Recent news has been highlighted by stories of large numbers of immigrant children arriving at our border. Over 60,000 “unaccompanied minors” have been detained at the US border this year.

Much of the coverage has focused on politics. We do not address that here. Perfectly kind and intelligent people can, and do, disagree on what courses of action our country and political leaders should take.

But people that know of our work in Guatemala often ask us, “what can we do” to change the immigration situation? The truth is there is no simple solution. Immigration is caused by many factors, including poverty and corruption that have been ingrained in places like Guatemala for hundreds of years.

It’s a complicated problem. But one thing we can do, as individuals, is help those in need to build up their own communities and families, so that they will choose to remain at home.

Immigration is more often than not an act of desperation. Poverty, culture, and corruption all collude to keep people – even entrepreneurial, hardworking people – trapped in a cycle of poverty. Right or wrong, those that do not want to settle for a life of poverty sometime see immigration as their only way out.

Over the past 4 years, thanks to your support, we have educated hundreds of children and sponsored projects to benefit the most poor in Guatemala. We have worked to support the hardworking and ambitious – to help them make a better life in their own country and to fight for the justice and opportunity that they deserve.

Thanks to your support, there are hundreds of people that have a few less reasons to leave their home and emigrate to the United States. Instead, they can stay and support the development of their own communities – but to do that, they need support from people like you.

We haven’t put an end to immigration, but there are hundreds of good, honest, hardworking people in Guatemala that are grateful you chose to support them.