Life in Cojobal, Guatemala, is challenging. With widespread poverty, many families can only prepare one or two simple meals a day.
“There is little protein available,” said Mefiboset Grijalva, Agriculture Coordinator for Convoy of Hope Guatemala. “Much of the diet is carbohydrates from corn and local plants.”
But the situation is changing in Cojobal. Convoy of Hope has been serving the community for the past three years, and the intersection of Convoy’s Children’s Feeding, Women’s Empowerment, and Agriculture programs is driving that change.
“Children in the program get complete nutrition,” Mefiboset said. “Women’s Empowerment participants have started small businesses, such as selling eggs or sewing intricate huipil blouses. Farmers have tripled their income from harvests.”
Key to the farmers’ success — a 1,550-square-foot greenhouse built by a Convoy of Hope Field Team. The greenhouse’s protective covering and drip irrigation system have produced bumper tomato crops, tomatoes being a staple of Guatemalan cuisine. Traditionally grown tomatoes are subject to pests and blight, with the resulting crop selling for about $8 for a 50-pound box. Greenhouse tomatoes ripen in a protective environment and command about $24 for the same box.
In time, more than 20 other farmers in Cojobal have begun copying the techniques of the farmers Convoy trained. The circle of change is expanding.
Convoy’s multiprogram focus helps many villages like Cojobal, and it is also effective at a national or global level.
West Africa
“In 2019, we started Convoy of Hope in the part of West Africa where I live,” said Dr. Jules Compaore, Convoy of Hope National Director in the region. “We started with a plan to work with local churches to feed 4,000 children a day. Five years later, we are feeding 18,000 children and will reach 20,000 children in 2025.”
An exciting part of this equation is the 450 farmers who are working with Convoy of Hope. Their farms total nearly 2 square miles of crops being grown to feed children. Currently, 100 schools with an additional 30,000 children are seeking to join the program.
This is a region where rebel factions have stirred social unrest and attracted young people to join their cause with promises of food and clothing. Convoy’s compassionate intervention in thousands of children’s lives is creating a much brighter future for them and their communities.
Moldova & the Middle East
In Moldova, Convoy of Hope’s local partners run integrated programming with Convoy’s Children’s Feeding, Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment, and bee-harvesting programs. Convoy always seeks out local solutions to local needs, and beekeeping has proven to be an effective means of community resourcing in Moldova. Local beekeepers from the program recently set aside 10% of their honey harvest to give away at a Convoy of Hope Community Event in the village of Vulkanešt.
Similarly, yogurt is a regional dietary staple in the Middle East. Convoy helped a partner set up a yogurt processing plant. When political instability impacted the area, the partner ramped up yogurt production to help offset the unpredictable food supply for nearby families.
U.S. Disaster Response
In the United States, Convoy sees productive partnerships come together to help where needed most. During the responses to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Convoy served 112 impacted communities in six states, including Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Local volunteers, churches, businesses, and organizations helped distribute more than 6 million pounds of resources to 325,000 people.
In Vidalia, Georgia, for example, football, volleyball, cheer, and tennis team members from a local high school served in distribution lines. The police department helped direct the lines of cars. Vidalia Mayor Doug Roper also served alongside the Convoy team.
From villages in Guatemala and Moldova to communities impacted by hurricanes on the U.S. East Coast, a wonderful truth emerges — help and a message of hope are a powerful force for good.
This article first appeared in Convoy of Hope’s 2024 Annual Report.
