In the closing circle of El Directorio's March 2023 networking event, the founder of one NGO shared, "It's amazing how many NGOs there are that operate so close to us but we don't really know each other." This was the seed that would grow into a collaboration between La Puerta Abierta Atitlán and AlbaNueva to provide a training where organizations from the town of Santiago Atitlán could come together to learn and connect with each other.

Two months later, they held an intensive workshop on "Prioritization and Task Management" with 14 participants from 6 different organizations, including Mayanza, Inc, OneTwoTree, Asociación Salvando Madres and MAIA Impact. Participants worked together to practice applying new tools to manage their time and tasks, and left with new connections in neighboring organizations.

The director of La Puerta Abierta said it best: "An intense and super productive day. We learned a lot of strategies to manage our time and accomplish our tasks without forgetting ourselves."

During a retreat for members of El Directorio Guatemala, representatives from La Puerta Abierta Atitlán and Asociación Pequeños Ángeles de María (Little Angels of Mary) began dreaming about the idea of institutional visits, after realizing that their programs focused on the education of children in their communities had much in common.

In May 2023, the directors of Little Angels of Mary along with a group of their visitors from the University of Texas traveled from San Lucas Sacatepequez to Santiago Atitlan to visit the facilities of La Puerta Abierta! They spent a morning sharing and learning about their programs, and their head preschool teacher had the opportunity to see and experience firsthand how La Puerta Abierta engages with the students at their educational center. 

"The exchange was delightful: lots of sharing and learning on both sides," said the Executive Director of La Puerta Abierta. We love it!

After meeting at the El Directorio Guatemala Networking Event in April 2022, Casa Pa'nibal and Tejiendo Futuros worked together to bring the psychologist from Tejiendo Futuros 'Familias Fortalecidas' program to Casa Pa'nibal to provide counseling on psychological care for victims of violence, in order to support the women and children victims of violence living at Casa Pa'nibal.

Tejiendo Futuros also reconnected with Amigos de Santa Cruz after the networking event, and the psychologist from their integral health program provided the workshop 'Emotional Intelligence in the Work Environment' to their team.

This is just one success story showing the potential when we encourage active participation and networking in our community!