'Tis the season...

For all our consumerism and extravagance, Americans are a very giving people. While eating at my favorite comedor the other night, the owner engaged me in a conversation singing the praises of the goodness of Americans from her knowledge of Compassion International. She was utterly amazed how a person that knows a child only through a picture can be so faithful in writing and sending monetary support and gifts. It moved her deeply that a complete stranger would help a child whose own father had abandoned him.

There is something ingrained in the American ethos that compels us to help those in need. It is a different mindset than the poor helping poor collectivism in the developing world where survival depends on pooling meager resources. Instead it is born out of abundance, when people acknowledge their great fortune to have been born in the most prosperous nation in the world and act upon this by giving to those who have not been afforded such a luxury. Our socially conscious purchases, our child sponsorships, and our donations to emergency relief funds are all outlets for our compassion.

It is with organizations like Compassion International where you get to know the person or people you are helping that makes giving all the more rewarding. I hope that through my blog that you have gotten to know the women of Nu’Kem—“my” women. I hope that through words and pictures you have experienced and will continue to experience their lives here. And I hope that through words I can compel you to give (you probably already saw the pitch coming).

The women of Nu’Kem are paid a set amount for every article they make depending on its size and intricacy of design. The amount of products we make (and consequently the amount of money each woman can earn to support her family) depends on the amount of products we can sell. So while I am earnestly searching for markets for their products, I never want there to be a time when the women aren’t working for lack of funds. They literally can’t afford not to be working.

Through a non-profit called Friends of Guatemala, comprised of returned Peace Corps volunteers from Guatemala, you can make tax-deductible donations to my project anytime throughout my service. Every cent of the check you write to Friends of Guatemala will go directly to Nu’Kem—to ensuring that these women constantly have work to support their families. Checks can be written to Friends of Guatemala with “Kathryn Griffin – Cat. II” in the memo line and sent to the following address:

Friends of Guatemala
P.O. Box 33018
Washington D.C. 20033

Christmas ‘tis the season for lots of things: celebration of Christ’s birth, time with family and friends, opening gifts…and giving.