UPAVIM  United for a Better Life (Unidos Para Vivir Mejor)

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.                          

"United to Live Better" expresses the activities of a group of women in the poverty-stricken barrio of La Esperanza (in Guatemala City) when they organized themselves into a community organization. UPAVIM oversees the development and operation of health and education programs which benefit the people of La Esperanza, including: a Medical Clinic; a Dental Clinic staffed with a dentist as well as women from the community trained as dental assistants; a Medical Laboratory, a Well-Baby program; a Breast Feeding program directed by the La Leche league of Guatemala, a Day Care Center with Montessori trained teachers, and a children's scholarship and tutoring program that sends more than 500 children to public school and provides the tutoring support to keep them there.

UPAVIM is a dynamic group of women attempting, and sometimes succeeding in pulling off near miracles in one of the most economically depressed sectors of Guatemala City

On the south side of Guatemala City is a poor barrio where squatters have been living for years. They have no sewage disposal, no clean water, and no electricity. Many living in this area have moved to the city following their dream of a better life and earning money. But there are no jobs, and their dream crumbles.

A group of women in this area decided to do something to change the situation. They formed a community to protect and take care of each other. They have established a dental and medical clinic, programs educating and providing for mothers and new babies, a daycare for children before school age and scholarships for children in school. They are always on the look out for other needs in the community.

Key to the UPAVIM programs is the production and sale of the crafts and clothing marketed through fair trade groups. It employs about 60 women who make crafts from distinctive Guatemalan fabrics. They sell their items to many people around the world. Through your purchase they earn the money for the food and necessities that we take so for granted. Sale of these items provide direct income for the women as well as crucial financial support for the various programs.

 http://upavim.pursuantgroup.net/