Santiago Elder Center

Santiago Elder Center Story

Elder Center Mission To provide medical, nutritional, and emotional support for Santiago Atitlan´s elders in need

The Elder Project began in 1997 with the idea of providing the most basic of necessities to the many elders in Santiago. Chonita Sojuel, the Elder Project founder, was inspired by her son to create a program to help the many elders that live in Santiago Atitlan. The majority of the elders are women, many of whom had lost their husbands during the civil war. The program began by providing twenty elders with a small supply of basic necessities like sugar, beans and coffee once a year.

One day, Chonita met the founder of “Sharing the Dream in Guatemala”, a non-profit organization based in Vermillion, South Dakota. The two women shared a similar vision and have worked together to expand the Elder Project. Now, the Elder Center supports 65 elders and provides them with a meal three times a week as well as a Christmas party where all of the elders receive a present. In 2007, the project expanded to include medical care as well as a daily supply of vitamins.

As the project continues to grow, so does Chonita’s vision of providing meals for the elders every day of the week as well as building a larger center to care for the elders when they are ill. The Center is continuously supported through the generous donations of our many friends around the world.