOT HANDOUTS: Amigos does not give handouts. We build the skills and confidence that people need to improve their livelihoods and community over the long term.
We work with a population who are the first generation to make it past a 3rd-grade education, and they are now leaders in our organization. Through our holistic programs, the new generation in Santa Cruz is now achieving what, for their parents, was once just a distant dream!
EDUCATION PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE
Education is at the heart of everything we do. Access to quality education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty in Santa Cruz.
48 Scholarships Awarded
These included scholarships for middle school, high school and university students. Despite local cultural barriers to girls’ education, this year girls represented 58% of our Scholarship Program recipients!
112
Children Enhanced their Reading Abilities
In 2023, 90% of the 6th grade students continued to middle school and 80% of their parents are actively involved in supporting their children’s education. 254
Youth Learned About Reproductive Health
Accurate sexual and reproductive health education empowers young people to make educated decisions about their future, improving self-esteem, gender equality and socialemotional development.
258
Local Students Benefited with Computer Classes
Amigos provided maintenance support, technology curriculum and computer training classes for teachers.
ECONOMIC PROGRAMS AT A GLANCE
Teaching vocational skills and investing in local businesses is central to the Amigos mission. A thriving local economy means a thriving Santa Cruz.
150 Students Learned Vocational Skills
Men and women of various ages acquired vocational skills to help them make a living.
18 Vocational Training Courses Offered
Courses are designed to respond to both labor market opportunities and community interest, including initiatives in tourism, specialized cooking and baking, mural painting, carpentry and artisanry.
15 Community Tourism Businesses Strengthened
Our sustainable local tourism project supported mostly familial and womenowned businesses, growing their profits in 2023.
48
Local Women Business Owners Empowered
These women run 13 different Amigos-supported businesses including the production of organic eggs, honey, Oyster mushrooms, cacao, soaps, and shampoos.
EDUCATION AND YOUTH PROGRAMS
EARLY EDUCATION READING PROGRAM
YOUTH LEADERSHIP
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
HIGHER EDUCATION SCHOLARSHIPS
Our programs are working to change the trajectory of education in Santa Cruz. By offering afternoon reading classes for the youngest students, and extra tutoring for older ones, we are seeing a difference. Our program participants achieve greater reading fluency, better grades, and the confidence to continue in their studies. I am especially proud that Santa Cruz has now doubled our number of university degrees with three new graduates, all of them women! Most importantly, we are not only seeing a behavioral change in the attitude of the students towards education but also in their parents, who are actively participating in their children’s education like never before.
CECAP VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
These results motivate us to keep improving our programs for the future of education in Santa Cruz, one where our community will have plenty of accomplished graduates with critical thinking skills and high selfesteem. In 2023 we were able to develop new ideas and goals to continue supporting generational change in our community through education. My team and I have a deep commitment to education and we can’t wait to share news of our progress!
Rosalía Simón Pérez Director of Eduation Programs & Administration
TITLE
Of our Reading Program graduates, 90% continued to middle school, compared to only 50% of the general student population in Santa Cruz.
2023 Spending: $53,048
EARLY EDUCATION
READING PROGRAM
This program inspires the joy of learning while developing critical thinking skills through literature. Children engage with books through discussion, art, theater, and song. In a community with few books and high adult illiteracy rates, the home lending library and parental engagement strategies of our program are fostering a new culture of reading and learning in the community.
EDUCATIONAL SUCCESS
• 112 participants, including 53% girls, from Santa Cruz & Jaibalito villages
• Participating children averaged a 20% increase in reading fluency during the year.
• 98% of graduating 6th graders achieved fluency and comprehension in line with their grade, compared to only 13% who read at grade level when first entering the program.
• 40% increase in parents who report reading at home with their children, a major accomplishment in a community whose adult population is largely illiterate.
YOUTH LEADERSHIP
Youth Leadership & SRH 2023 Spending: $37,281
The youth of Santa Cruz will be their community’s next generation of leaders. Our programs seek to both improve individual opportunities for educational advancement, as well as to instill a dedication to giving back and improving their community. Our youth participants complete community service projects, participate in yearly leadership training and receive vital sexual and reproductive health (“SRH”) education to make informed decisions about their family and their future.
“Before, we used to live with more violence. Today things are slowly changing as these talks help us to realize that both men and women have the same rights.”
SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH
• 72 graduating 6th and 9th graders participated in workshops on ageappropriate SRH, self-confidence, and future goal planning.
• 10 Youth Ambassadors trained with key SRH information to then provide workshops for youth in their villages on the prevention of underage pregnancies.
• Workshops and home visits reached over 80 mothers in four different communities to provide them and their families with vital SRH knowledge and resources.
CELEBRATING OUR NEW UNIVERSITY GRADUATES
“As a mother of a 3-year-old son, many in my community thought I needed to abandon work and studies to focus on my family. That is what inspired me to study social work, so I can help other women in my community to overcome these traditional gender roles and accomplish their goals. One of my dreams is to create a childcare facility in Santa Cruz, for women to flourish in the workforce without compromising their motherhood.”
Lisa Tepaz
Bachelor’s Degree in Social Work
2023 Spending: $79,287
SCHOLASHIP PROGRAM
“I became interested in business administration when I did my internship in one of the Amigos’ social businesses, Manos Cruceñas Artisan Store. Now, my studies are helping me to support in a better way, the women artisans with whom we collaborate. In the future, my dream is to have my own business and generate income for my family and my community.”
Paulina Tepaz
Bachelor’s & Master’s Degree in Business Administration
“Ihadtoworkduringtheweekandstudy on weekends to achieve my degree. I’m now the first one in my family to hold a university degree, and the first certified nurse from Santa Cruz to work in our Public Health Center! I am committed to helping my community, especially in the remote villages where access to health services is difficult.”
Brenda Simaj
Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing
Amigos provides competitive scholarships for middle school, high school and university studies. We require adherence to high academic standards as well as a commitment to give back to the community. Recipients participate in academic tutoring and receive socio-emotional counseling to address issues such as depression, stress and familial problems that can affect learning.
ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT PROGRAMS
CECAP VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
SOCIAL IMPACT BUSINESSES
WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT PROGRAM
Our Economic Empowerment Program provides development opportunities for Santa Cruz families, and our beneficiaries become agents of change who can and write a new history for their communities.
The CECAP Vocational Training Center trained 150 students during 2023, learning tourism customer service, business planning and management, among others, to respond to market needs and the demands of the community. We provided job placement support to our 2022 students, with 28 CECAP graduates currently employed.
The biggest challenge of 2023 was the strengthening of various women-owned businesses. Deep-seated lack of confidence and lack of basic academic skills are barriers for local women. We work to empower them to make decisions and lead their businesses toward financial success.
Local empowerment is a process that will happen slowly over generations. This is why my team and I work tirelessly to bring new and exciting empowerment initiatives for young people in our community.
Estela Simaj Director of Economic Empowerment Programs
CECAP VOCATIONAL TRAINING CENTER
• Courses included: Tourism Business Management, Customer Service, English, Cooking & Baking, Carpentry, Artisanry and Solar Installation.
• New educational guidelines are improving CECAP’s curricula, evaluation criteria, and instructor skills.
• Specialized job placement support increased in 2023. CECAP staff connected with employers and assisted with job applications, leading to 28 new job placements of graduates.
2023 Spending: $126,273
Amigos is investing in initiatives that develop community-based tourism in Santa Cruz, providing economic opportunities to the local population while also celebrating the local Kakchiquel Mayan culture.
houses painted in bright traditional colors. A project to generate local pride and cohesion as well as attract tourists. SO FAR...
new murals were painted to celebrate local culture. This was a collaboration between visiting artists and local students.
local tourism businesses supported by Amigos increased their income during 2023. 15
GENERATING INCOME AND EMPLOYMENT
ALFREDO ÁLVAREZ
A Journey of Resilience and Renewal
“When life gives you a second chance, grab it with both hands.”
Back in 2018, Alfredo was 17 years old, had recently graduated from Amigos’ Culinary Program and was excited about his job at a local restaurant. While returning home from work one evening, he was in a terrible boating accident and spent more than 20 days in a coma. Alfredo overcame the odds and woke up from that coma. His recuperation was long and difficult, and the trauma left him unable to travel by boat (the main transport in our lakeside community), yet he did not lose sight of the goal he had set for himself of working in the culinary field. Amigos was glad to provide Alfredo with this second chance, offering him a job in our Café Sabor Cruceño. Six years later, he has grown to become the cafe’s Customer Service Manager as well as the Tourist Class Cooking Instructor. He is proud of what he has achieved, and particularly loves the challenge of practicing his English with foreign visitors.
“The accident taught me to be thankful and more appreciative of life.”
Since he was a young boy, Alfredo dreamt of becoming part of the Amigos team. However, supporting six children in an impoverished family was difficult for his parents. Alfredo had to leave school after the 6th grade to work with his father in construction.
Today, Alfredo is not just thriving in his work but has also returned to his studies. With scholarships from Amigos, he went back to school and completed both middle and high school. Now Alfredo studying at university, an accomplishment both he and his parents could have never imagined!
Since opening its doors in 2012, our Café has provided practical experience to 93 culinary students, learning necessary skills and developing work experience that will help launch their future culinary careers.
Economic opportunities are scarce for women in Santa Cruz. Our artisan store features textiles and jewelry made by graduates of CECAP’s sewing, beading, embroidery and weaving courses. Working for the store provides local artisans with a fair living wage, combined with the flexibility to work at home while taking care of children and other household tasks. These cases and more can be found in our online store.
Scann the QR code or go to:
www.amigosdesantacruz.org/store/
45 Women business owners are together managing 9 businesses
WOMEN’S EPOWERMENT PROGRAM
• In 2023 all Amigos-supported womenowned businesses achieved an average 23% increase in profit.
• These businesses include: organic oyster mushroom production, organic egg production, honey & pollen products, chocolate, soaps & shampoos.
• In addition to business training and technical support, all women received a series of workshops on gender equality and rights, domestic violence, self-confidence and emotional wellbeing, health, and nutrition.
• The majority of participants in 2023 were single mothers, representing a population in particular need of economic opportunity.
FINANCIAL INFORMATION
2023 BREAKDOWN OF INCOME & EXPENSES
The Amigos Board of Directors
2023 was an exciting year of transition for Amigos. Our new strategic plan is giving us hope for a better future in Santa Cruz. While some programs are coming to their end after many successful years of implementation, some are going through a strengthening phase, and others are still in their infancy.
Last year, we focused our efforts on creating a positive, measurable impact in our two main programs. Our Education Program is thriving and creating generational change in the community. We are seeing not only an improvement in
academic achievements but also witnessing students and parents changing their attitudes toward education. Our Economic Empowerment Program continues to grow stronger each year, bringing innovative professional training courses and development opportunities to local business owners and entrepreneurs, especially local women.
Our staff, board members and community partners are passionate about achieving our organization’s mission. We could not do this without the generosity of our donors and volunteers. There is no better way to thank you than showing the impact of your donations through this report. I hope you are as proud as we of all the wonderful work our staff and community are doing hand-in-hand to build a thriving Santa Cruz!
Deedle Ratclife Board or Directors President
Rory Delaney (Vice President), Lee Beal (Treasurer), Karen Barth (Secretary), Santos Canel, Cynthia Davis, Jennifer Geist, Carolyn Johnson, Riley Sise, Mark Vorobik, Virginia Zinser.
Honoring those who make it possible...
CG Charitable, Friend of Amigos, SG Foundation, Honnold Foundation, Girl Rising, International Office of Migration, Rotary International, Jantzen Family, Maya Educational Foundation, Miracles in Action, Prodisol, Beyond Our Borders, Thrive SK2 Fund, Amigos de Jaibalito, Linda Vista Foundation, Fiesta Foundation.
Go to: www.amigosdesantacruz.org/donate/
$1,000 $2,500
Scan the QR code to donate today!
Buys a new set of children’s books for one classroom.
