Welcome
Education in Action was established in 2006 by Spanish instructor Roberto Miranda. Education in Action is a housing project in Guatemala that is administered by a group of Canadian volunteers.
Throughout the year, volunteers organize activities to raise awareness and funds for purchasing construction materials to build houses in some of the poorest communities in Guatemala with the support of the Comité Campesino del Altiplano (CCDA), a grassroots’ coalition working to protect the rights of farmers in Guatemala.
Participants pay their own travel costs and donate their own time to work hand in hand with Mayan families to rebuild their homes following the devastation left by Hurricane Stan.
The objective is to build dwellings for rural families living in extreme poverty. Like most Mayan communities in the Highlands, families are forced to make a living on small plots of parched land, eroded by wind and exposed to extreme elements much of the year.
These areas have long been marginalized, lacking basic infrastructure and services, and exposed to military incursions by the Guatemalan army in the seventies and eighties. Since the signing of the peace treaty, the CCDA has organized communities in 11 districts of the country, providing support on questions of land rights, credit, training and educational scholarships as well as the defense of Mayan culture and agricultural practices. The CCDA has also organized cooperatives that produce fairly-traded, organic coffee known as Café Justicia, which is sold across Canada in support of the Mayan Farming communities.
Project goals:
Education in Action