Our Approach
In 1993 during Guatemala’s civil war, a group friends set out from the United States to provide emergency health care to those in need. Across villages identified by the organization’s founder a year earlier, 43 volunteers worked for two weeks out of homes and tents along the road to restore health to thousands of people ravaged by poverty and war. Xela AID had begun.
The Scope of Our Work
Lots has happened since then! We bought land and settled in San Martin Chiquíto in the highlands near Quetzaltenango (known locally as “Xela,” shay-la). We built a clinic, and around it, a campus complete with a learning center, eco-guest house for volunteers, and a weaving cooperative. Understanding that local solutions are lasting solutions, in 2014, we became known internationally as “Local Hope.”
Our Headquarters
Today, Local Hope’s mission is to partner with individuals and communities so they can become healthy, educated, and self-reliant. We do this through programs and services provided at our Xela AID Campus, and each year, serve more than 15,000 people!
We invite you to learn more, and join us
