So not much, so much.... 1% of the price of each product goes to San Andres!
Last year was special for us. Not only in terms of the challenges we faced while developing SempreArte, but also, and perhaps above all, because we had the opportunity to meet a lot of extraordinary people. We made friends. We were learning. And we supported each other. At that time, we had the pleasure of working with the Nuevo Amanecer organization, which works for poor families in San Andres Itzapa - a village near Antigua.
It was a real adventure for us. The heart of the organization is the family with whom we have established true friendship. Their home became a second home for us - we often spent the night with them, shared meals, and cooked Polish and Guatemalan dishes together. They gave us family warmth, and we supported them as much as we could, both substantively and financially. On Instagram, we kept showing jointly organized events and initiatives, such as Mikołajki or Carnival. For Christmas, we organized a fundraiser among our friends, for which we managed to equip almost 70 children from the village with the most necessary school equipment necessary to start the new school year (the school year in Guatemala corresponds to the calendar year). We also run a profile for them on the workaway.info platform, thanks to which more and more travelers learn about the project and come to help.
We couldn't imagine that our cooperation would end when we moved out of Guatemala. The Nuevo Amanecer organization is too important on the map of charity in Guatemala. Their strength lies in the sincere willingness to share what they have, and believe me, they don't have much themselves. That's why we've decided to donate 1% of our SempreArte income to Nuevo Amanecer every month. Thanks to this, you, when buying our products, become part of this great initiative.
Still not convinced? Read how it all started.
30 years ago, the then 2-year-old daughter of Mr. Manuel Vicky fell seriously ill. It turned out that he had a heart defect. The family could not afford the life-saving procedure, the distraught parents did not know what to do ... and then a real miracle happened - a cardiologist from the capital, Dr. Guillermo Gaitán, came to the rescue. He performed the surgery for free and organized the necessary help for the family after the surgery. Everything ended with a happy ending. But for Mr. Manuel, it was just the beginning - that's when he decided that in exchange for saving Vicky's life, he would help other families in need. Which he does to this day. He started with unofficial activities, helping to get medical help. San Andres is a village mostly inhabited by Mayans who have been discriminated against for years, do not have sufficient access to medical care or education. After a few years, Mr. Manuel and some young volunteers decided to create an organization that would officially work to help the poorest of the village of San Andres Itzapa. They focus their activities primarily on children, who find it difficult to find themselves in this difficult environment. The organization was named K'ak'a' Saqarik (in the local Mayan language), Nuevo Amanecer in Spanish, meaning New Dawn in Polish. It is the children who are the hope, as always the next dawn is a new hope.
Currently, the organization consists of the Cujcuy family, i.e. Mr. Manuel and his wife Mrs. Felipe, daughters Vicky, Gloria, Oidi, Karina and many other people who, like us, are friends of the family.
From the beginning, their mission has been to provide the necessary social, technical and scientific assistance to families in difficult life situations, while promoting Mayan traditions and culture. Therefore, some classes are held in Kakchiquel.
Nuevo Amanecer Objectives:
- Provide educational, technical, humanitarian and cultural assistance to rural and marginal urban communities to meet their needs and improve quality of life
- Promoting women's participation in the community
- Implementing projects for children, especially in rural and marginal urban areas
- Promoting and implementing environmental protection measures
- Promotion and protection of human rights
In order to achieve all these goals, individual small projects and various activities for children and their parents are organised. Every day after school, children come to Mr. Manuel's house and with the help of Vicky and Gloria and volunteers, they do homework, play games, expand their knowledge and skills, eg cook, sew, embroider, they can also participate in carpentry classes. The latest project is very interesting - the children got a piece of land that had not been cultivated for years, which they managed to lease, and they are learning how to re-adapt it for growing vegetables. Parents also have the opportunity to take advantage of vegetable growing and animal husbandry classes to become independent at some point. Some time ago, the subsidy was used to purchase hens and distribute them to the poorest families, while teaching them how to develop breeding.
From time to time, children are taken on sightseeing trips and to the museums and theater in Antigua, which allows them to develop comprehensively culturally. Children also perform once a month at the Rainbow Cafe in Antigua, presenting traditional Mayan dances, which aims to promote Mayan culture and traditions among residents and tourists.
Among these goals and projects, the greatest thing the organization does is teach children how to be a good, honest person, how to respect and love others, how to say "thank you" and "sorry". And this is probably the most important reason why we want to help them. Sure, if there were more families like the Cujcuy family in the world, it would be much better.
We would like you to know that when you buy our bag, you buy a pen, a notebook or a meal for a child who needs your help. On behalf of us, Mr. Manuel, Mrs. Felipe, Vicky, Gloria, Oidi, Katrina, the children themselves, and above all their parents, thank you very much for this!
If you want to establish closer cooperation or offer even more help, feel free to contact us!
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