Cubulco, Guatemala
About The Location & History
Cubulco, is a city of 42,000 people, of which 80% are of Mayan Achi descent. The high majority of people live in poverty because of the lack of education and employment. Many men who seek work to support their families are often forced to the coast where there are sugar and coffee plantations. Conditions on those farms are extremely poor and many workers fall ill during their employment. When they return to their families (after 3 to 6 months), they spend much of their earnings to treat their illness.
ImapctHope was originally involved in sending two short-term teams (2014 and 2018) to build a church and children’s area as the basis of the initiative. This is a new effort and we are at the preliminary stages – the first step is to develop a stronger leadership core through the local church community. The plan is to develop other initiatives that address social causes.
Special Fundraiser
We believe that self-sustained and midterm projects like raising chickens will resolve the need for food security in Cubulco. A specialized team will work with the local community to recover and promote endogenous agricultural production. The project will incorporate the production of heritage chickens using local techniques and enable families to develop resources within their community, including the use of the local grains.
Who Are We Partnering With?
In July 2021, Alejandro and Kathryn Ortiz and their four children returned to Cubulco to lead the efforts of ImpactHope. Alejandro, originally from this community, has previously worked in church planting, Bible translation, community development, literacy, and a weekly Christian radio program in the local Achi language.
What Is The Initiative?
The Ortiz family believes that God has led them back to serve the Achi people of Cubulco. They are grateful to return to this beautiful but needy area, part of ‘the dry corridor’—a geographical location of Central America that has seen many people attempt to migrate North to survive. Alejandro and Kathryn are convinced that the community can thrive holistically under God’s blessing with appropriate projects that offer food security and employment opportunities. Eventually, Kathryn will be working in maternity health with local midwives and women empowerment through community projects.
Together with the local leaders, plans are developing, including education sponsorship, agricultural initiatives, resolving water supply/purification issues, and more!
Causes Being Addressed:
HEALTH | FOOD SECURITY | EDUCATION | GENDER EQUALITY – WOMEN EMPOWERMENT | WATER