Author: Veronika

In October 2017, I had the amazing opportunity to visit Guatemala for the third time.

I went with a group through Hope Haven Canada, and there was 10 (from Canada) of us in total.  It was an amazing trip!  While in Guatemala, we gave out 100 wheelchairs and built a house.  Some of the wheelchair recipients received them for the first time, others needed a new one or had been borrowing from a neighbour or friend.  Of those who needed them for the first time, most had not been waiting their whole life.  There were a lot of seniors who could no longer walk as well as they could in their younger years.  There was also people like a 16-year-old boy who was shot 10 months ago in the back while at the river, and as a result could no longer walk or a 20-ish-year-old who dove into a pool a year ago and hit his head leaving him without the ability to walk.

It was amazing to see how changed these people were from receiving a wheelchair.  To them, it was a gift of freedom and an opportunity to have a new start in life.

However, it was hard to see these people, who not that long ago were fully functioning people, and suddenly they can’t walk.  It’s a good reminder of how quickly things can change.

We built the house for a widowed dad, his mother, and his two teenage children who are both studying grade nine.  They were so thankful for the house that we built them.  They went from having a “house” built out cloth, plastic, cardboard, and whatever else they could find, to having a house made of good quality tin, and a front door that locks.

The hardest part for me while in Guatemala was doing “home visits”.  Going into their houses and villages gives you a good view of how they live, and the amount of poverty in this country.  We gave them food, clothing, and shoes.  I would struggle to live in the conditions that these people live in. I would never think of drinking the water that sat in a “sink” (water basin) beside a dirt road. I’m also not sure if I’d be willing to walk half an hour to the river to take a bath or wash clothes.  This trip has been a huge reminder of how blessed we are in Canada, and how thankful I need to be for everything we have.

Some really neat things that I got to do while in Guatemala was drink coconut water directly from a coconut that I watched get cut off a tree, and I also got to roast marshmallows over a hole in the ground heated by lava from the nearby volcano that we hiked!!

I would like to thank everyone who supported The Juicebox Project to make this trip happen, and for the continued support that allows us to change more lives through sponsoring wheelchairs for children in Guatemala.

I’d invite you to take a few minutes to watch a video summary of the trip!

On October 15, 2017, I will be joining 9 other volunteers on a Wheelchair Distribution Trip to Guatemala. While there we will be distributing approximately 100 wheelchairs to disabled individuals. These recipients have waited sometimes up to 3 years to receive a wheelchair, providing them with mobility. This new found mobility is life changing for them, and their families, since they are now able to go to school, visit their neighbors, get their own water, etc… Also, they no longer need to be carried everywhere, often freeing up their parents. Since they are very poor, they have no other means to receive this mobility.

While in Guatemala we will also be building a home for a poor family. There are many widows with children who are living under plastic, homes made using corn stalks and cardboard, and sleeping on the ground. We will provide a concrete slab on which we will build a 16 ft. X 18 ft. metal home with 2 windows and 1 door which can be secured. In this home we will supply a 3 tier bunkbed, and a fuel efficient cook stove.

We are also scheduled to distribute 15 – 20 food hampers along with donated clothing, again to very poor families.

Would you partner with our team by supporting us financially? We are all paying our own travel costs, as well as all our in-country expenses. The budget for our projects is $17,230.00 US, or $22,000.00 Canadian. Any donation you are willing to support us with will go directly to the projects, and will be fully tax receipted by Hope Haven Canada Ministries.

I/we look forward to your support in providing for these poor families who are not able to afford these items, which we in Canada take for granted.

If you have any questions, or are able to partner with our team by supporting us financially, please let The Juicebox Project know by email. Donations are needed by October 1, 2017.

Thank you!!

On Thursday, September 24 2015, I will be talking at Volunteer Futures in Richmond, B.C. I will be talking about my Juicebox Project and how to engage more youth in Volunteering.  For more information, check out their website: http://volunteerfutures.org/

Would you like to do a TEDxKids@BC talk like I did? Well, if the answer is yes, you are in luck because TEDxKids@BC is accepting applications for their next conference which is in Spring 2016! You can apply and find out more information at tedxkidsbc.com.

My local Regional Recycling Depot had their open house to day! I went with my family and took a tour of the depot. It is AMAZING how many things they take and recycle for you, by the way: it is super easy!!!!

Here are a couple of pictures that I took:

I would like to thank the local fair which partnered with The Juicebox Project for alowing us to collect some of the recycling from your event. Through your support, we were able to sponsor wheelchairs and change the lives of 8 children in Guatemala!!!

On behalf of The Juicebox Project and the children of Guatemala, THANK YOU!

I was once again given the amazing opportunity to attend, assist with the Charisma Workshop and speak at the distric leadership symposium. The students there are really inspiring and are truly leaders. I really enjoyed inspiring the kids. Jinny Sims also gave some amazing advice.

Thank you to the Ms. Poirier and all the other teachers for inviting me!

The update Page is something new that The Juicebox Project has created to keep you up to date with what we are doing. Stay tuned for our updates!