UIW Travels to Guatemala to Aid Indigenous Communities

In May 2023, UIW students and faculty members traveled on an inaugural mission to Guatemala to help aid indigenous communities by collaborating with Little Angels of Mary, a nonprofit organization operated by UIW alumni Edwin Mendoza Hipp and Darlene Jasso Mendoza. Little Angels of Mary strives to be an instrument of God’s love by providing nutritional support and quality education to disadvantaged children from indigenous communities in Guatemala.

In May 2024, UIW community members returned for a second solidarity trip, again having the chance to aid in Little Angels of Mary’s efforts. Part of this year’s visit was dedicated to learning about Guatemala’s history so that volunteers could familiarize themselves with the histories and cultures of local indigenous communities. The group visited Mayan art and history museums, a textile museum and the World Heritage United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) site in Antigua, Guatemala. The trip was also dedicated to working in Santa Apolonia, where volunteers spent time with students, helped teachers, aided in the building and planting of a school vegetable garden and participated in home visits to help plant new herbs and vegetables for families. The group that traveled this summer included Dr. Beth Senne-Duff, UIW professor of Nutrition, her husband, Mark Diff, Dr. Lorena Paul, assistant professor of Nursing, Dr. Heather Barton-Weston, assistant professor of Community Health Education, and two UIW students.

Originally, Little Angels of Mary was founded by Edwin Mendoza Escoto in 2007 to help support and house children with down syndrome, but unfortunately, due to a lack of funding, Escoto closed it down. In 2016, Escoto, his son, Edwin Mendoza Hipp, and his daughter-in-law, Darlene Jasso Mendoza, all collaborated to revive Little Angels of Mary. Unfortunately, Escoto passed in 2022 during the COVID-19 pandemic, but his son and daughter-in-law still pushed forward as they desired to continue his legacy through an educational and nutritional approach to helping others.

“We work in Santa Apolonia, Chimaltenango, where 69% of the children are malnourished – one of the highest rates of chronic malnutrition in the country,” explained Mendoza an alumna of UIW’s Class of 2015. “It was shocking to us because Santa Apolonia has very fertile land and the majority of their crops get exported, but the families don’t have the education or knowledge about eating healthy foods.”

Hipp and Mendoza, both teachers, understand the importance of education and the impact it can have on an entire family. In the beginning of redeveloping their organization, they worked with a local nonprofit school in Guatemala City where they noticed many children had learning difficulties due to chronic malnutrition as babies. This inspired their efforts in helping to provide access to nutritious foods and quality preschool education.

UIW faculty and students were welcome by Hipp and Mendoza to join their work in 2023 when they shared word of their efforts with the University, which then also included the start of a preschool program.

“God really was working during that time because Sr. Martha Ann Kirk, CCVI had just received the news that her and Dr. Beth Senne-Duff weren’t allowed to take students to Peru due to political unrest. They were bummed but hearing about a new project in Guatemala seemed interesting, and since we were also working in nutrition, Sr. Martha Ann saw it as an amazing opportunity!” shared Mendoza.

During the initial trip in 2023, UIW education majors, nutrition majors and other community members were able to contribute toward Little Angels of Mary’s mission by helping to assess the nutritional health of children, engage in and help with their school lessons, build and plant eight garden plots for families and learned about the history and importance of solidarity with indigenous communities.

“My experience at UIW took me out of my bubble and opened my eyes to many things in this world. It showed me how to be compassionate to others, to not turn my head away from the marginalized in this world,” expressed Mendoza. “What I love most about having the UIW community being a part of our work is that I can bring a little piece of my university home to my new home here in Guatemala. Students and faculty are able to experience something outside of their own bubble and practice all that they teach and/or learn at UIW.”

Mendoza expressed that in addition to UIW members sharing their knowledge and experience with them in Guatemala, she hopes that they can take back with them the love and joy that she and her husband feel every day in the communities they work in.