{"id":2499,"date":"2017-11-02T15:32:11","date_gmt":"2017-11-02T15:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sosvolunteertrips.org\/?p=2499"},"modified":"2021-11-11T03:04:26","modified_gmt":"2021-11-11T03:04:26","slug":"partner-profile-ninos-de-guatemala","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/partner-profile-ninos-de-guatemala\/","title":{"rendered":"Partner Profile: Ni\u00f1os de Guatemala"},"content":{"rendered":"

Laura Viselli, SOS’s Director of International Programs at SOS, spent 10 days in Guatemala visiting partnering organizations in Guatemala in October 2017.<\/em><\/p>\n

The morning I meet with Ni\u00f1os de Guatemala (NDG) for the first time is also my first full day in Antigua. Prior to my arrival Antigua was described as the must<\/strong> see<\/strong> destination of my trip, “the” city in Guatemala for backpackers, linguists, students, families, and environmentalists. I was worried about one city\u2019s ability to have enough within it to meet all the needs of those different people.\u00a0How can one city achieve so much? Interestingly, I had a similar thought prior to meeting NDG: How<\/em> do they do so much?<\/p>\n

Ni\u00f1os de Guatemala is a Dutch run NGO based in Antigua, operating programs in Antigua, Ciudad Vieja and San Lorenzo del Cubo. This month marks their 10 year anniversary but you wouldn\u2019t expect that looking at all their organization\u2019s offerings; two primary schools and one secondary school fully staffed with teachers, kitchen staff, social workers, and more, serving over 500 children. And<\/em> this is in conjunction with their social businesses; The Good Hotel<\/a>, a locally built and decorated hotel in Antigua; Cambio Language School<\/a>, the only non-profit Spanish language school in Antigua; and the Experience Guatemala tours<\/a>, showcasing local traditions from confectionery making to coffee roasting.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Even with this extensive resume, no NDG employee, staff, or volunteer, ever conveyed that these offerings were the limit. Our conversations centered around improved volunteer experiences, expanding social businesses, and increasing the quality of the school programs<\/p>\n

Over the course of my trip, I spent time with NDG on three separate occasions; first a meeting at their office in Antigua, then visiting their three schools, and ending with two Experience Guatemala Tours. Across these activities their message is clear: Education, Empowerment, and Entrepreneurship.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

NDG\u2019s 3 schools serve as an obvious connection between their mission and their organization\u2019s programming. However, it stood out to me that NDG is playing a unique role in educating the backpackers, linguists, students, families, and environmentalists that come to Antigua. Their Experience Guatemala tours offer an intimate and real<\/em> look at the lives of Guatemalans in nearby communities and provide a mutually beneficial opportunity for them and tourists in Antigua.\u00a0 They are the true definition of an innovative organization as they have adapted to regional market and travel trends.<\/p>\n

During our time together I met many people impacted by NDG\u2019s culture of empowerment<\/strong>. Rosa, a maker of Guatemalan quitapenas, or, “worry dolls” who patiently\"\"\u00a0lead us through the process of making our own while sharing her personal story and the story of her family. Carmen, the owner of a coffee co-operative who gave us a tour of her business and showed us the process of coffee roasting, grinding, and drinking. Christian, our NDG tour guide who opened his home to us to make Guatemalan sweets with us and lead our Experience Guatemala Tour to visit NDG\u2019s 3 schools. And last but not least, the NDG staff \u2013 at their main office, at the Good Hotel, at Cambio Language school. Having work and a means to provide for oneself is crucial to a person\u2019s development – just as important as receiving an education. NDG is able to empower<\/strong>\u00a0their students, their school staff, and those\u00a0whom they collaborate with for their social businesses.<\/p>\n

Ni\u00f1os de Guatemala has successfully combined doing \u2018good\u2019 and doing \u2018business’ and they are paving the way for young professionals and altruists\u00a0to not have to choose between the two.<\/p>\n

Visit\u00a0https:\/\/ninosdeguatemala.org\/<\/a> to learn more about NDG!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Laura Viselli, SOS’s Director of International Programs at SOS, spent 10 days in Guatemala visiting partnering organizations in Guatemala in October 2017. The morning I meet with Ni\u00f1os de Guatemala (NDG) for the first time is also my first full day in Antigua. Prior to my arrival Antigua was described as the must see destination …<\/p>\n

Partner Profile: Ni\u00f1os de Guatemala<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2500,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2499"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6872,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2499\/revisions\/6872"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/studentsofferingsupport.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}