Mil Milagros

Who We Are

History:

Mil Milagros was founded in 2007 by Margaret Blood, the Founder and President of Strategies for Children, Inc., an award-winning children’s policy and advocacy organization based in Boston, MA. Appalled by the high rates of child malnutrition and hunger, and the low rates of primary school completion she found during a 2006 volunteer sabbatical at Proyecto Semilla, a school for child workers in Panajachel, Sololá, Margaret was determined to help. She initiated a breakfast program for the 160 children at Proyecto Semilla and based on the impact of that effort, founded Mil Milagros with the pro-bono assistance of the law firm of Goulston and Storrs.

The organization was named “Mil Milagros” with “Mil” meaning “a thousand” and “Milagros” meaning “miracles”, which are essential to achieving big visions. The goals of Mil Milagros were intentionally aligned with the first two of the United Nations’ eight Millennium Goals: the eradication of extreme poverty and childhood hunger; and universal primary education. In its first year of program implementation, Mil Milagros launched its pilot nutrition, health and hygiene program serving 200 children at Proyecto Semilla and Chutinamit public school. By 2011, Mil Milagros had expanded its reach to 895 children in five schools in the Department (State) of Sololá – Proyecto Semilla, Chutinamit, Chichimuch, Xecotoj, and Pahaj – at an average cost of $1.20 per child per day.

Our Partner Schools in Guatemala:

Proyecto Semilla, Panajachel

At Proyecto Semilla, Mil Milagros has trained and provides the funding for the salary of one single mother – Doña Luisa – to prepare the meals. We have been forced to use this model, because in the tourist town of Panajachel, where Proyecto Semilla is located, it is extremely difficult to recruit parents as volunteers, as most are single and working.

Proyecto Semilla serves 150 children, ages five to 16, most of whom are working due to the dire financial needs of their families. The children attend one of two four-hour sessions per day. During each session, each child is provided with a nutritious snack and hot meal. Implementation and reinforcement of the hygiene program is the responsibility of the school social worker and the teachers.

Chutinamit, San Andrés Semetabaj

In Chutinamit, Mil Milagros partners with the parent board, has recruited and trained 12 mothers to prepare nutritious lunches and snacks each day, and has provided financial resources for the fathers to build a simple kitchen where meals are prepared, and to plumb the school with running water. Mil Milagros also provided funding for the construction of four showers at the school, which will also serve the entire 15 family community.

Xecotoj, San Andrés Semetabaj

Xecotoj, a small community in the San Andres Semetabaj municipality, is home to just 115 families (pop: 538), who were displaced following the devastation of Hurricane Stan in 2005. The local public school has 83 students, pre-k through grade six and five teachers. There are 40 dedicated volunteer mothers supporting the Mil Milagros nutrition and health and hygiene programs.

Following this destructive hurricane, community members lived as nomads for nearly four years until 2009, when they were finally relocated to newly-built houses in this new sub-division of San Andres Semetabaj.

In early 2011, a pilot nutrition program of a breakfast/snack and hygiene care, along with school supplies and teaching materials, was launched. A MM mothers’ committee was formed and led through a series of facilitated trainings by Ana Vivar, Mil Milagros’ nutrition and cooking instructor. As with MM’s other schools, a student council of ten children has also been created.

A new concrete-block school has just been built and has two classrooms and two bathrooms. The school was built by the local NGO, Mayan Families, with the generous financial support of the US NGO, Pencils of Promise. Unfortunately two classrooms are not enough for the whole school. However, a third classroom has generously being donated from someone from Panajachel, and is now under construction. Plus, plans are afoot to build an ‘eco-kitchen’ next to the school made of recycled plastic soda bottles, and to re-locate the current laminate school structure adjacent to the two new classrooms in order to accommodate all the children. Eventually the school hopes to have the four classrooms and one director’s office that they need.

Chichimuch, Santa Lucia Utatlán

Chichimuch, with 150 students, is a public pre-k to grade six school, led by a charismatic and highly capable community leader. We consider the Chichimuch community a model in terms of their engagement with Mil Milagros. 70 mothers from Chichimuch are volunteering to prepare the nutritious snacks and hot meals each day, and have organized themselves into 14 teams of five, each with a team leader. Mil Milagros provides each of the leaders with three, three-hour nutrition and cooking classes, and these leaders in turn use a “train the trainer” model to then train other mothers in the community. Each of the 150 children bring their own cups and plates to school, as they do in Chutinamit, along with corn.

Pahaj, Santa Lucia Utatlán

Pahaj is MM’s most recent addition, and also its largest partner school with 460 children. The entire Pahaj community: teachers (20), children, mothers (216), families’ community organizations, and the local government, have welcomed MM with great enthusiasm and commitment to MM’s programs and goals.

In April 2011, a pilot nutrition program of a breakfast/snack and hygiene care was launched. A MM student council comprised of ten child leaders (five boys and five girls) has been organized to advise the MM program, and the children have created a beautiful mural about what MM means to them. Thanks to the motivation of all involved at the school, the program implementation is going very smoothly.

Pahaj is a ‘canton’ (district) of the Santa Lucia Utatlán municipality, and is located close to Chichimuch, another MM partner school.

Board of Directors:

Staff:

Our Mission

Mil Milagros, Inc.™ partners with schools and families in Guatemala to improve the nutrition, health, education and life prospects of children from impoverished, predominantly Mayan families in the Guatemalan Highlands. Our goal is that all children in Guatemala graduate from sixth grade healthy and able to read. Only 30% of children in Guatemala currently graduate and up to 80% of Mayan children suffer from chronic malnutrition – the sixth highest rate in the world. By feeding the children, we are working to ensure that they complete primary school.

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