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Amalia, in a project T-shirt, sits in her living room among donated shoes, boxes and bags

Pack a smile when you come travel in Guatemala

We invite you to create smiles for our less fortunate children from Guatemala, if your suitcase has a little extra space.

What helps most

  • Hygiene

    • Toothpaste
    • Toothbrush
    • Soap
    • Sanitary towels
    • Hygiene kit
    • Towels
    • etc.

  • School supplies

    • Used computers
    • Markers
    • Fairytales in Spanish
    • Pens
    • Crayons
    • Backpacks
    • Paints
    • Notebooks
    • etc.

  • Toys

    • Dolls
    • Jump rope
    • Toy cars
    • Coloring book
    • Soccer balls
    • etc.

  • Clothing

    • Clothes
    • Shoes
    • Sunscreen
    • Caps
    • Socks
    • Sandals
    • etc.

  • Dry food

    • Vitamins
    • Fortified flour
    • Powder milk
    • etc.

From your suitcase to their hands

  1. Make some room

    Leave a little extra space in your suitcase.

  2. Pack what helps

    Choose from the list: hygiene, school supplies, toys, clothing or dry food.

  3. Write to us

    Tell us when you arrive and we’ll arrange how to receive it in Antigua Guatemala.

    Contact us

  4. It reaches the children

    Amalia and the volunteers hand it to the children.

A cardboard box packed with notebooks and markers, with more notebooks stacked behind
Packed: notebooks and markers ready to travel.
A donor sits beside a table of notebooks, crayons and markers he brought for the children
Received in Antigua: a donor with the supplies he brought.
Children of the Los Lotes school hold up the school supplies they received
Delivered: children of the Los Lotes school with their new supplies, 2026.

We want all the children to feel loved, happy and special.

Bringing happiness to the less fortunate children of Guatemala is made possible thanks to the united efforts and donations of people from countries around the world, as well as the volunteers who come together to make it all possible.

Meet the donors
Two donors smile behind a table piled with crayons and school supplies in a home in Antigua
A donor smiles holding books and school supplies for the children
A donor sits holding up two boxes of colored pencils
A couple on a sofa holds up the boxes of crayons and markers they brought
Two travelers show the toys, books and crayons they packed for the children
A donor stands beside a sofa covered with toys, next to a Christmas tree

Painting Smiles at Christmas

Let’s paint a magic Christmas for many boys and girls in Guatemala!

Amalia, in a Santa hat, among children and mothers receiving Christmas gifts by the roadside

The most special time of the year is Christmas, and with it the opportunity to share and bring joy to hundreds of children. Every year there are hundreds of children in the western part of the country who wait along roadsides during the holiday season for a car or truck to stop and someone with a good heart to give them a Christmas gift.

  • 500packages with a toothbrush, toothpaste and a packet of nutritious food
  • 1,000gifts, approximately, counting the donated toys

Last year our hearts were filled with joy at having received economic support, we buy 500 packages containing: a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a packet of nutritious food. In addition to donations of toys, which allowed us to take more gifts (we give away about 1000 gifts). That help left hundreds of smiles and a message of solidarity for those who have very little.

A mother in traditional dress laughs beside her daughter in a pink knit hat on the grass

In that part of Guatemala more than half of the population is indigenous and poor. The little income that the parents receive is set aside for food, which often isn’t enough.

For those children, Christmas could go by unnoticed unless some kind-hearted person passes by and gives them a toy.

December 24th, on the road

  1. 6:00 am · Antigua

    Since 2014, on December 24th at 6:00 am, we leave Antigua with people who join us.

  2. An hour and a half later

    After driving for an hour and a half we gradually find the children who have been waiting at the edge of the route, some during all of December and others only for Christmas Eve.

    Children sit in a row on the roadside curb, holding up their new sandals

  3. Groups of 5, up to 50

    There are groups of 5 sometimes up to 50 children, and we have seen complete families. Everyone gets anxious when a car stops and children from the car run to us.

    A long line of children and mothers waits along a dirt road
    A girl smiles holding her new sandals next to a car stopped on the road

  4. From everywhere

    The children come from everywhere, running with the hope of receiving a little gift.

    Children run across a field toward a long line of families waiting for Santa Claus

  5. A few kilometers on

    After driving a few kilometers we have less gifts and the other cars that accompany us return.

  6. A promise

    Once we were missing gifts and it was my promise to return with our hands fuller.

    An adult hand passes a small yellow toy car to a boy who looks at it intently
Two children laugh as they play with new toys on the steps of a church in Guatemala

Those smiles are wonderful. The sadness of children tears at our hearts whether those children are ours, our neighbour’s, our countrymen or children from remote parts of the world. They are innocent.

They do not understand the reasons for poverty, but they understand the pain of poverty.

The Proyecto Sonrisas “Painting Smiles at Christmas” is a special event that brings so much happiness to children who otherwise would not receive a gift during the holiday season.

Make a donationSee the Christmas 2018 photosAbout the Christmas campaign

Our projects

  • Help the Community of Las Delicias

    The 7 schools are located in the village of Las Delicias Del Jobo, Taxisco, Guatemala, 90 kilometers from the capital.

  • Paint Smiles for Christmas

    The most special time of the year is Christmas, and with it the opportunity to share and bring joy to hundreds of children.

How to help us

Whether through a donation, or because you decide to volunteer, or because you want to stop by while traveling in Guatemala and drop some gift, any help is welcome! #travelwithapurpose