Self Reliance Is Our Mission. You Can Help.
Join us to empower individuals and communities to become Healthy, Educated and Employed.
Priority Action: "Thrive at Home"
Unemployment can top 80% in rural Guatamela. Your people feel a duty to find work to help their families-even if it means migrating. The perilous journey cost them tens of thousands of dollars, and sometimes, their lives. Fathers, mother, uncles, aunties, brothers and sisters are lost to their families… The future survival of entire villages can be left uncertain. Local Hope is a partner in “Thrive at Home” a Rotary initiative to keep families together and communities prospering. We will create 2,000 local, fair-wage jobs to sustain 10,000 people!
We empower families and communities to be healthy, educated and self-reliant. You can help.
Every donation has the power to change lives. With your support, we can provide relief to those in need for growth, and protect our planet.
Your donation is more than just a gift it’s a beacon of hope for those in need. Together, we can bring relief to vulnerable communities, create lasting opportunities.
What We’re About in 6 Minutes
Together, we can transform lives, protect the environment, and build a brighter future. Change happens when we come together to support urgent causes and create lasting solutions. We work to protect and restore natural ecosystems.
Trips & Activity Packages
Explore Culture, Nature, and Volunteer! Customizable day-trips, overnight, extended stays.
Sponsor a Child
Education is key to beating poverty! You can become a Xela AID “Angel” and a child’s lifeline to a bright future for as little as $1.02 a day.
Join a Support Club!
Make a lasting impact by giving or fundraising for programs that transform lives!
Leave a Legacy
Your legacy can make it possible for generations of children and families to live, learn and thrive while benefiting your estate.
Gift Catalogue & Gift Cards
You can provide an egg-laying chicken, pure-water filter, or meet another critical need for a family — gift card included.
Practice Your Spanish
Want to improve your Spanish? Now you can while at the same time helping a student complete their higher education!
Your Event at Eco-Guest House
We offer turnkey solutions for corporate and other groups—top-rated lodging, banquet services, transportation, and exciting cultural activities for stays of one night or more!
Local Hope Worldwide
Want to improve your Spanish? Now you can while at the same time helping a student complete their higher education!
eBay Gifts for Good
Find beautiful hand-made gifts. Your purchases will support artisans and health, education and self-reliance in highlands villages!
Volunteer for What Matters Most
As volunteers, we have the power to transform lives, care for the environment, and shape a brighter future. Change begins when we come together with compassion and purpose, working hand in hand to protect and restore the natural world for generations to come.
What People are Saying
Had the genuine pleasure of volunteering with Xela Aid Local Hope in Guatemala recently and was quite impressed with the entire operation. It was beautiful to see how the organization and their dedicated staff integrated within the local community to provide much needed medical, educational, nutritional and training support. They are truly “teaching them to fish” and providing hope and the ability to thrive independently. The customer service provided to the visiting volunteers is unmatched and I look forward to a return visit. Keep up the great work!!
John Polhamus
I have been involved with this organization since 1995 and I am currently serving my second Board term. I, and my family, are firm believers in the mission of Local Hope/Xela Aid. (My Dad, a former high school teacher, just made a $25K gift to support our mission.) Xela Aid’s enduring presence in Guatemala is a testament to the leadership of the people of Xela Aid. If you would like to support the lives of people in the highlands of Guatemala, I strongly encourage you to look into this organization.
jimehlers
I am a retired judge and lay psychoanalyst with years of experience with problems of children and youth in trouble. I volunteered years ago to liaison with the on staff psychologist to help in the development of psychological counseling to children and adults.
It is amazing how the program is able to bring therapeutic interventions to practical daily needs of the local population: whether group counseling to empower the women of the weaving cooperative or establishing a Montessori school for close to 100 Mayan children and preparing them to fully participate in a modern society, Similarly, the program is most creative in addressing core community needs such as providing clean water, education, and
job training in a creative self sustainable model.