Travel With a Purpose in Antigua, Guatemala: How to Give Back on Your Trip

What does it mean to travel with a purpose in Antigua, Guatemala?

Antigua Guatemala has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979. Traveling with a purpose here doesn’t mean trading your trip for a different one. It means adding something useful to what you were already planning to do.

Antigua is home to Amalia Jarquín, a Spanish teacher and the founder of Start with a Smile Project (Proyecto Sonrisas). From here, the project coordinates support for 7 schools in Las Delicias del Jobo, in Taxisco, Santa Rosa, about 90 km (56 miles) from Guatemala City, where more than 700 girls and boys aged 6 to 16 go to school. You don’t need to travel to the village: what you bring is received in Antigua, and the project takes it from there.

To learn about the place first, read our guide to Las Delicias del Jobo or visit Help Las Delicias.

What can I pack in my suitcase to donate in Guatemala?

The most useful things fit in any suitcase: notebooks, crayons, markers, backpacks, children’s books in Spanish, toothbrushes and toothpaste, socks, sandals, caps and sunscreen. And if you have a used computer that still works, the schools need one.

The full list is on How to help. To choose well, check what to bring to Guatemala to donate and what not to bring. If you’d rather travel light, bring donations or buy in Guatemala? helps you decide.

What should I know about entering Guatemala with donations?

In July 2023, Guatemala’s tax and customs agency (SAT), together with the immigration institute, launched an electronic version of the traveler declaration, the Declaración Jurada Regional del Viajero, starting at La Aurora airport (AGN). It’s free: in May 2025 the SAT filed a complaint over websites charging travelers in dollars to fill it out, and reminded them it’s available at no cost on its portal (La Hora). Use only the official SAT site.

Three packing tips:

• Remove bulky packaging: you gain space and arrive with less trash.
• Group items by type (school supplies, hygiene, clothes) in labeled bags so they’re faster to hand out.
• If you’re bringing many new units of the same item, check the SAT’s rules for travelers before you fly.

How do I drop off donations in Antigua, Guatemala?

1. Message us before your trip on WhatsApp at +502 5562 3313, email amaliajarquin@gmail.com or use the contact form. Tell us what you’re bringing and which days you’ll be in Antigua.
2. We’ll arrange with you how and when to receive it in Antigua.
3. Amalia and the volunteers take it to the children. Deliveries are posted with photos on Instagram and Facebook, so you can follow where the help goes.

One detail for your itinerary: Las Delicias del Jobo is about two hours from Guatemala City. That’s why the easiest plan is for your part to end in Antigua.

Can I volunteer with children in Antigua, Guatemala?

Not through a program with Start with a Smile Project. The project doesn’t run a formal volunteer program with shifts, sign-ups or requirements, and we’d rather say so plainly than promise something that doesn’t exist. Since Christmas 2014, the work has been carried by Amalia, her family, friends, volunteers, donors and partner projects.

What is open to any traveler, even on a short stay: bringing a suitcase with what’s needed, giving, or telling people about the project once you’re home. For a sense of scale, the project delivers school supplies to about 500 children every year.

When is the best time to visit Antigua if you want to help?

• Before the school year starts. In 2026, Guatemala’s Ministry of Education set public school classes from February 2 to October 30 (La Hora). Supplies, backpacks and shoes that arrive between November and January are ready for the new school year.
• At Christmas. Every December 24 since 2014, the project leaves Antigua at 6:00 a.m. for the road to Tecpán, near Iximché, where children wait along the roadside. If you’re visiting in December, toothbrushes, toothpaste and non-violent toys fit right into that day’s packages. Read more on Paint smiles for Christmas and in Christmas on the road to Tecpán.
• Any other month. Schools use supplies all year. Message us and we’ll tell you what’s needed at that moment.

How can I keep helping once I’m back home?

The trip ends; the help can keep going:

• Give on the project’s GoFundMe. It’s a personal fundraiser organized by a volunteer in the United States, with Amalia as co-creator, and it doesn’t issue tax-deductible receipts.
• Share Amalia’s story with friends who are heading to Guatemala next.
• Run a supply drive at your school or office: see how to organize a school supply drive.

If you already have travel dates, message us today and we’ll plan your suitcase together.