Your donation to Meso Foundation (a 501(c)3 organization in the United States) will be used to purchase and distribute 5 handcrafted masks to Guatemala’s most needy communities. Because you receive no tangible benefit, the donation may be tax deductible in the U.S.

Your donated masks help in 4 ways:

1. You’re supporting the artisans who make the masks. They typically use their skills to sew goods for tourists, and although Guatemala’s borders have been closed to tourism for weeks, these families still need to eat.
2. You’re supporting the Mayan Council in Totonicapán. This large family group provides leadership and financial support for villagers in their ancestral home in the highland mountains.
3. You’re supporting Colegio Mesoamericano, a child-first school in Chimaltenango that is redefining education in Guatemala to build up a generation of extraordinary leadership in the country.
4. You’re protecting Guatemala’s most vulnerable citizens. Covid-19 is unlike any challenge the country has faced. We distribute the masks you purchase to the most needy families in the rural villages of Totonicapán and the urban neighborhoods of Chimaltenango, where people cannot leave home without masks to care for their basic needs.

Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the Americas, with 60% of the population living in poverty. Even advanced healthcare systems haven’t been able to weather Covid-19 very well, and because the government here knows they aren’t equipped to respond they have had to shut down the local economies that help Guatemalan people survive.

Unlike the United States, where the government is bailing out huge corporations, it is private businesses in Guatemala who are donating millions of dollars to buy testing kits, ventilators, and establish field hospitals throughout the country to help Guatemalans survive. The government, realizing how easily the healthcare system here would be overwhelmed, has had to respond by shutting down the economy, enforcing a nationwide 4pm curfew, and limiting transportation between departments.

In spite of the tremendous pressure this puts on families who already live day to day, the people of Guatemala are handling these challenges with grace and calm. They are, by and large, a people of gratitude and faith.

Reasonable and informed people disagree on the degree to which masks help block transmission of the virus that causes Covid-19. Recent research and guidance from scientists suggest masks do make a difference, but here are three reasons these masks will help, either way:

1. Pharmacies, grocery stores, and even entire Guatemalan cities will not allow people to enter unless they are wearing masks.
2. Disposable surgery masks, if people have money for them, are intimidating and add to the psychological pressure facing Guatemalan families.
3. Entire communities rely on their sewing traditions to provide for their families. They don’t want a handout, they want to earn their living.

Of course. You can change the quantity on our site as you make your donation. We will distribute 5 masks to vulnerable families for each donation.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought Guatemala’s economy to its knees. The Meso Foundation supports Colegio Mesoamericano, which for nearly three decades has provided world-class education to under-served families in Chimaltenango. In the face of the nationwide shutdown, our school, like most others, may not be able to continue paying our brilliant, passionate educators. If you are inclined to help, a donation to Meso Foundation can help us retain our staff while Guatemala recovers from the pandemic.