Fundación K’aslimaal
It has been an incredibly SLOOOWWW process… to become a FOUNDATION in Guatemala. But now the process is complete. Fundación Prosalud, Educación y Desarollo K’aslimaal (K’aslimaal Foundation for Health, Education and Development) is the first Foundation in Santiago Atitlán... there are many Asociacións.
With the new Foundation comes a new Board member. Juan Francisco Pira who lives in Guatemala City. Juan Francisco is the manager of Granos Especiales a coffee buying company in the capitol. It was Juan Francisco and his clients that built the school in Panabaj adjacent to the old hospital. In September 2005, he invited us to meet and discuss how they could help the Hospitalito. The next week… STAN. Juan Francisco was the first outsider to arrive after the disaster, on motorcycle. Within two months, they built a new school for the children.
He continued to visit the Hospitalito and bring other important visitors. On December 20th, 2008, he called to say he had a Christmas present, and brought a check for $50,000 from Starbucks!! (which was matched by the Kendeda Challenge)
In this foto, Juan Francisco is holding an appreciation gift prepared for him by K’aslimaal. He is in Santiago Atitlán every week to check on the coffee, and will attend the Board meetings during these trips. With him are two buyers of Atitlán coffee and K'aslimaal members. The three were very impressed with the construction process, and said that they believe that the new HA will be one of the very best in the country.
We are VERY pleased to have Juan Francisco accept a position on the Board of Directors of Hospitalito Atitlán and serve on the steering committee of the Capital Campaign to raise money for construction of the new hospital.
