Miracles in Action is a Florida based, 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that serves poor indigenous communities in Guatemala. Their team of volunteers seeks out underserved pockets of need in rural Guatemala and they research projects that focus on education, vocational training, and sustainable development. “Miracles” board then selects those projects that achieve long-term results, improve quality of life, and allow truly impoverished people to help themselves.
Supporting Guatemalan Cottage Industry: Because they are a volunteer organization, 100% of all donations go directly to their projects. Administrative expenses are funded by the sale of handicrafts produced in Guatemala’s cottage industry. Additionally, the sale of handicrafts provides the Mayan women an opportunity to earn an income from their home while taking care of their children. If not for the handicraft industry, these women would need to work hard labor in the fields picking coffee and corn for 12 hour shifts away from home.
Projects: Their goal is to make a lasting impact on the lives of the poorest of the poor. Here are some of the ways they strive to make a difference:
- Schools and Libraries: Education is the answer to poverty, but it is often out of reach for the poor. “Miracles” buys the building materials and partners with villagers who provide the construction labor to build their own school.
- Offering Vocational Training: “Miracles” has funded sewing, carpentry, and handicraft training programs where poor people learn trades for better futures.
- Student Scholarships: The group sponsors scholarships to primary, basico, and diversicado schools for poor students from rural, mountain areas. Schools are not free in Guatemala — sponsorship pays for tuition, uniform, books, supplies, student follow-up , and sometimes transportation or housing.
- Bringing Water to Villages, Changing Lives: Clean, safe drinking water is a basic human right. Miracles In Action sponsors water systems that bring a water pipe to each home, improving hygiene and quality of life.
- Water Filters: One of the leading causes of death in young children is dehydration and diarrhea from drinking dirty water with parasites and bacteria. Water filters save the lives of children.
- Sponsoring Stoves – Saving Trees, Lungs and Lives: Most Guatemalan Mayan families cook on open fires inside their homes. New safe, vented stoves are designed to use less wood, resulting in less clear cutting of the rainforest. Smoke gets ventilated out of the house and the design prevents children from being seriously burned.
- Teacher Training Program: Miracles in Action has developed a teacher resource center in Patzun area, and plans to use the center as a model for other areas. Teachers can check out educational materials like flash cards, puzzles, story books, transparencies and overhead projectors, CDs with children’s music and stories, etc. Training workshops are offered live over the internet from US teachers to rural Guatemalan teachers using the center.
To learn more about this group, please visit their website.