The Guatemala Ministry of Mano con Mano has become the primary focus of the organization. Read futher to learn more about this exciting ministry and its history.

The ministry of Mano con Mano in Guatemala is concentrated in 3 primary areas.

• Nutrition - A feeding center called the Nim Jay was built to combat severe malnutrition that identified in a small rural Mayan village in Guatemala. The majority of Mano con Mano's resources go towards supporting the operation and feeding of hundreds of young children and expectant mothers each week. Visit our Nutrition page to learn more about the Nim Jay Feeding Center and how you might become involved.
• Health -
  • Mano con Mano is involved in community health projects that involve constructing beds, bathrooms and wood burning stove installation to improve the health of rural Mayans. Visit our Community Health Program page to learn more about these projects.
  • A Prenatal Health program has been developed to combat the high infant mortality rate in the Mayan population of rural Guatemala. A local Guatemalan physician directs this program under the umbrella of Mano con Mano. Visit our Prenatal Health Program page to learn more about how this ministry is improving the health of pregnant women and increasing survival rates of babies.
  • Waste and garbage pose a serious health risk to all people but is a considerable problem due to lack of garbage collection in rural Guatemala. Visit our Environmental Health Program page to learn more about how Mano con Mano is dealing with this problem.
• Education
  • Education is an important aspect of breaking the cycle of poverty in rural Guatemala. Scholarships and educational supplies are some of the ways that Mano con Mano is trying to impact this problem. Visit ourScholarship Program page to learn more about this ministry.
  • There are numerous areas that Mano con Mano is providing health related education to improve the quality of life for the Mayan people of Guatemala. The primary areas of eduational support involve Prenatal Health, Nutrition and Sanitation Health and Eye Care Health. Visit our Health Education page to learn more.
    

History of Mano con Mano's involvement in Guatemala:

In 2003 William and Susan Jones moved to Guatemala in order for William to teach at Christian Academy of Guatemala, a school for children of missionaries. Within a few months, Susan, a Family Nurse Practitioner in the U.S., began helping in a small village clinic that provided health care to extremely poor Mayans in the hills outside Guatemala City. During their second year in Guatemala, William continued teaching, however Susan continually felt frustration over how many of her patients, particularly children, were severely malnourished. Susan and William began to pray that God would provide the money to buy some land in the village and construct a small kitchen to cook nutritious meals for those children who were most malnourished. Within months a friend sent an e-mail offering to give enough money to purchase a parcel of land, and after a difficult search, Mano con Mano bought a small bean field in the remote Mayan village of Yalu in the mountains about 22 miles from Guatemala City. Before long, a team of Mayan farmers and construction workers from the city began leveling land, digging foundations, and laying the block for a much larger building than originally envisioned. Construction began in February, 2005. All work was done by hand, however several teams from churches in the United States came to spend a week working and encouraging the workers and ministry. Block was laid upon block and soon the frame of a two-story building took shape. A roof was welded on, kitchen equipment purchased, and by May of 2006 some125 children and expectant/recent mothers sat down to the first meal served in the "Nim Jay" feeding center. The name "Nim Jay" means "big house" in the local Kaqchiquel dialect, but is also an acronym for "Nutrition, for Infants and Mothers (because) Jesus Ama (loves) Yalu."

More teams came to help with the ministry outreaches of the Nim Jay. Doctors, construction workers, and others helpers came to paint the building, make beds, chicken coops, and a playground. Special movie nights for the village, beds for many who slept on the ground, and bathrooms were constructed. With the help of Mano con Mano Health Reach, the 32 year old water pipe system of Yalu village was replaced. A pre-natal program designed to examine and assist expectant mothers was started. School supplies were purchased to enable needy families to keep their children in school. The Yalu village public school was painted by William's class the first year and then paint purchased two years later for the school. Today, more than 250 children and expectant/new mothers are being fed a healthy, nutritious meal three times each week. A Guatemalan doctor was hired to examine and chart the growth and health of children being fed, as well as to evaluate potential candidates for the feeding program. More and more beds and bathrooms are being built. A stove project is in place to help prevent lung disease from toxic cooking smoke in houses. Women's craft days and children's soccer games draw many from the village to hear the message of how God sent his Son to earth for us. The village elders and president have embraced Nim Jay's place in the life of the village, where once they were suspicious and unsupportive.

Today a new couple has taken over the supervision of ministry in Guatemala, Brennan and MariaJose Doyle. Brennan is from Wisconsin and is married to Mariajose, an architect and native Guatemalan. William and Susan, who have returned to live in the United States, continue to provide guidance on the Board of Directors, while the Doyles fill the position of "Field Directors" while living in Guatemala. Overseeing the feeding of children, the maintenance of the Nim Jay building, procurement of food, and supervision of the staff, the Doyles provide continuance and stability to the feeding center ministry. It is the hope of Mano con Mano that Nim Jay's ministry will supply food for the bodies of Mayan children and expectant mothers as well as proclaim to the struggling people of the village of Yalu that Jesus Christ loves them and wants to care for their needs.

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