Help us spread hope and joy through compassionate service.
For over 30 years, Hearts In Motion has navigated a myriad of challenges that go hand in hand with providing service in a poverty-stricken country. Through our longtime partnerships in Guatemala, we have an intimate understanding of what is happening on the ground and how to make informed decisions and prioritize safety for our teams and the people we serve.
Because of you, all the obstacles we’ve encountered have made us a resilient and agile organization poised for change. As we respond to rapidly evolving circumstances, we need your support to ensure we are there for the 8,000+ individuals we help every year.
A recent challenge we experienced was the cancelation of our Orthopedic Surgical trip because of peaceful demonstrations for a fair and democratic process that caused roadblocks and restricted the flow of resources and mobility throughout the country.
We readily modified our programming and improvised our efforts to continue to offer food, water, and medical care and let our participants know they were not alone.
This challenge has now transformed into an opportunity to enhance and expand our gardening project in the future to increase food security in Gualan and Pueblo Modelo.
Another challenge we faced earlier this year was when one of our mission teams traveled to a remote village where they met Douglas, a young boy suffering from acute malnutrition, and his health was severely compromised. His mother, Josefa, Mayan, wanted her child to receive care; however, she was uncomfortable sending Douglas alone to our Nutrition Center.
This little boy and his mother inspired us to change how we help children at our Nutrition Center and the utilization of the Reese House.
In just 33 days, Douglas gained a remarkable 2.4 lbs, a testament to the power of collaborative care and dedication.
Josefa became an integral part of his recovery. Enabling us to bridge language barriers and provide personalized care that expedited Douglas' recovery. She actively participated in his care routine and learned about nutrition, hygiene, and the over all wellbeing for herself and her child.
Our skilled staff and his mother guided Douglas' recovery as he received tailored treatment of nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and prescribed medications. This unique collaboration allowed us to address Douglas' immediate medical needs and empower Josefa with essential knowledge.
This pilot program demonstrated the need and importance of having mothers and children together who are receiving care in the Nutrition Center.
I want you to know that this was not an easy decision, nor one that we took lightly. The regulations would have had such a negative impact on the programs on the Gualan Campus that we felt it was time to envision something new. I want you to know that three of the eleven children at the house were reunited with their family, two were placed with relatives, and six were moved to other temporary homes.
I take immense pride in the incredible work we achieve together and our ability to adapt to further our mission to positively impact hundreds of lives every month.
However, the truth remains that this work is only made possible through your unwavering support. Please consider making a gift to Hearts In Motion to help us provide transformational and life-saving services for children and their families.
With much love and hope,
Karen Scheeringa-Parra
Executive Director & Founder