Sponsoring Communities

Our Sponsoring Community partnerships provide the resources, energy, and political action necessary to ensure ongoing international accompaniment in Guatemala. Their long-term commitment to human rights and solidarity is an essential component of the longevity and sustainability of GAP. Sponsoring Communities provide financial support to individual accompaniers and are key members of NISGUA’s organizer network.

When GAP accompanied the return of displaced peoples, many Sponsoring Communities developed deep relationships with sister Guatemalan communities, many of which continue to this day. Today, Sponsoring Communities provide critical funds to support individual accompaniers and program work.

Sponsoring Communities are also key organizers in NISGUA’s grassroots initiatives to amplify the voices of our Guatemala partners and connect struggles for justice between Guatemala and the U.S. Responding to accompanier alerts, they organize their members to take action in the face of violence against activists.

GAP is always looking to create new Sponsoring Communities; if you are interested in forming a Sponsoring Community, please contact gap@nisgua.org.

“The spirit of accompaniment - go where your presence is requested, stand in solidarity with others as they pursue their work, and help to amplify their voices - has transformed the way we approach social justice partnerships.” - Chris Sutton, member of UUCA-ALIANZAS

Current Sponsoring Communities

K/GAP has supported accompaniment for decades, first sponsoring accompaniment in the returned refugee community of Chaculá, Huehuetenango and for the last 16 years providing direct sponsorship and program support to NISGUA’s GAP program. K/GAP stays connected to Chaculá through annual delegations and support of community education and healthcare initiatives, publishes a regular newsletter and hold regular events in solidarity with Guatemala such as speaking tours and educational fundraisers.

Contact person Connie Vanderhyden can be reached at connie.vanderhyden@gmail.com.

MITF is a group of committed activists and volunteers engaged in solidarity work with movements throughout the Americas. They participate in regular delegations, particularly to Honduras, and organize public education events about Latin America. MITF has been providing support to G.A.P. for more than a decade and is currently collaborating with WYGAP.

For more information, contact Dale Sorenson at and learn more at www.mitfamericas.org.

Since 2001, the NH-VT Guatemala Accompaniment Project had a previous relationship with the returned refugee community of Los Angeles and currently sponsors one accompanier. The small group of people from both states has come together to sponsor accompaniment work, and have also hosted educational speakers from Guatemala in New Hampshire and Vermont. NH-VT GAP provides support in collaboration with the Needham Congregational Church. NH-VT coordinates a local speaking tour for their accompanier.

Chris Hansen is the primary contact person and can be reached at marcuschristian@hotmail.com.

Since 1987 the Needham Congregational Church has partnered with Santa María Tzejá in the Ixcán region of Guatemala. Every year, the church sends two delegations to the village, and in 2000 and 2007 it hosted delegations from the community to the U.S. The church supports health and educational programs and other development projects. 135 families from the church are partnered with 135 families in the village for a letter exchange. The church currently provides accompanier support in collaboration with NH-VT GAP.

For more information, write to Brenda Metzler at bmetzler7@verizon.net or visit www.needhamcongregational.org.

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Arlington (UUCA) became a NISGUA Sponsoring Community in 2007. Their congregation is engaged in an array of local activities, including solidarity work with a local immigrant community and community organizing through VOICE (Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement). Their commitment to social justice has deepened their work with NISGUA in recent year, resulting in a yearly ALIANZAS-specific delegation to Guatemala and ongoing organizational support to NISGUA. Through ALIANZAS, UUCA currently provides support for two accompaniers. ALIANZAS publishes information regularly in a newsletter and organizes local speaking tours with the accompaniers they sponsor.

For more information, contact the project coordinator Anne McKnight at amcknight4646@gmail.com and the NISGUA partnership Contact, Marcia Trick at marciatrick@gmail.com

Between 1997 and 2005, SEPA sponsored accompaniers in the returned refugee communities of Santa Elena and Copal AA in the Ixcán region. SEPA remains closely affiliated with both communities. SEPA regularly visits Santa Elena, are engaged in creative fundraising (that includes running a bed & breakfast) to support small-scale development projects in the community as well as scholarships, and work to educate the public in the Oberlin area. They have developed a relationship with students at Oberlin College.

Barbara Fuchsman is the contact person for SEPA. She can be reached at bafuchsman@oberlin.net.