Catholic Relief Services

Catholic Relief Services has worked in Guatemala since 1963. Initially, our work focused on humanitarian assistance to ease poverty and bring about a better standard of living for the needy. This included a food distribution program linked to education, mother-child health, agriculture, and reforestation activities in collaboration with the National Caritas Office in the 1970s. CRS also provided $13 million in food, medicine, and relief items to those affected by the 7.5-magnitude earthquake that killed 23,000 people and left many thousands homeless in 1976. Over the years, our scope has expanded to include implementing programs focused on food security, nutrition and health, sustainable agriculture, education, civil society, disaster risk reduction and emergency response.