UPAVIM

Over the past 25 years, UPAVIM has grown from a small baby-weighing program to a women's cooperative employing over 100 local women and making handmade fair-trade crafts sold around the world. The proceeds from these crafts pay the women's salaries, fund UPAVIM's community health clinic, and fund UPAVIM's school, which includes a daycare, pre-school, and elementary school (K-6th). In addition, the organization manages the first public library in the neighborhood, offers free English classes and tutoring for all ages, and runs a bakery and soy factory to provide fresh and affordable goods to the community. The mission of our organization, UPAVIM, is to empower the women of our community, giving them an opportunity to improve the quality of life, for themselves and for their families. We pursue this mission by giving them access to education, employment opportunities, daycare services for their children, health care services, and programs for personal and professional development. We are a group of approximately 88 women who live in the marginalized community of La Esperanza, in Zone 12 of Guatemala City. We are all mothers and homemakers. Some of us are widows, some of us have been abandoned by our husbands or we confront alcoholism and/or domestic violence in our families. Many of us are the sole providers of economic support for our families. With your support whether through donations or just buying and marketing our products, we can accomplish these goals and continue to make UPAVIM a self-sustainable women´s cooperative dedicated to training the women of our community and providing better lives for our families.