Guatemala
COVID-19 Relief in Guatemala: Food for pastors & volunteers
Providing food security for pastors and Compassion centre volunteers in Guatemala
Crisis Response
The Need
Like the rest of the world, Guatemala is suffering both the direct and indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. With infections in nearby countries, Guatemala was already on alert in late February 2020 and their first case was reported March 13, 2020. According to the World Health Organization, as of September 2021, approximately 509,654 people in Guatemala contracted COVI-19 and more than 12,600 died from the illness.
The Guatemalan Ministry of Health established prevention measures, including physical distancing, curfews and quarantine. The government designated several existing hospitals and created temporary hospitals to treat COVID-19 cases. Churches reaching out through Compassion centres in Guatemala have also been touched by this health crisis. Four pastors and 12 centre volunteers had contracted COVID-19 by August 2020 and sadly, one pastor died from the virus. Some beneficiaries and their family members have also contracted COVID-19.
The negative impacts of the pandemic are not limited to health effects. Necessary prevention measures including curfews, quarantine and restrictions on mobility and gathering sizes have depressed the economy. Unemployed or underemployed parents were already struggling to provide for their families. At times, churches were restricted from gathering in person and many churches couldn’t meet online. With limited resources, congregations struggled to adapt. This led to a reduction in tithes and offerings and thus, a drastic income reduction for pastors. The emotional toll is also heavy as pastors continue to support their congregations through these trying times and reach their communities for Christ.
Compassion Guatemala knew that if pastors were unable to feed their families, there was a risk that some would resign to look for paying jobs elsewhere so they could feed their families. Our partners wanted to support these Christian leaders and volunteers and their loved ones during the pandemic, but they needed outside support to do so.
Our Response
Compassion works in partnership with local Christian churches to support the mission of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name. However, when pastors and churches struggle, it jeopardizes the life-saving work of Compassion centres. Compassion Guatemala formed a plan to support pastors and selected centre volunteers with grocery gift cards or food supplies to prevent cascading challenges.
Initially, Compassion Guatemala requested funds to provide four grocery cards each for 125 pastors over a period of four months and one card each for 50 church volunteers. The gift cards were each aimed to provide at least two meals per day for 15 days. However, because only 105 pastors and 19 volunteers were found to be in need, we were able to gift pastors with five grocery store gift cards over four months and volunteers in need with two grocery store gift cards to enhance their food security. Food items were purchased and delivered to the pastors and volunteers who did not have a local grocery store nearby.
Providing pastors and volunteers with supermarket gift cards or food supplies meant they could focus on serving their churches and the beneficiary children and their families at their centres. The pastors could continue to share God’s Word and remind people to trust God, keep caring for their children, and to stay connected to the centres.
Activities
Food supplies: In locations where there were no supermarkets, Compassion Guatemala purchased and delivered food supplies to pastors and Compassion centre volunteers.
Grocery gift cards: Pastors across Guatemala gratefully received grocery gift cards to purchase food for their families during the pandemic.
Your Gift Provides...
Your help provided pastors and volunteers across Guatemala with needed food support:
• 5 supermarket gift cards or food supplies for 105 pastors over 4 months; each card supplied 2 meals/day for 15 days
• 2 supermarket gift cards or food supplies for 19 Compassion centre volunteers over 4 months; each card supplied 2 meals/day for 15 days
• Monitoring and follow-up
ReportA message from a pastor
Before the pandemic, I worked splitting my time between pastoral work and being an instrumental nurse (perioperative). When the pandemic started, I was no longer called by the hospitals. I stopped receiving this income, so I was left only with the church offering.
Thanks to this gift, I received food to sustain my family during the leanest times. The help I received was a great blessing. I am grateful to have been considered for this benefit.
Worries and needs always remain, but we must be confident in God and go forward in His work, taking the gospel everywhere despite the hard situation. Through this situation, I learned that this is an opportunity to improve and be prepared and ready for things to come. I also learned to be grateful and ask God for support.
I deeply thank you. May God bless you and multiply what you sent me, and may God bless your family as well. May the Lord make His face shine upon you and may He open the windows of heaven for you with many more blessings. I wish you to prosper in all things!
ReportThank you for your generosity
Your gift made a significant difference in the daily lives of pastors and church volunteers. Food supplies and grocery gift cards provided a lifeline for pastors and Compassion centre volunteers across Guatemala. With fewer worries about where the next meal was coming from, they could focus on ministering to Guatemalan children in poverty at their Compassion centres and in their communities.
Though many pastors and volunteers had part-time jobs outside the church to help ends meet, restrictions put in place to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus meant that many of them lost those sources of income, leaving them completely reliant on the church. However, with restrictions to church services and most members of the congregation also suffering economic effects of the pandemic, pastors and volunteers were not receiving enough to get by.
You invested in local pastors when their congregations and communities desperately needed leaders. During the pandemic crisis, many aspects of the centre programs had to be significantly modified to continue reaching the beneficiaries. Pastors and volunteers needed strength and focus to provide safe environments for children and to reach their families with God’s Word.
With your help, a total of 105 pastors and 19 Compassion centre volunteers in Guatemala have felt the love of Jesus through this intervention. They feel valued and so thankful to have received this greatly needed food support so they can continue to serve others in their communities. Your gift will continue to bless these humble servants as Guatemalan pastors and volunteers keep reaching out with the love of God!
ReportA message from a centre director
Our pastor, William, was in great need. The groceries acquired through the supermarket gift card were a great help to him and his family.
It has been a great blessing to the pastor and has boosted his morale and the morale of the entire church. The church was also blessed to learn that the pastor received help, because they hold him in high esteem.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your help to Pastor Willy. My wish is that God blesses and prospers him. Remember that the sowing done on behalf of Pastor William will not be without reward.