01/01/2026
Thank you — because of your generosity, children around Lake Atitlan are learning, growing, and helping build more peaceful, resilient communities; your support turns education into lasting change.
As this year closes, we want to share our deep gratitude for the difference you have made in Western Guatemala, along the shores of Lake Atitlan. Your gifts to The United Missions of Hope have kept bright, determined students in school and opened doors that many families here once thought impossible to open. Education is transforming their lives and their communities.
Guatemala faces stark educational challenges: less than 10% of Guatemalan youth enter university, and in the Western Highlands many young people are excluded from the education system, a reality our scholarship program is designed to address. Our UMH Memorial Scholarship focuses on students from the Lake Atitlan region and the Western Highlands, helping brilliant young leaders pursue secondary and higher education who otherwise might never have the chance.
Education also builds peace. As GPE (Global Partnership for Education) notes, “Education is also one of the most powerful tools we have to build peace and stability. Even a single additional year of education can significantly reduce the risk of conflict…” When girls and boys have equal access to quality learning, communities become more cohesive and resilient to shocks from economic stress. Your gifts are not only changing individual futures; they help reduce the root causes of poverty, violence, and strengthen social fabric. Establishing the economic stability to allocate one of the two annual UMH scholarships to a female was paramount to this vital change. Two-thirds of the scholarships we have issued to date were to girls and this result alone speaks volumes towards the value they see behind this opportunity.
Consider an unrestricted gift to respond to day-to-day needs, fulfilling the remaining laboratory equipment or the repainting of the school to maintain the professional and inviting learning environment. Consider a monthly recurring donation to the scholarship program itself providing direct student assistance to keep focused on studies and achievement and not so much on the daily struggles. Our current donors experience 86% of their money reaching the students and their immediate need.
Poverty, poor perception of education, limited local infrastructure and opportunities slow progress; sustaining gains requires ongoing funding and community partnership. We mitigate these risks by prioritizing local partnerships with area schools, involving current UMH alumni, and the consistent focus on girls’ access. Our in-country relationship strategies increase awareness, retention and long-term impact. The consistent performance of our program, even during the global pandemic of 2020-2023, is beginning to sway local opinions towards a more favorable lens.
If you’d like to deepen your impact on the world before the year ends, please visit www.unitedmissionsofhope.org to learn about current needs and giving options. It does not require large sums of money, honestly, for the cost of a trip to the local coffee shop you can dramatically change the course of these students. The combined efforts of joining together these smaller donations have secured future scholarships for years to come and created some of the most joyous relationships right here at home.
No room in your budget? Maybe consider where you get your groceries. Our local Fred Meyer has an amazing philanthropy program where they donate based on your choice to shop in their store. Link your Fred Meyer Rewards Card to UMH. When you do this, you are telling Kroger that you would like them to donate to The United Missions of Hope. It is a creative way for you to participate with us and costs you nothing! Sign into your FM digital account, (on the app) click 3- bar menu, (top right) go to Rewards, go to Community Rewards, and search for The United Missions of Hope or use our unique ID #- EH118- and click enroll!
As we look ahead to a new year, we remain inspired by what is possible when compassion meets opportunity. Your partnership reminds students around Lake Atitlan that they are seen, valued, and capable of shaping a brighter future for themselves, their families and communities. Thank you for standing with us, for believing in the power of education, and for helping hope take root in places where it is needed most. Together, we are building pathways that will carry these young leaders far beyond what any of us can imagine.
With gratitude and inspiration, we thank you all.
The United Missions of Hope Team
