Guatemala Archives - Cross International

Inclusion & Justice for Children with Disabilities

April 4, 2025 by Cross International

Sheila’s son, nine-year-old Emmanuel, suffers from cerebral palsy. “Ever since he was a baby, the community shunned us,” she said, which also made her other children feel isolated and excluded.

Sheila and her family live in Kilifi County, Kenya — a remote area with widespread misunderstandings about physical disabilities. Many believe that curses, incest, witchcraft or even God is to blame. Frequently, children are painfully abused by “healers” who perform excruciating exorcisms, cuttings, burnings, and live burials to “heal” children of their disabilities. Mothers are often believed to have caused the child’s infliction and consequently are subjected to much of the same inhumane treatment.

Until recently, young Emmanuel and his mother Sheila was in dire need of an advocate who would counsel them on their rights and refer them for care. Cross International intervened on their behalf. Thanks to Cross and our in-country partner, Kupenda for the Children, Emmanuel has received regular physical therapy. The results have been outstanding.

Before he began his physical therapy, Emmanuel was totally dependent on others. Now he can get in and out of his wheelchair by himself. He can crawl and stand up unaided, which would have once been inconceivable. It’s an amazing change for Emmanuel and for his brothers and sisters, as well. They can play and interact with him in a more normal manner. It’s truly a blessing!

With your help, we can transform even more lives and spread the love of Jesus

Cross International has programs serving children with disabilities in six countries — Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Kenya and Malawi — and serves more than 35,000 children and family members. Our work ranges from food distribution and community schools to therapeutic rehabilitation, to surgery, to residential programs, and biblically based leadership and community training to change beliefs and practices for a more just and participatory society.

In the first three years of this plan, we anticipate growing to reach a minimum of 60,000 children with disabilities and family members each year. This is significant, as these vulnerable children and their families are likely to be among the poorest members of the community. Children with disabilities are:

Children with disabilities are at a higher risk of physical abuse and are often excluded from receiving proper nutrition or humanitarian assistance in emergencies. These are children devoid of awareness of life’s possibilities, of life’s hope, or a life of involvement even at the most basic levels of society. Families with disabilities are often shunned, isolated and lack economic opportunity, resulting in lives of poverty and living on the periphery of society.

On average, families who have a child with a disability have lower annual incomes.

In our work, Cross International regularly sees all the challenges described above. As a community of followers of Jesus and as an organization, we believe God is calling Cross to “go deeper and do more.” We are poised to significantly grow our position as an agent of action and influence to improve the lives of these children and their families.

But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.

-Luke 14:13-14

Your gift to Cross International can help change the lives of children with disabilities and their families so that their lives can flourish and thrive!

Restoring Peace to Gulu

March 28, 2025 by Cross International

Cecilia, 12, is one of six children born to a former child soldier, a tragic victim of the atrocities inflicted on the people of northern Uganda a generation ago. During that violent era, the perverse Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) was notorious for abducting young children, conscripting boys as soldiers and coercing girls into becoming soldiers’ wives.

During those brutal years, the LRA didn’t just brutalize children, they terrorized children’s families as well. Cecilia’s uncles were abducted, and her grandparents lost 12 acres of land plus many animals to the LRA. It was a dark time for all Ugandans. But today, things are bright again for children like Cecilia, thanks to Gulu Community Park, a community-based playground and evangelical discipleship center supported by Cross International and a Ugandan-based ministry, World Embrace.

It’s hard to imagine that with over 250,000 children in the Gulu district, there are no safe public parks for children, but it’s true! When fully completed, Gulu Community Park will provide 15 acres of enrichment to children like Cecilia.

Already, the park is paying dividends! Cecilia’s father got a new job with Gulu Park security. With his improved income, the family can finally afford the children’s school fees, nutritious meals and even medical treatment. Eventually, Gulu Community Park will be a social hub for the entire community – and Cross International will be there each step of the way.

Your support to our Thriving Kids Initiative will bring joy and a safe space for these children to play, learn, and grow.

Rescue and Recovery in Rural Guatemala

March 21, 2025 by Cross International

It was a stormy morning in eastern Guatemala, and a team from Cross International’s ministry partner, Hope of Life, was urgently loading up their truck. They had received a report that a baby girl’s life was in danger. If the team didn’t act quickly to get the baby to a hospital, they were told she might not survive. Her family lived in a tiny shack deep in the mountains.

According to the report, the young child named Romelia was starving and in terrible condition.

After a long drive through the mountains, and an even longer trek through the jungle, the team finally reached the place where Romelia lived with her parents. Typically, vulnerable families are reluctant to hand their children to someone offering help, even if their children are desperately ill, because they are afraid the missionaries will expect some payment before the child is returned — a payment they do not have.

After a gentle explanation of the team’s intentions, the father and mother released their baby daughter, and the rescuers saw her emaciated body for the first time. Her small ribs were visible, and her tiny belly was distended — all telltale signs of severe malnutrition.

Empowered by Cross International, Hope of Life rescued little Romelia and gave her the medical care, emergency food and nutrition she desperately needed. With your help, we can rescue even more of these children from malnutrition and allow them to grow and reach their God-given potential.

With your help, we can save even more lives and spread the love of Jesus

Cross International has partnered with the Guatemalan ministry, Hope of Life, for more than a decade, rescuing babies throughout rural Guatemala from the ravages of malnutrition and starvation. Together, we embark on long treks through the remote villages of southeastern Guatemala searching for infants and young children struggling to survive. Once found, the team brings the children and their mothers to Hope of Life’s 24-hour medical facility in Zacapa, where they are both admitted for 4 to 6 weeks.

While at the medical facility, they are cared for by a dedicated team of Christian doctors, nurses and trained technicians. The babies receive a regimen of fortified milk, vitamins and carefully prescribed medication. Mothers are fed three nutritious meals a day and given dietary supplements to ensure they can breastfeed their babies. The families are also referred to a psychologist and a nutritionist to guarantee that malnutrition will never recur. When the child is released from the program, the family is provided with an ample supply of food and medicine. As part of the program, the parents agree to bring the little ones back for regular checkups for the next six months.

Community Transformation in Guatemala

March 7, 2025 by Cross International

Extreme poverty remains especially high in Latin American countries like Guatemala, where more than half of the population lives below the poverty line. In fact, with a chronic malnutrition rate of nearly 50%, Guatemala is the most undernourished country in Latin America and the fourth highest in the world.

To address these issues, Cross International is in a long-term partnership with the Guatemalan ministry Hope of Life to improve the lives of vulnerable communities.

One of these communities is El Milagro — a village in eastern Guatemala composed of the Mayan Ch’orti’ ethnic group, who have a longstanding history of coffee farming. Unfortunately, decades of soil overuse and erosion have led to declining coffee production. The poor soil, adverse weather, and a countrywide economic downturn have resulted in severe food insecurity and malnutrition. Tragically, approximately 54,000 people in this region go hungry daily.

We’re now in the fourth year of a 5-year partnership with El Milagro to improve the lives of the villagers there. One of these villagers is Blanca Morales, a struggling coffee farmer.

Practical hope for Blanca’s pesky problem

As a coffee farmer, Blanca has a lot to fear — declining prices, coffee leaf rust, droughts and low yields, to name just a few. But her newest foe is the coffee borer beetle, known in Spanish as “la broca.” This resilient little pest bores into coffee cherries to lay its eggs and can decimate an entire coffee field in a matter of weeks!

Cross International recently worked with Hope of Life on a unique agricultural invention to trap these pesky beetles. Made of a large plastic bottle painted bright red like a ripe coffee cherry, these traps catch thousands of broca beetles each year.

The trap itself is made by taking a large red plastic bottle and cutting a rectangular hole in the side. Suspended inside the bottle is a little dropper full of alcohol along with used coffee grounds. The bottom of the trap is then filled with water. Tricked by the trap’s scent and bright-red color, the beetles believe it to be a big, delicious coffee cherry. They crawl inside and drown.

Innovations like these broca traps (shown in the photo below) have already made a world of difference for Blanca and her children.

Cross International currently has community transformation projects in 11 rural villages throughout Latin America, serving more than 6,000 children and family members. Although we currently cluster our community transformation efforts in Guatemala and Nicaragua, we expect our efforts to grow exponentially over the next five years to serve more than 60,0000 people. And we anticipate this growth to occur not only in Nicaragua and Guatemala, but also in other countries where Cross International works, such as Haiti, Honduras, Kenya, Malawi, Uganda and Zambia.

An old farmer starts a new business in Guatemala

February 9, 2024 by Cross International

Don Fidel’s home in the remote Guatemalan mountain community of El Milagro is a humble, yet inviting place. Though small, it’s home to seven people, including Don Fidel’s wife, children, and a grandchild. Don Fidel is a coffee farmer and for years his income, and his ability to support his family, has depended solely on his coffee harvest.

However, with primitive farming techniques and little fertilizer, it was hard for Don Fidel to get the most out of his hard work.

Then Cross international came into El Milagro alongside our local partner, Hope of Life, to begin a three-year community transformation project for the village. One cornerstone of the project is to help coffee farmers like Don Fidel learn new, modern agriculture methods to help them maximize harvests and their profits.

For Don Fidel, the results have been dramatic. “It is a pure miracle that Cross International came to support us in coffee production,” Don Fidel said. “They helped us with fertilizers and technical training.” Don Fidel’s coffee production improved so much that he was able to invest his profits in a new business—carpentry.

“I have liked carpentry since I was young,” Don Fidel remembered. “When there is no work to be done on the coffee, I dedicate myself to this.” With his extra income earned from his increased coffee harvest, Don Fidel invested in some wood working tools and began to make furniture to sell.

“I want to thank the Cross International donors for the help they are giving us,” Don Fidel says. “Thank you, I appreciate you and may God bless you!”

Baby Yeimi’s Life-Saving Journey

September 29, 2023 by Cross International

How Your Support Rescued a Guatemalan Child

The red and white vehicle bounces up a narrow, deeply rutted dirt road in the remote highlands of Guatemala.

Across the twin doors at the rear the word “AMBULANCIA” is spelled out in large block letters. Along the way it passes through some small villages, but for the most part this mountainous region is lush, green, and very rural.

After over an hour navigating the heavy-rain scarred roads, the ambulance finally arrives at its destination–Yeimi’s house. At two months old, little Yeimi weighs less than seven pounds. She is at risk of suffering from malnutrition, which could have life-long consequences.

The ambulance, dispatched from Cross International’s local partner, Hope of Life, is carrying a nurse who’s here to evaluate little Yeimi and determine the best way to help her and her family.

The nurse, Hosmary, meets Yeimi’s mother, 18-year-old Mayra, and gently picks up Yeimi, checking her over. The examination reveals that Yeimi is suffering from a cleft palate that makes it very difficult for her to breastfeed. Thankfully, Yeimi seems to be otherwise healthy and should make a swift recovery once she gets the nutrition she needs.

Staff from Cross International and Hope of Life help carry little Yeimi to the ambulance, and of course Mayra comes too.

After a long and bouncy ride the ambulance delivers Yeimi and her mama to the Hope of Life hospital. There she undergoes a more thorough evaluation by a doctor and an action plan is developed to ensure that this precious little girl can grow up healthy and strong.

In the coming weeks and months medical staff will closely monitor Yeimi’s progress as she is provided the nutrition support she needs as well as surgery to correct her cleft palate.

Additionally, her mom Mayra will receive training, education, and resources to ensure that she is fully equipped to care for her baby daughter in the months and years ahead.

Thank you for being a part of baby Yeimi’s story. You may not have been riding in that ambulance with her, but it’s only because of the faithfulness and generosity of Cross supporters like you that her medical rescue was made possible!

A Young Woman and Her Family Rise Out of Poverty

May 26, 2022 by Cross International

Josefina was stuck. With four children to care for, Josefina and her husband, Santos, were struggling to find enough work to put food on the table. The pair mainly worked as day laborers in their hometown of El Milagro, Guatemala. Working for others, it was difficult for Josefina and Santos to get ahead. They wondered if they would ever break free of the cycle of poverty.

Little did they know God was about to bless them with a new opportunity.

Josefina was chosen by local Cross International partner, Hope of Life, to receive help starting a new business raising chickens for eggs. Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Cross International donors like you, Josefina and her family received training on how to care for and maintain a flock as well as 40 hens and a coop of their own. Because Josefina is not literate, field staff enlisted the help of her eldest daughter to help with keeping track of egg production and sales.

In the first year of the business, Josefina and her family worked diligently to make the most out of their new opportunity. Not only did they start earning a daily income, they were able to reinvest some of the profits in replenishing and expanding their flock. For Christmas, Josefina was able to purchase and raise a small flock of broiler chickens, and they all sold out!

Josefina and her family feel blessed by God to be a part of this Cross International poultry project and they are very proud to have their own business and to be able to support their children.

Thank you for making family agriculture projects like this one possible. You are giving hard-working people like Josefina the dignity and hope that comes from being able to reap the fruits of their labors and build a future for themselves and their kids.

If you want to support other families like Josefina’s, you can donate to the animal and agricultural fund or provide economic empowerment for small businesses in other communities in need.

Raising Chickens: Moving Beyond Poverty in Guatemala

February 17, 2022 by Cross International

Escaping Poverty in Guatemala

Argelia never had the chance to go to school in Guatemala. Now 52 years old, she still cannot read or write. Even so, Argelia worked hard to provide for her children as best as she could, but with little opportunity the cards were stacked against her. Then, thanks to the faithfulness of Cross supporters, Argelia got connected with Hope of Life, Cross International’s partner in Guatemala. With the support of CI donors like you, Hope of Life is in the midst of a three-year community transformation project in Argelia’s village of El Milagro.

One of the core components of this community transformation project is to help individuals build thriving agriculture businesses in order to provide for their families and increase the availability of nutritious food in the village.

Raising Chickens

Because of her hard work, Argelia was chosen to receive help starting a chicken raising business. Argelia has been diligent in attending training sessions and now she has her own chicken coop and is able to harvest eggs for her family to eat and to sell at the market for extra income. Argelia is incredibly thankful to have been able to be a part of this Cross International poultry project in Guatemala. “No one receives if God does not give,” Argelia said. “God is great and powerful and I am so grateful for the benefit of these projects.”

Thank you for blessing hard-working people like Argelia with the means to build a better life for themselves and their children!

If you want to support other families like Argelia’s, you can donate to the animal and agricultural fund or provide economic empowerment for small businesses in other communities in need.