Safe Passage
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November 13, 2012
I began working at Safe Passage/Camino Seguro 6 months ago in the Donations/PR department. After working in several NGOs/non-profits in Latin America, I can honestly say the Safe Passage is extremely effective and efficient at addressing and meeting the need of some of the poorest communities in Guatemala City. Not only is everyone at the project like family, but they are whole-heartedly invested in seeing that every student in the project (children and adults) have all the tools they need to open a wide array of possibilities in their future that they wouldn't have if not for the amazing work of Safe Passage!
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How does this organization compare with others in the same sector?
Very Well
How much of an impact do you think this organization has?
Life-changing
Will you recommend this organization to others?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
1 person found this review helpful
November 12, 2012
1 person found this review helpful
I originally came to volunteer at Safe Passage for 4 weeks... that was 2 years ago! This organization is an incredible place to grow and learn both personally and professionally. I have been a Child Sponsor now for over a year and spending time with my sponsor child never fails to put a big smile on my face after a busy day!
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
October 31, 2012
Safe Passage is an incredible organization. I first volunteered there in 2005 for a week at the age of 15 and ended up returning seven times since with plans to return many times more. The longest stint was for a year in 2008-2009 at the age of 18. I took a year off between high school and college and had the best year of my life. The organization is supportive and well run. The staff and other volunteers are extremely warm and welcoming and the children will capture your heart and make you return again. I can say that Safe Passage truly changed my life forever. I realized how important it was to me to help others, therefore started to study social work at college. If i had never gotten involved with Safe Passage i don't know who I would be today. Hanley Denning will forever be in my thoughts.
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
A lot
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2011
1 person found this review helpful
October 31, 2012
1 person found this review helpful
I've been a donor and child sponsor for years. GREAT organization doing FANTASTIC work everyday. 1000 thanks to ALL involved including those who are considering contributing. Full speed ahead!
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Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
October 30, 2012
My daughter and I participated in the mother-daughter week at Safe Passage in the summer of 2011. It's a terrific organization that is making a huge difference in the lives of children surrounding the Guatemala City garbage dump. They are helping to educate the poorest of children living in dire circumstances. It was a terrific experience and we made many new friends. We now sponsor one of the girls that we met while we were there. It's an amazing place and most worthy of your support!
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Likely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
A lot
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Quite well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2011
1 person found this review helpful
October 29, 2012
1 person found this review helpful
I volunteered for Safe Passage from 2004-2006 and have watched it grow over the years. It does a fabulous job education the poorest of the poor in Guatemala City, integrating locals and volunteers in its efforts. Its holistic approach to combatting poverty is incredibly effective. It is the best run non-profit I have ever encountered in my 12 years of living and volunteering abroad in 4 different foreign countries. If you want to make a difference in a child's life and actually see results, get involved with Safe Passage, Camino Seguro.
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Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
2 people found this review helpful
October 26, 2012
2 people found this review helpful
We sponsor through Safe Passage, and are continually amazed at the real, practical difference made in the lives of kids and families who otherwise live in poverty in the city dump in Guatemala City.
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Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
2 people found this review helpful
October 26, 2012
2 people found this review helpful
Safe Passage changes lives. For the three children I sponsor with my brother and sisters, it takes them off the streets and out of the Guatemala City garbage dump by providing them a safe place to study, eat, play, and grow. For the volunteers like my siblings, it shows them a world so different and so much more precarious than their own while empowering them to make real and invaluable changes in the lives of these children. For the mothers involved in the program, it provides a them with the skills and self confidence to create small businesses and better provide for their families. For me it has proven that a small group of people can make a big change if they put their minds to it and that even a small improvement in the life of a child is worth just about anything. In sum, Safe Passage gives people one of the most powerful gifts imaginable: hope.
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Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
2 people found this review helpful
October 26, 2012
2 people found this review helpful
I became familiar with Safe Passage in the summer of 2010 when my 21 year old son became a long-term volunteer for this group. I heard much about what SafePassage was accomplishing from him during his first 6 months, and was so impressed with what the oganization accomplishes that I, under their support team program, recruited 4 others to put together a support team and we went to Guatemala in June of 2011 for a week of volunteering. There, we saw first hand the incredible success and magic of this organization. Let me take a step back in my story - in 1989 I went to Guatemala (one of many, many visits over the years) and adopted my son Nicholas. He is the the son volunteering at Safe Passage now. I returned in 1991 for my son Steven, and in 1995 for my daughter Rosie. My daughter Rosie went with us on our SafePassage support team trip. Safe Passage has wrapped its collective arms aroung the families living around and working in the Guatemala city dump - families that for generations have been at the bottom of Guatemala's poor. Its mission is to bring hope, education, and opportunity to the children and families living in extreme poverty around the City's garbage dump." Today, Safe Passage has over 100 children in its 'estrilta' preschool (where my son has been a teachers aid in the 2 year old classroom for 2 years), and over 500 children in the educational reinforcement program. The children in the estrelita are there all day, receives all of their meals, engage in a outstanding pre-school curriculum 'planting seeds' , get bathed, brush their teeth, see a dentist twice a year, get medical care, etc. etc. THe children in the educ reinforcement program are provided with books, uniforms, backpacks and tuition to attend the guatemala public schools(which are half day) and spend the other half of the day at safepassage where they have meals, brush their teeth! learn english, get homework help, take music and art, do sports, , and on top of this, these 600 + plus children, representing over 300 families in the dump, often have an active mother or father in the adult literacy program , a mother who no longer works at the dump because she is successful in the jewelry cooperative, a family that is lifting itself out of poverty. Safe Passage is providing these 300 + families a way out of the grinding poverty through education, and Caring - and not a lot of money. THe program has a guatemalan staff of teachers and social workers, at any time over 40 volunteers from all over the world who commit a minimum of 2 months of the life to the program, and dozens of volunteer support teams from around the world that go to guatemala for a week at the program - Rotary clubs, high school and college groups,medical teams, teachers, etc. etc. Never have I seen such an amazing impact on such a large number of families - it truly is astounding. Go to their site, www.safepassage.org and see some of the wonderful things these kids and families are doing. And finally, for my personal perspective, adopting children who are in need of a family because of poverty in a country comes with its own share of sadness, for the family that was but could not continue. I am incredibly proud of the work of SafePassage in that they truly are providing what is needed for Families to stay together and thrive together.
More feedback...
Was your donation impactful?
Definitely
How likely is it that you would recommend that a friend donate to this group?
Definitely
How likely are you to donate to this group again?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
October 26, 2012
I had the privilege of volunteering with Safe Passage in Guatemala two summers ago. Since then, I have visited the project once more and continue to support them. While I was there it was incredible to witness the life-changing work they are doing in the Guatemala City Garbage Dump Community. Safe Passage offers these families a way out of the dump, where many literally sift through trash for recyclables that they can survive on. The organization does this by offering children educational, recreational, social, and health services, and offering parents adult literacy classes, health classes, parenting classes, and entrepreneurship guidance. What is also admirable about Safe Passage is that it is truly preparing these families for self-sufficiency. By offering children and parents the tools necessary to succeed, their futures will be filled with many more opportunities as a result. The faculty and volunteers have such heart for the kids, and enthusiasm for the work they do. Safe Passage is a very special place, and I feel strongly that it should be placed on your 2012 Top-Rated Nonprofits List.
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Would you volunteer for this group again?
Definitely
For the time you spent, how much of an impact did you feel your work or activity had?
Life-changing
Did the organization use your time wisely?
Very Well
Would you recommend this group to a friend?
Definitely
When was your last experience with this nonprofit?
2012
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