The HSP Story

HSP was founded by Guadalupe "Lupe" Ramirez and Benjamin "Ben" Blevins in 1992. Lupe was born in the town of Tejutla San Marcos in the Western Highlands of Guatemala. Her family and community were transformed when a small group of nuns from Belgium arrived to foster liberation through education and empowerment. Lupe's father became a leader in the resulting cooperative movement. Spending much of her childhood in cooperative meetings, Guadalupe learned that people can change their lives for the better by working together. Today, Tejutla proudly thrives on its own feet through its own efforts, while surrounding villages remain mired in poverty, dependent upon foreign aid.

Following a formative experience in Guatemala during his freshman year in college, Ben became interested in investigating the causes of poverty and developing the most sustainable strategies for transforming the condition of poverty. During his time in Guatemala following graduation, Ben became aware of the cooperative movement through the Ramirez family and witnessed the positive long-term benefits of the movement. With a common vision and shared passion, Ben and Guadalupe soon married and formed HSP to bring the model of Tejutla's transformational development to the rest of the Highlands.







The Highland Support Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Richmond, Virginia. HSP serves the Mayan communities of Guatemala through transformational development projects and offers service-learning trips to North Americans in our ongoing mission to foster meaningful exchange and understanding across the Americas.

hspservice@yahoo.com / 804.643.8635

© 2009 Highland Support Project