In 2009, I spent the time between Christmas and New Year’s in Guatemala, working with orphanages, local organizations, and social entrepreneurs who are all working toward improving the circumstances of kids who have very little aside from their innate potential and the boundless joy and optimism of childhood.

Last year I had hoped to return to Guatemala, but logistical challenges resulted in spending the week in Thailand instead. Different location -- similarly inspirational and impactful experiences.

This holiday season we will return to the city of Antigua in Guatemala. We depart on Dec 26th and return on Jan 1st.  I am thrilled to have a great group of individuals and families joining us and we are looking forward to sharing this intimate experience in service with them.

Each day we will embark on service trips to a local orphanage, school or other site that needs assistance. Our intention is to work with the local organizations that assist the non-profits of the 22 communities of Sacatepequez, the state where Antigua is located.  We are working directly with these organizations and can assure that the money and assistance we bring can be tracked going forward. Your donations to my Big Task Foundation can help to enhance the inventory of hygiene and school supplies that we plan to bring with us – and will also be use to fund life-changing initiatives, such as providing education and infrastructure improvements to these needy communities.

We hope that the work we do on this trip builds on the progress of our trip in 2009 - supporting sustainability and education in Antigua. I am currently supporting numerous children from different orphanages around Guatemala and Thailand from the previous trips and this year’s trip presents an opportunity to expand that base of support.

If you are interested in notes from my previous trip to Guatemala – or in the impact that your donations can have for these deserving kids, please take some time to check out the links below.

Thank you as always for your support – the kids and I are more appreciative than you can ever know.

My diary from the 2009 Trip toGuatemala:

Report from Day One

Field Report: School for Jose

Field Report: Education and Pollo Compero in El Hato

Judith, a Mayan on a Mission

What can my money do?

	$10 will provide two weeks of staple foods for Jose's family.
	$100 will buy a sack of soybeans for Carlos to produce soy milk to help feed the children.
	$300 will buy one of Carlos's students a year at a local public school, or build a communal bathroom.
	$1500 will allow another high performing student to go to a private middle school, including clothes, food, and travel, and fulfill their parents' dreams like my father's dream was for me.It can also build the kids a soccer field.
	$5,000 will buy an additional bathroom for Judith's orphanage. Currently, her orphanage is overflowing with 60 kids and only two baths.
	$30,000 will buy a water well so an entire village will have clean water forever.

Some quick facts on Guatemala:

• size of Tennessee
• not everyone speaks Spanish; there are 24 indigenous languages spoken
• Roman Catholicism is the dominant religion, but many have blended it with traditional Mayan rituals
• the terrain is mostly mountainous
• primary exports are coffee, bananas, and sugar
• 75 percent of the rural (mostly indigenous) population lives in extreme poverty
• only 30 percent of rural students finish 3rd grade

Please make a donation - it will go directly to children there who need it. See where your donations are going by following Keith on Twitter or Facebook between Christmas and New Years Eve!!