The women of the kitchen staff are either mothers of scholarship recipients or were once part of the program themselves.  Sixteen women manage the responsibilities of shopping, cooking, cleaning and housekeeping.  The food for meals is purchased fresh each day at the market, and then lunch is prepared and served to 125 people daily.  Despite the challenge of cooking for such a large group, visitors to the program consistently rave about the talents of our cooks.  We are grateful to be able to provide meals that are both nutritious and delicious, knowing well that this is the most well-balanced meal the children eat each day.  A more expansive kitchen facility has enabled us to also serve a more wholesome hot snack in the late afternoon before the children return home. 

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

I want to share these words with each one of you that sustain Education and Hope:  thank you for everything you give to us.  We are so happy because who would ever imagine that people from another country would help Guatemalan children?  We will always be grateful to you and to God for allowing us to see the light of a new day each morning.  You have blessed us in so many different ways.  Thank you for giving us the hope, happiness and education we deserve.  (Margarita Cruz Ixtazuy, cook/mother/student)

To me Education and Hope means: love, hope and the will to keep striving for a better life.  Before I found Education and Hope my life was very hard and I couldn’t afford to provide my children with an education.  When my children became sick I couldn’t take them to the doctor.  Since I have been part of Education and Hope our lives have changed so much: my children attend school, I have a good job, and above all we receive love and moral support.  I am eternally grateful to Julie and everyone else who has offered us their economic support.  Thank you so much for your help.  May God bless each one of you and your families.  May God grant you the strength to keep helping so many people in need.   (Teodora Loarca, cook/mother)

My mother was a woman who suffered greatly from family violence, and one day God sent an angel from heaven to find her, and that angel was Julie.  Through Education and Hope she offered us support.  I was only six years old then, but little by little our lives changed in many ways.  Julie has helped us unconditionally since then.  We didn’t suffer as much after that.  Years later my mom got very sick.  Julie tried hard to save her but couldn’t in the end.  Now Julie is like a mother to me and my four siblings.  She always takes loving care of us and I have so much to thank her for.  I don’t think my life will be long enough to thank her for all the many things she has done for me and my family. 
(Maria Rosenda Cruz Ixtazuy, cook/mother/student)