This is the traditional meal at Christmas in Guatemala. But their single mother could not afford to buy the ingredients to make Tamales for her family.

When we found out about this we wondered how many other families could not afford to celebrate Christmas and how many other children were sad and hungry at this time of the year.
 
 As it  turned out there were a lot of families who could not afford to celebrate Christmas.

In 2006, we started the Christmas Tamale Basket Program. We gave out 215 baskets of food. In 2007 we gave out 650 baskets. In 2008 we gave out more than 1,000. In 2009 we gave out 1,600  and in 2010 we gave out approximately 1,600 Christmas Baskets of food again!

These baskets can feed 10 or more people...so that was an approximate 16,000 people who received food over the Holiday season.
 
Mother Teresa said "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one..."
 
We are asking for your help to feed just one impoverished family this Holiday Season.

It will mean a great deal to the family that receives this basket.
 
Food prices have continued to rise again this year in 2011.

 This continues to take its toll on children and their families. 
 
Malnutrition is a constant challenge in Guatemala.
According to the World Food Program 49% of children in Guatemala are malnourished....the 4th highest rate in the world.
 
Please consider feeding an impoverished family this Holiday Season.

Many families in Guatemala do not have enough food to eat this year. Many of the families that we work with cannot afford to have the traditional meal at midnight on Christmas Eve. 

You can make a difference now.
 
For $35 you can give a Christmas Tamale Basket and feed a family of 10 or more.
 Our Christmas basket is made of plastic and will be used afterwards by the family to stack and wash dishes, hold food etc. The food items will include: Oil, Rice to make the tamales, a block of drinking chocolate (this is traditional to drink at midnight), a loaf of bread with which they eat the tamales at midnight, sugar for the tamales, usually we include raisins, grapes, apples but this year,, once again in 2011, there are so many people in need of food that these luxury items will be replaced for food staples such as beans, corn or vitamin enriched cereal.

To make a contribution for the Christmas Tamale baskets please go to our website
http://mayanfamilies.org/DonateOnline
 and go the General Donation section to send a donation. If you would like to nominate a special family or a sponsored student to receive your basket please note on the payment ..TB and .the student number or the family aid number.
If you would like to pay by check please send your donation made out to Mayan Families to: 

Mayan Families
P.O. Box 52
Claremont, N.C. 28610

If you would like to give this gift in Honor of someone special, please send us an email to: dwight@mayanfamilies.org

giving us the details and we will put them on our IN HONOR OF web page.....to have an e-mail sent to the person you are honoring - please send us their email address.

Thank you for your support.