I have been a supporter of AIR since the lat 1990s and continue to be impressed and inspired by the work they do and, most importantly, the integrity with which they do their work. AIR's work and mission is driven and carried out by Guatemalan leaders and community members at a grass roots level. The respect AIR shows towards the communities and people with whom they work is only surpassed by the respect that the communities convey back to AIR. Having served on the boards and as a volunteer with other NGO and nonprofit organizations around the world, AIR is among the best of the best!
AIR has hosted two student groups from the University of Central Florida. Both trips have been amazing. Seeing up close the relationships that AIR fosters with clients and how much the staff cares about helping people and the environment is amazing. It is a great example of a win/win with environmental and economic benefits to the local residents.
I am an environmental scientist and participated as a volunteer on a week-long project in Guatemala with this organization earlier this year (2017). This is hands down the most effective nonprofit I've seen. They have a program that supports so many interrelated needs - environmental preservation, sustainable agriculture, indoor air quality, rural poverty, women's rights, indigenous rights, education. They have a model that works - it is almost entirely bottom up. Local communities request the help; local technicians that are from the region and speak the local dialect provide the training, support, and guidance; the community performs most of the work themselves and AIR's support to them is long-term. This organization gets my highest recommendation as one worth supporting.
As a mission pastor, I have had opportunity to engage in many global mission experiences and I rate the engagement with AIR as one of the healthiest initiatives promoting long-term sustainability. Sharing a vision, a meal, and a time for planting with local community leaders focuses the involvement on an intimate level - something that is very challenging to do in global contexts. The opportunity to come alongside of people who care for creation on many levels has long lasting effects. I was grateful to see not only the development of more stable mountain sides, but also the development of more stable communities!
As a Ph.D. researcher in the field of public health, I have had the opportunity to work with numerous non-profit organizations both within the U.S. and abroad. The Alliance for International Reforestation without a doubt is a model organization - not only for the highly effective, responsive ways in which it serves and builds capacity across myriad communities, but also for the compassion with which it does so. Other organizations would do well to study AIR and learn from its strategies for effective and lasting community engagement. Truly, I have never encountered a group of more committed individuals. Led by Dr. Anne Hallum and Cecilia Rodriguez, the AIR team exercises the utmost care and compassion in all that they do. And the numbers speak for themselves - with a low overhead budget and a staff of less than 10 individuals, in over 20 years the organization has planted nearly 4 million trees throughout Guatemala and Nicaragua (most of which are still standing today).Given that Central America has some of the highest rates of deforestation and malnutrition in the world, and given that so many populations there depend upon a healthy environment for healthy food crops - it is safe to say that AIR is saving lives as it is saving the environment. It is an honor to continue working with them, and I hope to continue to do so for many, many years.