Heart for the Nations

HEART Ambassadors awarded Peace Prize in the Presidential Palace, Guatemala City An award for their humanitarian efforts was given to Heart for the Nations in February 2010 during a formal ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Guatemala City. In the Reception Hall, called La Sala de Recepcion, The Ambassadors for HEART for the Nations were received by Eduardo Prado, the Commendador of Antigua, Guatemala. For the past several years, once a day a special honor is given to a prominent person or organization in Guatemala in recognition of their work in the country. On February 5, 2010 this honor was given to HEART for the Nations. Michelle White, Director of HEART for the Nations was presented with a white rose and a formal peace READ MORE

HEART delivers children's books, crayons, and coloring books. HEART Ambassadors Jean Schlegel and Joann Rivera traveled with the Whites to Rural Mixta Xetotoj, a small village on Lake Atitlan to deliver the books and school materials. This town was recently rebuilt in 2009 for the Maya indigenous who had lost everything in Hurricane Stan three years ago. The Principal, David Valescos, and the Education Coordinator, Dora Martinez, gave the group a tour of his three classroom school. The school teaches students from Kindergarten to grade five and has about 90 students. Many limitations to the school facility are apparent. The building is made of corrugated metal and each room has one window and door. Each room is approximately 20 ft. square and appointed with desks and one bookshelf of teaching supplies. The teachers have only a few teacher manuals and the students have paper and pencils. READ MORE

Pine Forge Academy translates books from English to Spanish.

High School students at Pine Forge translated over 100 books from English to Spanish as a part of project "Children Without Books". For over two months, advanced students in Spanish translated children's books written in English into Spanish as part of their ongoing school curriculum. In December 2009 John White, Director of HEART for the Nations, gave a presentation to the Spanish students . . . READ MORE

HEART ambassadors visited Maya Traditions on February 12, 2010. On their trip in 2010, Ambassadors Jean Schlegel and Joann Rivera delivered 100 water filters to weavers and their families who are employed by Maya Traditions. The group of women pictured here were at a training session learning how to make rugs from scraps of material at Maya Traditions headquarters. Social worker Marcelle Rankin introduced the women to HEART and told them about all the benefits of using a ceramic water filter. Marcelle trains the women how to use the filter properly. In addition, Marcelle coordinates the child scholarship program through the Maya Foundation.

Lake Atitlán pictured right, is the main source of water for the women who work with Maya Traditions. The lake is their water source for drinking, the place they wash their clothes and the place where they wash their children. It is also the place where algae, fecal coliform, Guardia, and e coli wash into every year during the READ MORE

The Catholic Church in Panajachel receives receive HEART for the Nations. Included in the February 2009 trip was a visit to the Catholic Church in Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. HEART Ambassadors visited Rev. Benjamin Sandroval & Rev. Martin Leuuma delivering them gifts: two ceramic water filters for the priests' rectory and donations from Rev. Marty Kern, Pastor of St. Columbkill Church in Boyertown, PA . The church in the US sent a substantial number of chalices, patens, and priest READ MORE

UPAVIM was visited by Ambassadors Jean Schlegel, Joann Rivera, and Michelle White in February 2010 to see if UPAVIM could make a new line of products for HEART for the Nations. The products, brainstormed by Deacon Michael Woodall, are for deacons in the Catholic Church who wear an assortment of vestments throughout the liturgical year. The prices for these vestments have gone up over the past few years and have become a burden especially to the Deacons.

HEART would like to develop a new line of vestments with UPAVIM which are affordable and Fair Trade. UPAVIM is currently working on new patterns of backstrap looming to be used in the stoles and chasubles worn by Deacons and Priests. This will be an ongoing endeavor to continue to design new vestments. Hopefully a new line of vestments will be available by order by the year 2011. READ MORE

HEART is proud to announce that St. Columbkill Parish donated generously to rebuild the filter factory in Myanmar. It may not seem like much money, but this donation has helped to rebuild a filter factory which was destroyed and has helped over a hundred families receive filters. To these hundred families, possibly totaling 900 to 1,000 people it means LIFE! On their behalf, "Thank YOU" for your generous giving.

HEART Partners with Potters for Peace

On January 19th, 2008, HEART and Potters for Peace joined forces to spread the filter technology across the globe. Potters for Peace has been establishing new filter factories in Central and South America from 2001. Now at the number of 19 factories these two organizations joined together to both reinforce the effectiveness of the already established factories and to continue expansion in countries still without clean water.

This new partnership will help both organizations to grow towards accomplishing the United Nations Millennium Goal to halve the number of people in the world unable to reach or afford safe drinking water by the year 2015. This partnership will build on the strengths of both organizations in their determination to deliver potable water to those living in extreme poverty in third world countries.

Since 2002, HEART for the Nations has been promoting the funding of the ceramic water filter in Guatemala and has delivered over 3,000 filters to date.