New Lives for 150 Women of the Guatemala City Dump

This year, Creamos celebrated its thirteenth anniversary and since our founding, we have evolved into a collaboration of over 350 individuals who unapologetically challenge this status quo in pursuit of safer and healthier futures for their families and community.

This past year was a year of growth and perseverance. Creamos participants dove into 2021 with a fine tuned adaptability, creativity, and tenacity to dismantle chronic barriers to opportunity. Over 115 adult learners remained diligent through distance learning; 140 women engaged in emotional support and therapy; and to top it off, 50 Creamos artisans manufactured over 30,000 custom packaging bags, all while designing, producing, and launching the Creamos COLOR Collection.

These successes were made possible through your shared belief in our mission to propel community-driven change. Irina, a Creamos jewelry artisan, expresses her gratitude, saying: “[At Creamos,] I’ve had the opportunity to meet many people to whom I am very grateful because they believed in me. They don’t just believe in our program - they believe in us as people.” We are committed to manifesting Irina’s sentiment by believing the lived experiences of Creamos participants, deferring to local wisdom, and centering program design around participant-identified needs.

As a demonstration of this commitment, we hired four community members to our team this year in recognition of the reality that true change hinges upon local leadership. Beyond our walls, we forged relationships with neighboring nonprofits, coming together in innovative ways to share resources and promote a sense of collective action within the community surrounding the garbage dump.

Throughout 2021, we strengthened local partnerships, expanded our programming, and as always, Creamos participants displayed unyielding perseverance on their paths to self-determination. We now look forward to channeling this growth and momentum in 2022!