Meet Dani: An agriculturist passionate about transforming lives in Guatemala
A child is abandoned in Guatemala City every four days, according to sources. These “orphans” may have living parents who are too poor to feed them, so they are left at one of dozens of registered and unregistered orphan homes. Many children will remain in these often over-crowded and underfunded residences until they “age out” somewhere between the age of 16 and 21.
Since less than 25 percent of Guatemalan children graduate from the sixth grade, and 96 percent never attend high school, these orphans have no skills to build lives for themselves. The young men are easy prey for gangs that rule the streets in Guatemala. Crime becomes their way of life, and many end up in jail.
But the Community of Hope transition residence will soon make a sustainable difference in the lives of these young men – through spiritual mentoring and vocational training. We spoke with Dani Quieju, agriculturist and soon-to-be mentor for Hope Renewed International, about Community of Hope, the coffee farm he’s created and his plans for helping the young residents reach their God-given potential.
Q. Can you tell us a little bit about your background?
Santiago Atitlan
A. Like many of the kids I grew up with in Santiago Atitlán (about 80 miles from Guatemala City), I left school early, in the fourth grade, so I never studied agriculture. I learned everything about growing crops by working side-by-side with my father. I became a Christian when I was 15 years old. I had been participating with a group of young people and attended masses on Sundays and visited neighbors who were sick and needed comfort.
Many children in Guatemala, especially orphans, don’t have the blessing of a father to teach them a trade or Christian friends to talk to them about the love of God through our savior, Jesus Christ.
Q. How did you get involved with Hope Renewed International?
Directing a volunteer, planting one of the young coffee plants
A. I started working the same day HRI bought the land (3.5 acres) on the shores of Lake Atitlán near where I live. I became its caretaker and, in 2017, I transported more than 300 young coffee plants across the lake to the property. With the help of 20 volunteers, we planted each coffee plant in a 2-foot x 2- foot hole to give the roots plenty of air and soil to grow. Atitlán’s volcanic soil is among the richest in all of Guatemala and Lake Atitlán keeps the temperature and moisture perfect for growing coffee. Last December, we harvested 145 lbs. of coffee with sales going to help build Community of Hope.
Q. What do you hope to achieve at Community of Hope?
A. Personally, I want to persevere and be faithful to God and continue to humble myself before the Lord. Through Community of Hope, I want to help the neediest. By showing the young men God brings to HRI how to grow coffee and other crops, they will learn skills to live productive lives.
Some of the skills to be learned include:
How to be responsible for living, growing things
How to plan a project and see it through to completion
How to take care of themselves
How to get along with others
Dani working side by side with Diego
God is already transforming lives through Community of Hope. Not long ago I went out to look for firewood near the property. Before cutting the firewood, I began to pray and suddenly, I heard a young man crying. When I approached him, I saw that he was trying kill himself by hanging himself from a tree. I immediately yelled at him not to do it and that God is in control. When he heard me, he threw himself to the ground, crying out that his parents had been murdered and his life had no meaning. I hugged him and quickly spoke to him about God and HRI. Today, thanks to the HRI scholarship program, the young orphan (named Diego) is now back in school. (See Diego’s story – from hopeless to hope.)
Q. How can people who have a heart for orphans in Guatemala help?
Dani and Luisa at their wedding this year
A. Please say many prayers for HRI and may you always be blessed for helping my country. Help us continue to touch the lives of orphans God brings to Community of Hope by supporting HRI.
Q. How can readers of this blog pray for you today?
A. I need you to pray for my new marriage, that it is always blessed and that my wife and I form a beautiful family with many children to love and teach to have faith in the Lord.