JOin us in GUATEMALA - 2024 DATE TBA

Learn about the cultural, historical, spiritual, and political realities of the developing world.  Explore human rights issues with a people whose traditions span centuries of development.

Travel With A Purpose

• Learn about the cultural, historical, spiritual, and political realities of the developing world.

• Explore human rights issues with a people whose traditions span centuries of development.

• Experience ancient, colonial, and modern influences that have molded cultures of unique strength

• Meet with members of the LGBTQ+ community, artists, and leaders in many fields

• Learn about a transgender "underground railroad" that helps transgender women from El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras get a new start in life

• Visit medical clinics, art institutions

• Meet survivors of the 36-year civil war and hear their stories

• Participate in Mayan spiritual rituals with local Shamans

• Help deliver medical and educational supplies ... be forever changed.

The Rainbow World Fund Guatemalan Journey is an educational and cultural experience. We will learn from Guatemalans about the realities in their country by visiting projects that serve the Guatemalan people and engaging in social, cultural and artist exchanges. The trip includes visits to diverse communities, meeting with leaders from a variety of fields, and spending time with the LGBTQ+ community to learning about their struggle for their civil rights.  We will experience great Guatemalan hospitality and there will be plenty of opportunities to practice your Spanish. The program strives to connect participants with the realities, struggles and hopes that Guatemalans experience each day. We also hope to bridge connections with Americans and Guatemalans to build understanding and partnerships. This will be RWF's ninth trip to Guatemala.

Save A Life

Rainbow World Fund has been visiting Guatemala since 2004.  Since then, over 100 RWF volunteers have delivered 7000 pounds of medical and school supplies valued at over $900,000 along with over $150,000 in grants. Some of the many projects that RWF supports include a women's clinic in Guatemala City, an orphanage in Santa Apolonia, a water project in the Mayan village of Tapesquillo, a school in Santa Cruz del Quiché, Project Safe Passage at the Guatemala City garbage dump, projects that support the LGBTQ+ community in Guatemala City. Trip participants are encouraged to collect medical and school supplies during the months prior to departure. Each person is allowed two 50lbs bags plus carry-on baggage on this international flight. We encourage people fill their suitcases with lifesaving supplies that we will distribute in Guatemala. We will provide guidance on what medications to collect. Our groups have made a huge difference in the lives of hundreds. These vital supplies come from doctors and hospitals in the U.S. that we contact before our trips. We also bring down lots over the counter medications and vitamins that can be purchased at your local drug store or Costco. Simple medications like Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Imodium, and Hydrocortisone cream are beyond reach of most Guatemalans and are greatly appreciated. The antibiotics, anti-fungals, diabetes medications and HIV medications all mean the difference between life and death in Guatemala. Click here for a list of suggested supplies.

EVERY TRIP IS UNIQUE.

HERE ARE A FEW OF THE MANY HIGHLIGHTS FROM PAST TRIPS: 

• Help deliver humanitarian aid

• Learn about life on a coffee plantation

• Sit with a weaver as she designs fabric of brilliant color and listen to her dreams for the future

• Visit schools, medical clinics, and the other institutions

• Meet with the mothers of the civil war disappeared

• Encounter a variety of lawyers and activists working for human rights

• Dialogue with religious leaders and ecumenical health care workers in marginalized areas of Guatemala City

• Learn about US foreign policy and the School of the Americas

• Visit ecological areas and learn about the fair trade and organic movement

• Make friends with other LGBTQ and cool straight people who are traveling with you on this journey

• Use the journey as a path for personal growth, transformation, and healing with the help of our facilitators

• Learn about the reality of street children

• Participate in dialogues with diverse communities discussing LGBTQ issues

• Spend time with a Mayan Shaman - participate in an ancient healing ritual

• Journey underground through sacred Mayan ritual caves

• Be inspired by, Julia Esquivel, poet, theologian, and human rights advocate

• Shop at the largest outdoor craft and art market in Central America

• Visit REDNADS - learn about HIV care and services

• Visit the Women In Solidarity Clinic - learn about the healthcare system

• Deliver supplies to orphanages and children's homes

• Tour the historic center of Guatemala City, including the Cathedral and National Palace

• Hear the stories of the survivors of the 36-year civil war

• Spend a few days in colonial Antigua where the architectural glories of the past provide the setting for the struggles of today

• Reflect on the war history in the Quiche in an afternoon with the local leadership

• Spend two days on Lake Atitlán area getting to know the local community

• Meet the founders and members of internationally renowned NGOs

• Witness religious rituals of the local people in Santiago Atitlán

• Visit Art and Historical museums and other places of cultural interest

Itinerary

We will be traveling as a humanitarian aid group and our itinerary reflects this. Each journey is unique! Here are a some of the highlights:

Days 1-2: Our itinerary begins in Guatemala City. After we land and gather our suitcase, we will meet our guides Julio, a native of Guatemala, and Doris, a native of Canada, and then we will travel and hour away to La Antigua Guatemala aka Antigua, a city in the central highlands of Guatemala famous for its well-preserved Spanish Baroque-influenced architecture as well as several ruins of colonial churches. It served as the capital of the Kingdom of Guatemala and as the Spanish colonial capital for a time. It has been designated a  UNESCO World Heritage Site. The nearly 500-year-old city is surrounded by three volcanoes - it is like being transported back in time. Antigua will be a base for us to visit humanitarian projects and sites of cultural interest. While we are there we will meet with members of the LGBTQ+ community including OTRANS a nonprofit that services the transgender population. OTRANS runs a defacto "underground railroad" that helps transgender woman from Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras find safety, supportive community, and work. While in Antigua will have and chance to visit the towns historic plazas, churches, and ruins. We will visit Coaba Farms and learn about organic farming and how climate change is impacting the country.

Days 3-6: We will then head 2.5 hours south to stunning Lake Atitlán - a UNESCO World Heritage Site. On the way there we will stop in Iximche an ancient Mayan City archeological site for a tour. We will stay on the northern shore of Lake Atitlán in the town of Panajachel (aka “Pana”) a cosmopolitan crossroads. The town offer stunning views of the volcanic lake and is a home to many artists. We will stay in Pana for four nights and use it as a base for our adventures.

We will take a day trip to Chichicastenango, a town in the El Quiché Department, known for its traditional K'iche' Maya culture. 98.5% of the municipality's population is indigenous Mayan K'iche. We will visit the 400-year-old church of Santo Tomás and be there for the famous outdoor market - the largest in Central America.

We will take a boat over the lake to San Juan La Laguna one of the villages around the lake. We will visit a coffee project, and the artisans of San Juan, visual artists and see their incredible paintings. We will visit the Natural Dye Weaving Centre and the Chocolate Café.

We will participate in an ancient healing ceremony with a Mayan Shaman. We will learn about the 36-year civil war (1960-1996) and how it continues to impact the country. We will learn about the many forms of mysticism practiced in the area. We will visit a variety of humanitarian projects. There will be an opportunity to hike in the Reserva Natura Atitlan.

We will visit Santa Lucia Utatlan, our guide Julio’s community, and meet the women of the Mayan Skills Project. We will attend a local concert.

Days 7-8: We will travel one hour to the mountain valley city of Quezaltenango and stay there for two nights. On the way there we will go to Chwitiziribal and visit a school and the Fuentes Georginas hot springs. Quezaltenango has a mix of architectural styles from Spanish colonial, to neoclassical, to gothic. Among other highlights we will visit a fair trade weaving cooperative and learn about this ancient tradition.

Day 9-10: We will return to Antigua for the last two nights of our trip. We will meet with the leaders of Transiciones (Transitions) a nonprofit that is dedicated to advancing the rights, dignity and social inclusion of Guatemalans with disabilities by providing mobility equipment and opportunities for independent living. Transiciones makes personalized wheelchairs suitable for local conditions, as well as prosthetic legs and orthotic braces. Most of the staff in the wheelchair factory have mobility impairments from gunshots, polio, motor vehicle accidents, spina bifida or other birth defects. As wheelchair users themselves, they understand the fundamental importance of having the right wheelchair for each user.

There may be be time for an optional trip up to the northern jungle to visit the Tikal - a city and cultural center for ancient Mayan civilization. Many beautiful buildings have been uncovered and many more wait to be discovered. Among the many Maya sites in Central America, Tikal is perhaps the most breathtaking because of the scattered impressive pyramids and buildings which have been restored in an area with many more ruined buildings still enveloped by the jungle. Please let us know ASAP if you are interested in a day trip to Tikal.

Day 11: We depart from Antigua and drive 1 hour to the airport in Guatemala City.

TRIP COST, trip handbook AND how to REGISTer:

2024 DATE TBA: The trip cost is $2,800 this price includes all hotels and accommodations, in-country transportation by private van, all meals, most gratuities, translation and guide services, speaker’s fees, entrance fees to special events. It does not include round trip air transportation from the USA. Participants can take optional day trip (via airplane) to visit the Mayan ruins and jungle at Tikal. Our guides for the trip are Julio Alva, a native of Guatemala, and Doris Kizinna, a native of Canada. They are world travelers and seasoned guides. Rainbow World Fund has worked with them for many years.

If you are interested in joining our trip please click this and send us a message to set up a telephone interview and please indicate some times that you are easily avaiable for the interview.

For more information on the trip click here for the Guatemala 2023 Trip Handbook here (PDF) and here for the Guatemala 2023 Trip Itinerary (PDF).

We encourage participants to bring supplies to distribute in Guatemala (optional): Humanitarian & School supplies to bring to Guatemala (PDF).