My Nonprofit Reviews

Xela Aid has the word "Partnership" in its title. This is reflected in everything they do. The people they engage, both volunteers and residents, in one of the poorest areas of Guatemala, are treated with dignity, respect, and a sense of striving together to improve what many would deem a dire situation. The founders of this amazing group have always listened to the people they partner with and have truly empowered those they encounter. I have traveled with Xela Aid for over twenty years and have witnessed first hand how they have matured with the community they have partnered with. They have really empowered the Guatemalan people who have become almost independent in the operation of the medical clinic, clean water projects, education, early child care, and many other areas that any self sustaining community requires. I have watched with awe and admiration as this group has expanded the lives of everyone from volunteers to the youngest in the community as they have shown what it truly means to be a partner.

I have just returned from my August 2016 trip to San Martin Chiquito with Xela Aid. I have travelled to Guatemala many times since 1993 to work with this amazing Humanitarian group. We did many projects at our beautiful clinic and held a near vision clinic as well as distributing sunglasses to protect the eyes of these agricultural workers. Xela Aid is a totally transparent non profit where partnership to help the Guatemalan Mayan people is their goal. I always return in awe of what a little help can do for so many people. We always receive much more than we give. If you want to volunteer with a group in a third world setting you should find out more about Xela Aid.

I have just returned from an amazing trip working in Guatemala with Xela Aid. I have been before, in fact many times, but every trip brings new satisfaction in seeing how this group has expanded their horizons and included extra projects that have literally changed the lives of the people living in San Martine Chiquito. This trip I taught some of the women to make candy and cookies that they might be able to sell to earn some money. It was so much fun to share their kitchen, their experiences, and their great sense of humour and friendship. I was also able to dispense reading glasses to about 50 people who needed single vision readers to enable them to continue to sew, weave, or read. It's a privilege to be a part of Xela Aid and to make a difference in the lives of those we work with. It has definitely changed my life.

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Back in the very early 1990's the second year that Xela Aid went to Guatemala my friend and I joined the team to help with the optometry clinic. We were the only Canadians on the team. Back then we worked in tents and moved from place to place. Over the years following we returned well over a dozen times and watched this amazing charity grow into a very effective NGO that settled in the town of San Martine, built a clinic, and really made a difference in the lives of the people of that village and beyond. We sponsored a brother and sister who are now both teachers and he is the Director of Education for the district he lives in. They were the first children in their village who ever went to high school. Being a part of Xela Aid changed our lives too. We made lifelong friends in Guatemala. Our outlook on life broadened to include another culture, another way of sharing what we could give, and receiving the wisdom, friendship, and experience of being a part of an extraordinary group of people who truly put others before themselves.

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