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ABOUT US

Empowering the Future of Guatemala

Welcome to our corner of inspiration, passion, and change! We are an organization dedicated to the mission of guiding and encouraging Guatemalan children, youth, and adults to reach their full potential through education. Our vision is simple yet powerful: we want to see a Guatemala where every individual, regardless of their background, has the tools and confidence needed to be a positive agent of change in society.

Our Commitment

Our commitment is to every person who crosses our path. We are here to provide support, guidance, and resources. We strive to foster a positive and supportive learning environment where everyone feels valued and heard. We understand that the educational journey can be challenging, but we are here to walk together, celebrating successes and overcoming obstacles.

OUR TEAM

This is part of our team, the ones who make BenefitGUA possible.

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Blanca Estela
Ambrosio 

General Coordinator.

Nací en Guatemala el 20 de junio de 1969. Estoy casada con Luis Alberto Mejía, tenemos cuatro hijos, cinco nietas y dos nietos. Estudie un profesorado en educación preprimaria en la Universidad Mariano Gálvez. 

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Julia Asucena Mejía Ambrosio 

Spanish Tutor.

Nací el 10 de noviembre de 1988. Tengo 2 hijos: Ana Sofía y Josué Abdiel, de 9 y 6 años, respectivamente. Soy maestra de educación primaria y obtuve un profesorado en enseñanza media en la Universidad de San Carlos. Otros estudios que he realizado son en manualidades, un curso de manicurista y decoración de eventos.

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Jonatan Salomón Morales Vásquez 

Computer Tutor.

Nací el 12 de abril de 1997, tengo 25 años. Vivo en zona 3 de ciudad de Guatemala. 

Soy graduado a nivel medio de bachiller en Diseño Gráfico y he estudiado cursos de ingles y ofimática. Actualmente estudio la carrera "Técnico en programación de computadoras" en la Universidad Galileo de Guatemala. 

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Kari Esmeralda Mejia Ambrosio 

Tutoring Coordinator.

Nací el 7 de julio de 1992 en la ciudad de Guatemala,A la edad de 5 años tuve una cirugía de corazón. Estudie desde mis 6 años hasta los 17 y logre graduarme de la carrera bachillerato en turismo. Actualmente tengo 3 hijas una de 13 años, 11 años y 7 años, nos gusta ir a la iglesia y servimos a Dios como familia en la iglesia, somos una familia muy unida. 

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Pablo Aguilar

R.I.P.

Pablo helped me realize and abandon my feelings of pity and sorrow allowing me to see these beautiful, industrious, family-oriented people through lenses of life, love, service. As time progressed, our minds and hearts synchronized as we dreamt of collaboration, opportunity, and empowerment. Out of this, we understood that one way we could start was by offering education. He introduced me to Estela, our beloved Director. We reached out to folks that were interested in going back to school and changing the course of their lives. We loved working together in all that we did – we also annoyed the heck out of each other in the process of understanding each other. Unfortunately, my buddy passed away just as we were seeing great growth in many areas of our efforts together. He fought cancer with everything he had in him. He tried so hard to beat it. He stayed involved until the last few days of his life. I love him and miss him dearly. My desire is to continue honoring the life he lived and the work he loved, by continuing this program.

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Carlos Moisés Contreras Guzman 

Mathematics Tutor.

Nací el 12 de marzo de 1999 en la capital de Guatemala. Soy graduado a nivel medio de Bachiller en ciencias y letras con orientación musical, así también de la carrera de PEM en Física-Matemática y completé el plan de estudios del PEM en Música en la universidad.

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Charley Swecker

Project Manager and Founder of BenefitGua

In 1996, I embarked on a journey that would change my life as well as many others. As a young (very naïve, but eager) “man”, I went on a trip to Guatemala with friends from my local church. It was an eye-opening experience.  But to be honest, I never thought I would set foot back there after the trip. Upon my return, I started university as do many, and began to live my own life. After a while, I began to wonder what my life would amount to – what I would do to leave a mark on this world.  Would it be a stain or would it really be significant at all. In my introspection, something sparked deep in my soul that would lead me back to Guatemala.

 

At the age of 19, I went to work with an organization called Helps International. This involved interaction with the people of the villages, as well as the doctors, nurses and mechanics, who came in from all over the U.S. While serving, I was given freedom to explore a country rich in culture with indescribable beauty, a very exotic and yet, somehow comforting cuisine - with a fascinating history. This all intrigued a young man who only understood the culture of growing up in the rural Southeast section of the U.S.  But, above all of this, were the people I encountered. I was welcomed into communities, as well as invited to be part of families with sincere acceptance. They saw something in a young man I could not see in myself. I also saw pain - a lot of pain, along with hopelessness and desperation.

 

My early trips came on the rears of a 36-year Civil War.  My focused areas were in some of towns greatly affected by the conflict. Some of my experiences included peering over a United Nations worker’s shoulder as he “made sense” of mass graves being dug up and piecing bones together that would tell a history many wish they could forget or were never a part. I vividly remember the gruesome - yet endearing site, of a mother holding her daughter and a bullet going through the head of the child, while piercing through the chest of the mom. There were other moments I was able to witness, such as prestigious doctors giving up vacation time to step back in time to a world with familiar illnesses without the technologically-advanced tools they were accustomed to using.

 

As I have now traveled my entire adult life in Guatemala - filling three pages in worn passports, getting married to the best woman I know in one of the most beautiful hotels in Antigua, watching my children run through central parks, meeting lifelong friends - my heart has indeed been stolen by another country. Do not get me wrong - I love my home country and am proud to be a citizen of the United States, but am also captivated by Guatemala.

 

By trade, I am a project manager.  And - thanks to God, some awesome people and a wonderful company, I am able to work from anywhere in the world - which allows me to support the needs of my family. I do not take this opportunity lightly, nor do I take it for granted. We have had some incredible people come alongside us through the years and invest with us from a grassroots level. I am forever grateful for these individuals and hope they know the impact they have had on my life and so many others.

 

I live my life by a few quotes and thoughts:

“All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing” (Edmund Burke)

“Preach the gospel at all times and if necessary, use words.” (Frances of Assisi)

 

I believe my life to be a symphony orchestrated by God himself.

The most powerful and hated substance in existence is the blood of Jesus Christ.

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