Impact Ministries

Rainy Coban - The first day we were here (Wednesday) was also the last day of sunshine we enjoyed. Apparently this kind of climate lends itself well to 3 growing seasons a year (primarily vegetables).

Yesterday, we went about half an hour outside of Coban to a small town called Tactic. It is there that we connected with an organization called Impact Ministries.

www.impactministries.ca

Mission Statement
To train Guatemalans for leadership by teaching Biblical principles in such a way that they become integrated in their lives and effect spiritual change in their society.
To impact North American Christians for Third World Missions

We spent the afternoon with a couple of their Canadian staff and they educated us on the organization and their activities. A few things about this organization stood out that I´d like to share with you.

It´s a young organization.
6 years ago there was 1 small school. In January when the new school year there will be 4. Land has been supplied for 4 more in the Tactic area.

It´s a lean organization.
There are only 4 North American staff in Guatemala on a long term basis and they raise their own support directly. They are not paid by the organization. Money for schooling comes from Child Sponsors and nominal fees charged to each student. Money for construction projects comes primarily from the 16 teams that come from North America to perform specific work projects.

I like the following two philosophies. (These are my paraphrases)

-When there is a Guatemalan to do the job then you hire the Guatemalan. If there isn´t a Guatmalan to do the job then you find a Guatemalan you can train to do the job. Guatemalans teach and direct in each of the schools, they maintain the facilities, and they cook in the kitchens. Steady employment in an impoverished area is a scarce commodity.

-Free programs are not valued. This one causes some problems as sometimes its a choice between school fees or food on the table.

Problems such as this have led the organization to look beyond providing education and attack the barriers (health and economic) to education. Programs such as a hot breakfast before classes, basic health care, and school supplies help to overcome some of these barriers.

One more interesting story. For a number of years, Impact struggled to find land on which to expand. A couple of years ago they found a couple parcels of land in surrounding towns and began to build. In one of the towns they met with one very vocal opponent who initiated a petition to get the school stopped and purchased attack ads on the radio. There was broadbased support from the community and it went ahead. It also had the unexpected side effect of bringing attention to the ministry and led a couple of mayors offering prime building sites in surrounding towns in exchange for Impact building schools in the near future. Is it any surprise that 2007 is an election year here in Guatemala?

We are hoping to work with Impact for the next few weeks on a volunteer basis.