The Rainbow became an important meeting place for local non-profits and NGOs over 11 years ago when the Evening Lectures /NGO Talks first began. The idea of the lectures/talks is to be a link between the NGO and people interested in getting involved with the great projects that work towards making a better Guatemala.
Every talk we host increases a NGOs public exposure as well as the probability that someone attending may decide to volunteer, donate money or fundraise for the charity. Since hosting the first talk (Sue Patterson´s) we´ve had more than 50 local non-profits and NGO´s presenting!
A donation of Q25 is asked for to each person attending the talk, the donation given goes directly to the presenting NGO.
New Dawn is a Guatemalan NGO focused on community development in San Andres Itzapa, Chimaltenango since 1989. They promote health, education and the strengthening of indigenous leaders in the community. They provide learning support and a feeding programme for children and young adults at their school based in the director’s own home.
Their vision is to facilitate self-sufficiency within poorer families and allow them to empower themselves to change their quality of life through education. They also seek to preserve and strengthen the cultural identity of the indigenous Mayan people.
Come and see the show and learn more about this project and the Mayan culture!
Casa de Doloros is Mary Mason Martin’s hilariously irreverent debut novel, seasoned with a touch of magical realism to flavor the cultural pot. Set in a fictitious town in Costa Rica, a cast of expat characters live in a cluster of run-down apartments called Casa de Doloros. The buxom Doloros has had myriad husbands of various nationalities, all of whom have added to the construction and upkeep of her modest empire. Her current love is a Venezuelan who she has followed into the revolution in his homeland. She leaves her business in the hands of some of the occupants, but while she’s away, another coup percolates at home. Mary’s wry sense of humor permeates her take on life among spirits and people who have reinvented themselves in a foreign land.
Mary Martin Mason was born under a nomadic star, leading her to cross many borders before retiring in Costa Rica. She resides in a mountain town where she delights in each day unfolding with a variety of adventures and misadventures.
Casa de Doloros pays homage to her host country that wryly welcomes other ex-pats like herself. The characters and plot include a host of personalities who live abroad at a time of life when most persons are embracing security.
She is the author of The Miracle Seekers, Designing Rituals in Adoption, and Out of the Shadows: Birthfathers’ Stories.
Poverty ends wherever education thrives. Common Hope (Familias de Esperanza) works in 27 communities partnering with nearly 14,000 impoverished children and adults. Common Hope’s comprehensive programs in education, health care, housing, and family development empower families to create a better life for themselves. We work to end the cycle of poverty for children in Guatemala through a holistic, relationship-based model.
While education is at the heart of our work, we believe a comprehensive approach to human development is critical for children and families to reach their full potential. Common Hope was founded in 1986 by the Huebsch Family. Common Hope celebrated the first high school graduate in 1996. By 2011, 1,000 students graduated and in 2017 the 2,000th graduate received their diploma.
Join us to learn more!
FUNDAL provides integral educational and development services without cost to children that have multiple disabilities such as deaf blindness. The nonprofit was founded in 1998 after a Guatemalan family adopted a child with deafblindness and realized how few resources existed for people with multiple disabilities. To ensure a more visible and inclusive future, they founded FUNDAL. Through its two facilities in the capital and Xela as well as through it distance program, FUNDAL offers children sign language instruction, physical therapy, vocational training, and family counseling, among other services. Over the past 20 years, FUNDAL has provided more than 3,000 scholarships to its students and trained around 15,000 teachers in workshops.