Helping Children Worldwide

About HCW

Helping Children by Strengthening and Empowering Families and Communities

Who We Are
How We Work

Financial Integrity

Reports, accountability, and stewardship.

The Problem is Worldwide

900 million children live in multidimensional poverty, without adequate water, food, shelter, safety, or healthcare.

50% of children in Sub-saharan Africa live in households surviving on less than $3 a day. 412 million of the world's children (20%) live in extreme poverty.

Poverty during childhood equals lifelong issues - poor health, shorter lifespans, and reduced opportunities that transmit poverty to the next generation.

Progress in ending poverty has stalled due to rising conflict, climate change, and global funding cuts.


So We Fight the Fire - Not the Smoke

Our Work

Programs, alliances, and networks organized by place and purpose.

Africa

Programs and alliances with local leaders in Sierra Leone and all across the continent of Africa.

North America

Partners, volunteers, supporters, allies, and mission team members in North America - including the US, Haiti, and Guatemala.

Global Networks

Field-shaping alliances and communities of practice.

HCW research and publications
Resources

Research, publications, media, curricula, and essential resources.

Topics of Interest

Our Impact

Impacts on children, families, resources, communities, and systems of care.

People

Stories of individual growth and change.

Resources

Data, research, publications, media, curriculum, worship materials, and essential resources.

Systems and Community

Empowerment approaches to development, locally led collaborations, respectful alliances, ethical practices, and sustainable progress.

Maya Midwifery International

Maya Midwifery International

Empowering Indigenous Midwives in Guatemala with Naye Xjaw

Maya Midwifery International is a 501c3 charity dedicated to assisting indigenous Guatemalan Maya Midwives and other local health providers in addressing the many obstacles to effective and sustainable health care in their communities. 

​The community currently served by MMI’s projects is the predominantly Maya community in the Mam-speaking area of the western highlands of Guatemala, a population of approximately 50,000.This area suffered significantly during the 36-year Guatemalan civil war, which ended in 1996. The area continues to experience the social, economic, and psychological effects of the war.
Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere with the fourth highest rate of chronic childhood malnutrition in the world. 50% of children under 5 suffer from malnutrition nationwide; in parts of the western highlands this percentage can reach 80-90%.

  • Maternal and infant mortality rates are still among the highest in the Western Hemisphere.
  • 44% of Mayan women are illiterate, and only 1 percent have attended secondary school.
  • The average number of years in school in the indigenous population is 2.1 years. The primary income in the region is derived from weaving and agriculture. Maya family income in the area is about $3 per day.

MMI became a member of the Together for Global Health when HCW absorbed the Compassionate Birth Network and its members. For three years, MMI has been contributing to the collaborative effort to increase capacity in health services that impact child survival where these small nonprofits serve in resource-poor communities in the global south. After suffering a serious crisis of corruption within the local management board that would have caused many NGOs to lose faith and walk away. Instead Executive Director Asia Blackwell and the board of MMI chose to face the errors in judgement that led to the horrendous situation and make tough choices – including the choice to stay and rebuild from scratch.

Listen to the story of MMI and XN on Optimistic Voices, and understand the courage of the local midwives at XN, why the small bit of financial support from HCW means so much for their rebuilding effort, and why the work they do is too important to abandon.