January 13, 2023

Our mission is to inspire our volunteers to become global citizens and take a hands-on role in the world around them. We believe our duty is to improve the lives of those in need. We aim to improve the future of some of Guatemala’s most vulnerable people, and help them to break the poverty cycle through early nutrition, education and self sustainability.

As a volunteer in Guatemala you will build connections with your group and the Guatemalan people. We believe there is value in service on both ends. Not only as a volunteer will you grow but you will also help the communities in which we serve grow. By serving these communities, you are making a difference now and for generations to come. Here are a few ideas of what we do…. we prepare breakfast and lunch, plant gardens, volunteer in the local community, deliver hundreds of pounds of books, backpacks and school supplies to our preschool and local school, offer love and hope to all those we come in contact with and have an absolute blast! Join us while we explore the culture, and beauty of Guatemala. We spend an entire week volunteering with our preschool and nutrition program. We prepare breakfast and lunch, deliver backpacks, and school supplies, deliver hundreds of pounds of books, school supplies, and much-needed donations to local families.
We will work in the local community to improve their lives with projects such as; install wood-burning stoves, water filters, bookcases, bedding, mattresses, boxes of food, etc. We will visit homes and get to know our families, play with the children, deliver powdered milk, formula, and needed supplies to our sponsored nutrition program.
When we are not at our preschool we explore other parts of Guatemala and hike or ride horseback up a volcano and roast marshmallows on hot pockets in the lava, visit Lake Atitlan, explore ruins, visit the black sand beach, shop local markets, and laugh a lot. We stay in local Airbnb’s/hotels and enjoy delicious food. Our days are full of learning and activity. There are countless wonders to see and life lessons to learn.

You can learn more about how to Be Humanitarian and the work that we are doing from this link https://linktr.ee/tobiespears
Tobie is the founder and director of the nonprofit Be Humanitarian. Tobie leads service vacations to Guatemala to help companies, families, and individuals give back while rediscovering what really matters. Their volunteer-run nutrition program is providing thousands of meals a month and their preschool is offering educational support to children, teens, and parents in a remote Guatemalan community. Tobie’s community recently purchased a small building as their sewing center workspace to allow space to create income for the families and she sells handmade Guatemalan jewelry and woven bags in the states where 100% of the proceeds go back to support the community projects.
The entire community is working together to fight childhood malnutrition through education and nutrition and you can join us in making the world a better place.

If you ever have an issue with anything we write about please let us know. We want to make sure we are always serving you at the highest level. We understand that there are many great organizations doing great work around the world. We aim to be a beacon of love and hope and we sincerely appreciate your support and friendship. It is our greatest goal to spread the belief that we can all be humanitarians in our simple, everyday interactions.
We try our best to do good in the world and we welcome you to join us.

Tobie was recently asked “Why she is passionate about our work in Guatemala and this is her reply …
Why am I passionate about Be Humanitarian? Because the obstacles facing our world may feel big however the obstacles of living in Guatemala have historically been even more difficult. Guatemala consistently ranks around the fourth most malnourished country in the world where about half of all children under the age of five are chronically malnourished. Keeping children in school is a constant struggle as indigenous girls typically attend school for 3 years until they are needed to work in the home or in the fields.

For many years I led groups of volunteers to visit orphanages in Guatemala where we offered love and hope to the children there. I was dumbfounded to learn that many children have two living parents that simply couldn’t afford to feed their child and so they placed them in an orphanage to make sure they received food and an education. It was then that I decided to support the fragile family and stop children from being placed in the system when they have parents who love them.
As a mother, I simply couldn’t imagine the heartbreak of choosing to give my daughters to strangers to raise to ensure that they ate.

Be Humanitarian works closely within the community to ascertain the needs of the families and we have created trust within the community which allows us to intimately know the families we serve. Over the years we have donated thousands of books to fill empty shelves, created libraries, paid children’s tuition, provided hundreds of thousands of meals and thousands of backpacks full of school supplies. We have delivered water filters, installed wood burning stoves and taught our families how to make their own bookshelves so they could organize their homes.

In April 2022 we were able to buy a piece of land and refurbish a small building into a sewing center where we currently have jewelry making and sewing classes going on. We are adding soap making, lotion and perfume classes in October. For years I’ve been selling handmade items in the states and this will only create additional opportunities for these incredible women. Our moms are also taking monthly education classes to learn vital skills such as healthy eating and sleeping habits, dental health, family planning, menstrual health, parenting and hygiene classes.

Be Humanitarian has been working diligently to ease the burdens of everyday life in Guatemala for the last 10 years. We firmly believe that we can positively impact our communities by keeping families intact while providing educational opportunities, creating income opportunities and supporting self sufficiency programs such as our volunteer run nutrition program and garden tower projects. We firmly believe that a small group of dedicated individuals can make the world a better place.

Stories about our personal experiences are yours to share. Feel free to forward any of our emails to your community.
The more humanitarians we have in the world, the better the world will be.

Know that we are grateful for your support, your readership, and look forward to you joining us on the adventure.

Thank you all so much for being a part of our world,

Tobie, Darrin, Danka, Dana, Jonathan, Gina, Jen and William