A Charitable Journey

How one man’s trip changed an entire community in Guatemala

By Candy Isaac and Bettina Kozlowski
Rotary International

Unsure of what he wanted to do, Dudenhoefer spent time in Costa Rica and Nicaragua, until he moved to Guatemala to volunteer at a local orphanage. While volunteering, Dudenhoefer was struck by the needs of the Guatemalan people, particularly those of the Q’eqchi’ Maya living in the rain forests of eastern Guatemala.

“They’ve been systematically excluded from higher education, health care, and from profits of the tourism industry,” says Dudenhoefer, who became a Rotarian in 1997, when he founded the Rotary Club of Puerto Barrios, Guatemala.

He adds that about 70 percent of Q’eqchi’ men and about 80 percent of the women are illiterate. Many speak only their native language and are unable to understand Spanish, isolating them from opportunity.

Dudenhoefer wanted to educate the Q’eqchi’ without uprooting them from their community, so he raised money to establish Ak’ Tenamit, a school, clinic, and vocational training center in the heart of the Q’eqchi’ community. With help from volunteers and community members, the training center was built in 1992.

Today, enrollment at the vocational center is up to 400 students, who study business, restaurant, and construction skills, as well as agricultural, health, and sanitation techniques. Primary school students learn basic reading and math and study their national music, traditional dances, and even Mayan astrology.

By graduation, students complete 3,000 hours of training at the school’s restaurants, gift shops, and tourist centers. 

“These kids have never seen a newspaper, a book, or a television. They live without electricity or running water,” says Dudenhoefer’s father, Joseph, a member of the Rotary Club of Jupiter-Tequesta Sunrise, Florida, USA, which contributes school supplies to Ak’ Tenamit. “After one year at the school, they’re accessing a computer. Young people, if given a chance, are able to run with it. That’s the key. Just open the world to them.”

Dudenhoefer says he could not have carried out the project that changed his life and those of hundreds of children without the financial, moral, and hands-on help of Rotarians. His club partnered up with other Rotary clubs to obtain Matching Grants from The Rotary Foundation to equip a chef’s school, training restaurant, and medical clinic at Ak’ Tenamit.