Delivering food, shelter, and hope to the poorest of the poor
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Many of the farmers in the communities surrounding the Diocese of Santa Rosa de Lima did not have the knowledge or skill to provide for their families. Your support of Santa Rosa’s agricultural program is providing these men and women vital agricultural training and resources. As the farmers’ yields and earnings improve, men will no longer feel compelled to leave women and children at home in order to pursue economic opportunities in other countries.
You helped 1,528 villagers receive the necessary supplies and training to improve their yields and attain a new level of economic independence.
More than half of all Guatemalans live below the poverty line. Poverty is so severe that many men feel compelled to leave the country in search of jobs and opportunity.
This leaves women and children in precarious situations. Some rent small parcels of land and try to survive on subsistence farming, but the small profits are usually be turned over to the landowners, contributing to the overall cycle of poverty.
The agriculture program has been a godsend for Felipe Guerra, one of 1,528 villagers whose agricultural yields have improved.
“This year, the corn fetched about 35 quetzales,” he says. “I was able to earn a profit, and have money left over for medicine, doctor’s appointments and even a little for the grandchildren.”
Without the help of the Santa Rosa agriculture program — covering the costs of the corn seed and fertilizer — Felipe probably would simply have broken even. The program helps subsistence farmers become profitable business owners.
Family receive seeds, seedlings and fertilizer to plant corn and fruit trees
11 communities spread throughout the diocese
training workshops on crop management and environmental conservation
1,528 villagers
“This program is very close to my heart because it provides the daily bread for the people.”
“This program is very close to my heart because it provides the daily bread for the people. At the end of the harvest, families can sell their product, send their children to school, and buy medicines when needed.
There is another very important thing I need to mention. This program brings families together, because the work from this program increases family income and stops emigration to other places — including the United States. Therefore, I ask you to continue supporting us in this program. It has been a great benefit to the poorest families of our diocese.”
Poor families in Santa Rosa needed your help — and you responded. Your commitment to the economic well-being of Santa Rosa is empowering farmers to provide for their families and communities. Your investment will bear fruit for generations in Santa Rosa.
Thank you for sowing the seeds of hope in Santa Rosa’s farming communities.
You are helping to free the people of Santa Rosa from the clutches of poverty. See how!
Learn how you can engage in projects serving the poor and their communities around the world.
Our mission is to mobilize the global Catholic Church to transform the poor and their communities materially and spiritually for the glory of Jesus Christ. Your gift empowers us to serve the poorest of the poor by channeling life-changing aid through an international network of dioceses, parishes and Catholic missionaries. This cost-effective approach helps break the cycle of poverty and advance Catholic evangelization.
Proceeds from this campaign will be used to cover any expenditures for this project incurred through June 30, 2021, 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.