by David LaMotte
Sometimes, when I speak publicly about our work in Guatemala, someone will ask a particular question: Why work in Guatemala when there is so much suffering right now here in our own community?
It is certainly legitimate to ask, and I have heard the questions enough times that I think it deserves a thorough answer, so here’s my best effort at that.
When I stop to consider it, there are actually several reasons. Here are a few of them:
Bang for the Buck
When I first went to Guatemala in 2004, I was astounded at how far US dollars can go there. It still amazes me that when we first built the one-room schoolhouse in Tz’anchaj, we constructed a solid cinder block structure with electricity and a good roof for $2500. Not $25,000, but $2500. Cement has become much more expensive in the intervening years, but it is still amazing to see how much impact we can have for so little financial investment. It’s a beautiful opportunity to leverage positive change. Twenty-one years later, that one-room school house has now become a much larger school, which educated and fed 114 children in grades Pre-K through Second Grade in 2025.
Debt to Pay
The second reason is that even a cursory study of the history of U.S. intervention in Guatemala will show that we have some good reasons to show up in more positive ways than we have before. The U.S. overthrow of a democratically-elected government at the request of a U.S.-based fruit company led to a thirty-year civil war and a great deal of suffering. That pain and destruction still echo in the society today. I am grateful for an opportunity to live into a better relationship between our nations.
So Close
Guatemala is just over the Gulf of Mexico and the Yucatan peninsula. A flight from Atlanta takes about three and a half hours. From my home, that’s less time than it takes to fly to Los Angeles. People in Guatemala really are my neighbors. Just two houses down, if countries are houses.
Joy
I simply love being there. The kindness and openness of people I meet, the incredible food and beautiful vistas… all of it feeds my soul. After over twenty years of traveling there (about forty trips), my deep and long-term friendships there are precious to me, as well. And I keep learning, which feels good.
Immigration
Immigration issues are among the thorniest political controversies in the United States today. It seems to me that wherever one falls along the political spectrum, it makes sense to consider why people are so desperate to leave their homes and come to the United States, at great cost and peril. People only make that kind of decision when every other option looks worse. Providing paths forward for people who are in very difficult circumstances is an important part of addressing the root causes for the problems we are facing. If we take a long view, and trying to create opportunities for lives with dignity for the next generation in Guatemala, maybe they won’t feel such a desperate need to go elsewhere.
Friends asked us to help
But mostly, we are working there because our friends there asked us to. We didn’t go to Guatemala looking for a way to “help.” Deanna and I went there to study Spanish on our honeymoon. We deeply enjoyed being there, and made some friends along the way. They asked us to help with some good work they were doing, and invited us into their lives, and we have never stopped feeling grateful for that beautiful invitation. When a friend asks for help and I have the capacity to pitch in, it feels good to do so.
When we started to engage there, we were amazed at what was possible. It feels good to have positive impact, and we fell in love with these children and the adults who are nurturing them. Once we got started, it seemed only right to keep going. This is one of those times when a particular need and our particular gifts match well.
One last thought about the question
I started this reflection by saying that it’s a legitimate question, and from one angle it is. I also want to name, though, that there can be an undercurrent to the question that troubles me. If someone is asking, “do those kids matter more than kids closer to home?,” I hear that question respectfully. But if they are actually asking, as I think sometimes people are, “do those kids matter as much as kids closer to home?”, then that’s a problem. My faith and my worldview tell me that all kids matter as much as all other kids. The humanitarian Paul Farmer said, “The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world.”
And there is a logical fallacy inherent in the question, which is that one act of kindness prevents another. Supporting this work in Guatemala doesn’t mean we can’t also support work here in North Carolina, where we live. Deanna and I do support local aid and justice work, as well. In fact, Deanna, who is the co-founder of Senderos, the current Board Chair, and my wife, recently began work as the Program Director at Manna Food Bank, and is now giving the majority of her time to making sure our neighbors are fed.
We are so grateful to all of the people who have joined us in creating possibilities for these kids, and we look forward to all that is to come! Thanks for digging into this question with me, and for over 21 years of support for Senderos.
