My Nonprofit Reviews

Having done a great deal of volunteer work both in the US and outside I'm always skeptical of organizations that operate in other countries; handing out charity so that we can feel better instead of actually helping the communities lift themselves out of their situations. I can assure you that all of my reservations were blown apart with the first 24 hours spend with the amazing people of Xela AID!

To start, how often do you go to an orientation for a trip like this at the home of the organization's founder? Within the first day or so in Guatemala it was clear that Xela AID has had an amazing impact on the community they've been working in for the last 15 years or so and I really respected that they are openly NOT a charity. Their goal is to develop self reliance and leadership WITHIN the community and build real, permanent, and lasting change. The greatest accomplishment, in my opinion, is the development of their Leaders of The Future program; a group of 15-20 teenagers who started with the program when they were toddlers and now virtually run the whole thing with the help of the locally based Director and others.

I could go on and on but if you're reading I would highly encourage you to do everything you can to support this amazing organization and everyone involved.

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