Guatemala
2010 Guatemala Mission Trip
Volunteers are now being recruited for the 2010 Northaven mission trip to Guatemala. Read more...
2009 Guatemala Mission Trip
Ten adults participated in the 2009 Northaven mission trip to Guatemala. Read more...
JoAn Dwyer/Organization for the Development of the Indigenous Maya (ODIM)
Human Development Fund grants help Northaven missionary JoAn Dwyer further her work in the Mayan communities of Lake Atitlán. Projects include an annual Children's Cultural Exchange between rural Mayan and urban Ladino children, a seed bank and distribution center in San Pablo La Laguna, a project to convert an abandoned Methodist church in San Juan La Laguna into a community center/health clinic, and an adult literacy program in San Pablo La Laguna. In conjunction with WINGS of Antigua, Guatemala, ODIM coordinates training of Mayan women in family planning and conducts cervical cancer detection clinics.
For more information, download the ODIM brochure (PDF, 2.6 MB) or
El Salvador
María Madre de Los Pobres Parish, La Chacra, San Salvador
Beca/Apadrinamiento
Program—A program of our sister parish to provide elementary and secondary
students with medical care and school supplies each year. Interested
individuals or families may support an elementary aged child (6-13) for $300
per year or a secondary aged child (14-18) for $360 per year. Godparents
currently provide annual funds for 21 children in the parish.
Micro-loan Community Banks—The Northaven Human Development Fund grants support the development of micro-loan community banks in the parish. These loans help residents establish small businesses to support their families.
Canton Huisisilapa, La Libertad
Huisisilapa Youth Artisan Collective—
"Creating a
sustainable future through fair trade crafts." The Youth Artisan
Collective of Huisisilapa was formed in 2004 to provide sustainable income for
the young people of Canton Huisisilapa, El Salvador, through the sale of the
handmade crafts they produce. The young members of the collective represent
families who fled their native departments of Chalatenango and Cabañas during the Salvadoran civil war. Many of
the leaders of the collective spent their early childhood in UNCHR refugee
camps in Honduras, returning to establish the new community of Huisisilapa in
the department of La Libertad after the 1992 Peace Accords were signed.
In 2007
with the financial support of the Northaven Human Development Fund and other
organizations, the youth and community volunteers completed construction of an
artisan workshop/youth center. The building is designed as a multiuse space to
contribute to the positive, organizational, and communitarian development
of the youth of Huisisilapa.
© 2009 Northaven United Methodist Church, Dallas, Texas. All rights reserved.