My Nonprofit Reviews

An intergenerational delegation of 15 members of the University Presbyterian Church, Baton Rouge Louisiana, embarked on a ten-day XELA AID service trip to Guatemala . This experience met my expectations and more. I got to see first-hand how XELA AID fulfills its purpose of integrated development and self-reliance among the people of San Martín Chiquito, and its positive effects on the Guatemalan people in the surrounding areas. The agency is well respected in the community and the leaders of the day-to-day operations are young Guatemalans who are all products of XELA AID academic scholarships and leadership training. These leaders ensured that our service projects were relevant to the needs of the community and they facilitated our interaction with the local people. Our activities included making and delivering chicken coops and water filters; making arts and crafts and music with children; teaching flower arranging, sharing new product ideas with weavers and taking weaving and cooking classes; teaching English as a second language; providing menstrual health education for adolescent girls and distributing Days for Girls International menstrual kits; assisting in dental vision clinics, and taking cooking classes which included learning to make tortillas. These activities were well organized and facilitated by the XELA AID staff. We also enjoyed the beauty of the Guatemalan highlands with stops in Antigua, a UN designated world Heritage Site, Lake Atitlan, and the thermal springs at Las Georginas. This trip afforded many opportunities for us to put our faith into practice; it provided opportunities for service, learning, cultural exchange, love of the other, and mutual respect. I highly recommend partnering with XELA AID for a similar life-changing experience.