Pastoral Social/Caritas San Marcos has supported the most vulnerable families of San Marcos since 1969. Caritas San Marcos has permanent and dedicated staff with experience implementing education, micro-credit, health, water and sanitation, agriculture, livelihoods and emergency response interventions. Caritas San Marcos is a key partner in improving food security and nutrition in the Western Highlands, with 17 years of experience implementing Title II programs.

Since its foundation in the year 2000, the Asociación Proyecto Conrado de la Cruz (APCC) has worked to prevent and eliminate child labor among Mayan children, especially girls, in the departments of Sacatepequez, Chimaltenango, Totonicapán, Huehuetenango and Sololá. In addition, since November 2009, APCC has worked with Catholic Relief Services in the implementation of the U.S. Department of Labor-funded project My Rights Matter.

Casa del Migrante is a shelter located in Tecún Umán, San Marcos, which borders the State of Chiapas, Mexico. The center offers lodging, food, legal and medical attention to migrants entering Mexico and those who have been deported from Mexico on their path to the United States. The shelter educates them on their rights, responsibilities and the risks associated with their journey in order to prevent abuses and warn others about the potential consequences of traveling to the United States without legal documents. It also documents violations to migrants' human rights and supports advocacy efforts in favor of migrants.

Diversified Livelihoods for Smallholder Coffee Farm Families project

This project aims to increase and diversify the household income and assets of 450 coffee producing families in the departments of Chiquimula and Zacapa. The promotion of new income generating activities shields families from the volatility of coffee prices. Activities including coffee-based agroforestry systems, honey production, egg production, the integration of horticultural crops and the creation of savings groups work to improve families' livelihoods and diets while providing them with a safety net.

Human Rights without Borders Project

Migrants passing through Guatemala on their way North face many dangers such as assault, rape, exploitation, kidnapping and abuse by authorities, smugglers and drug cartels. Catholic Relief Services supports the work of the Casa del Migrante located in the border town of Tecún Umán in the Department of San Marcos, next to the State of Chiapas, Mexico, which educates migrants about their rights, responsibilities and the risks associated with their journey. They are further educated regarding possible consequences of traveling to the United States without legal documents.

Casa del Migrante also provides humanitarian assistance, legal and psychosocial support to those who have been deported from Mexico on their path to the United States, and, when necessary, assists them to return home. In 2012, CRS' contribution helped provide lodging, food, clothing, footwear, medical assistance and moral support to 6,211 migrants.

Todos y Todas Trabajamos Project

The goal of this project is to promote labor law compliance through the creation of workers' rights centers in the departments of Chimaltenango, Escuintla and Guatemala. These centers provide information, training and legal counseling to workers engaged in the apparel industry, agro-industry and varied services (e.g. housekeeping) on the relevance of labor laws (rights and obligations) while also assisting them in the process to solve labor disputes and exercise their labor rights.

My Rights Matter Project

Catholic Relief Services is working to prevent children from withdrawing from school and engaging in exploitative child labor. To counteract truancy, dropouts and grade repetition, CRS is using three educational models—Bilingual and Intercultural Mayan Education, Active Rural School, and Spaces to Grow—that offer dynamic learning methods making school more appealing to children.

Since Sep 30, 2009, the project has successfully withdrawn 7,255 children while preventing 3,047 children from being engaged in child labor in the departments of San Marcos and Totonicapán.

Food Security (Title II) Program Focused on the First 1,000 Days (SEGAMIL)

This USAID-supported program aims to improve 21,000 farmer households' access to food, reduce chronic malnutrition in children under five years of age and improve resilience systems in 340 communities in the departments of San Marcos and Totonicapán.

SEGAMIL uses the Farmer Field School methodology to train families to improve their agriculture, livestock production and post-harvest management, while incorporating them into competitive markets. The program also educates participating mothers and caregivers to improve household nutrition, health and hygiene based on the Community Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses strategy. This program will also strengthen existing community structures, assisting with the drafting of community development plans and the implementation of early warning systems.

The goal of Catholic Relief Services HIV programming is to reduce HIV transmission and help people with HIV live in dignity, free of stigma and discrimination. The projects focus on HIV prevention education, empowerment of people with HIV and strengthening Church organizations to actively work in the area of HIV. All HIV projects are implemented with the approval of the Guatemalan Episcopal Conference.

Our HIV projects are especially implemented in the departments of Escuintla, Izabal and San Marcos. However, CRS provides assistance on HIV issues to any of the fourteen dioceses throughout Guatemala as needed and as part of its support to the HIV Sub-Commission of the National Health Commission of the Guatemalan Episcopal Conference.

Safer Neighborhoods

This project, supported by USAID's Office for Foreign Disaster Assistance, aims to build safer neighborhoods in six at-risk neighborhoods of Guatemala's second largest city, Quetzaltenango, and improve their capacity to respond to disasters. Main activities include needs assessment and risk mapping, the development of disaster preparedness and emergency plans, and youth training in disaster risk reduction, benefitting a total of 6,000 residents. The project will also support repairs and improvements to targeted home and community structures to minimize the risk from future natural disasters.