Cross Catholic Outreach

Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor

Delivering food, shelter and hope to the poorest of the poor.
Guatemalan farming families hold baskets of vegetables.
You’ve filled stomachs and laid a foundation for lasting community improvements!

Addressing Poverty in Rural Guatemala With Food and Faith

Malnutrition robs dignity and prevents children from reaching their potential. That’s the reality families face in Guatemala’s Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu, where 6 out of 10 people lack access to affordable, nutritious food.

Filling bellies changes lives. Thanks to faithful friends like you, children no longer go to bed hungry — and communities are forever transformed. U.S. Catholics empowered the diocese to take action against extreme poverty with:

  • • 816,000 protein-rich meals for vulnerable families.
  • • Seeds, supplies and training for 200 family gardens.
  • • A 4,300-square-foot distribution center to store food, medicines and more, opens April, 2022.
  • • A new social pastoral center to manage poverty relief programs also opens April, 2022.

Community Transformation in Action

Cross Catholic Outreach is utilizing a four-stage process to accomplish comprehensive community transformation in 10 communities across the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu. Faithful supporters like you helped us complete STAGE 2, feeding families in need while building the diocese’s capacity for future poverty relief programs. 

STAGE 1: ASSESS

Identify areas of greatest need with our extensive network of in-country partners.

STAGE 2: ENGAGE

Implement projects that provide practical benefits for the poor.

STAGE 3: DEVELOP

  • Set the stage for self-sufficiency with faith-infused poverty relief programs that maximize impact.

STAGE 4: PARTNER

Ensure transformative efforts are sustained by supporting continued operations.

Food Program, Home Garden Training Helped Pregnant Mom

As an expectant mother, Dina Recinos knew malnutrition could hurt her baby’s future. Cross Catholic Outreach supporters helped Dina deliver a healthy boy — and she has a message for you.

“The home garden training has helped us greatly. We have learned that children need vitamins from vegetables and herbs to grow healthy and strong. Since he began eating [Vitafood], my [oldest] son has not had any stomach ailments or cramps, and the vitamins have given him more energy.

“The help you have provided gives me hope. I thank you for taking my family into account. You have given us the faith to get ahead!”

A Guatemalan mother smiles while holding a baby boy.
Dina Recinos with son, Luis.

You’ve Built Communities in Christ in Guatemala

In the Diocese of Suchitepéquez-Retalhuleu, many children used to go to bed not knowing when they would eat their next meal. Thanks to compassionate Catholics like you, stomachs are filled, faith and hope are alive — and neighbors are sharing their surplus with those in greater need. Thank you for awakening Christlike compassion and laying the foundation for true community transformation!

A Guatemalan man with boxes of Vitafood meals.
Mario Bange, a local Caritas worker, with Vitafood meals before they were distributed to families.
A Guatemalan woman cooking.
Noelia Lopez cooks a Vitafood meal for her family.
A Guatemalan boy stands on a scale.
Edwin, age 3, is gaining weight thanks to Vitafood meals.
An elderly Guatemalan woman inside a garden.
Maria Elena Gonzales shows us some of the traditional herbs she’s growing in her home garden.
An elderly Guatemalan woman cooking.
Maria has a renewed sense of dignity as she prepares a meal for her grandchildren.
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Support the Next Phase of Community Transformation

Empower the diocese to maximize poverty relief programs. Bless families with life-changing programs for food, agriculture, water, education and housing.

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Your prayers and your alms have ascended as a memorial before God.

ACTS 10:4

A Guatemalan woman holds a plate of food.
Matilde Cortez is grateful that you’ve filled her plate — and provided the hope of Christ!

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David Adams

David Adams

David Adams’ desire to integrate his faith into his work brought him to Cross Catholic Outreach in 2006, after years of service in the United States government, including the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). Since joining Cross Catholic, David has overseen the expansion of the ministry’s work to about twice as many countries as when he started, while also cultivating new partnerships within those countries. Today, as VP of Missions, he continues to make strides in enhancing the ministry’s ability to collaborate with partners for better accountability and reporting and the promotion of Christian values formation.

Proceeds from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures incurred through June 30, 2023, the close of our ministry’s fiscal year. In the event that more funds are raised than needed to fully fund the project, the excess funds, if any, will be used to meet the most urgent needs of the ministry.