A Path of Hope and Rebirth – The Living Story of the Nueva Tzanjuyub Community
In the heart of the Guatemalan Highlands, where the cold cuts through the skin and the wind carries ancient memories, there exists a community reborn from pain and loss: Nueva Tzanjuyub, in the municipality of Santa Catarina Ixtahuacán, Sololá. Witness to their struggle. It’s not a simple story, but it is profoundly human. It’s a story woven with love, faith, and the unity that arises when all seems lost.
The families of Tzanjuyub lost everything in a single night. The rain of a storm took over, leaving cracks not only in their homes but also in their hearts. Due to landslides and territorial conflicts that have plagued the region for years, 48 families were forced to leave their homes without looking back. They fled in search of life, refuge, and a new dawn.
Generous hands offered them land to start anew. There, in a place that seemed inhospitable, they built homes of nylon, tin, and dirt floors. There was no potable water, no drainage, and the improvised bathrooms were made of plastic, nylon, and septic pits. Rainwater ran between the homes. Dignity seemed lost... but hope never abandoned them.
In 2023, a voice once again knocked on the door of the Association of Women of the Highlands and Highland Support Project, with whom they had worked in the early 2000s, when they were supported with the installation of improved stoves. That call was a silent cry begging to be heard. We listened.
We began a process of intimate and profound accompaniment. Not just technical or administrative, but spiritual and emotional. Through women’s circles, we healed wounds. We listened to each other. We embraced with our souls. We understood that before talking about development, trust had to be restored: in themselves, among their leaders, and in us.
One of the significant challenges was securing government support for the introduction of a drainage system. The conditions were urgent: women had to go out in the rain or cold at night to relieve themselves. Diseases, especially vaginal infections, began to affect many women’s health, but few dared to speak about them. Even so, their silence screamed at us.
In 2023, once organized with our support, a formal request was submitted to the Association to accompany the entire process: from the topographic study to administrative management with the Ministry of Social Development (MIDES in Spanish). Through the COCODE, the community’s organizational heart, every requirement was met: trips to the capital city, document submissions, signatures, meeting minutes, and community diagnostics. We had days when we traveled before dawn and returned late at night, without eating, navigating traffic, exhaustion, and bureaucracy. Reading and rereading documents, correcting errors, knocking on door after door. It was a full year of continuous effort.
On July 3, 2025, our hearts vibrated: the government approved the project and provided the drainage system's pipes. The agreements were signed, and with them, a new page was written in the history of Nueva Tzanjuyub. We felt our souls beat vigorously. Thinking of every sleepless dawn, every woman who trusted, every leader who didn’t give up.
Tzamjuyub Cocode at FODES office
Although there are still many steps to take—such as funding for the two water treatment plants—this achievement represents the first major step toward dignified and sustainable development.
Thanks to the previous COCODES, the new leaders, every woman who shared her story in the circles, and every family who believed in the process. Today, they have pipes, a voice, direction, and purpose.
The community has learned to organize, speak out, demand, and build. Where there was once uncertainty, there is now organization. Where there was fear, there is now empowerment. The heart of the sky and the heart of the earth have blessed this community
However, the work is not over. We continue knocking on doors and managing resources to complete the project with the treatment plants that promise that one of the most valuable resources, water, will not be scarce for this community. We believe that real development is not imposed: it is sown, watered with love, and blooms with dignity.
Tzamjuyub COCODE member receive pipes
