In Service of Those In Need By Grace Williams
It’s fine china for your 20th, gold for your 50th, and diamonds on your 75th, but this year for Fotokids, it would be pearls.
Otis McAllister offers its congratulations to Fotokids as it celebrates 30 years of service to Guatemala’s children and families.
To honor the occasion, Fotokids planned an exhibit of over 200 pieces of art; however, COVID will delay the project as Fotokids actively fights stigma, misinformation, and a lack of healthcare for its students.
In March, Guatemala celebrated International Women’s Day, highlighting stories of femicide and remembering the struggles of women everywhere, while championing progress that has been made. That day reminds us of Fotokids girls like Gladiz who was told “you live in the dump; you will die in the dump,” but she was determined to change her story. Thanks to Fotokids, Gladiz is now a successful secretary living in her own house with a car to take her to and from work. In 2007, Fotokids’ Girls Life Skills program, then called Save Girls, was started, and Fotokids reports the program has helped to educate thousands of girls.
Fotokids has also helped its kids attain technical and academic success.
Erika graduated with a degree in graphic design and was selected out of 140 applicants to intern at a premier Guatemalan design studio.
Rocio also graduated and was chosen to freelance and teach at Fotokids, and the organization is sending four of its students to the university this fall.
Finally, Fotokids provides a free, nutritious meal each day for every one of its students – benefitting from donations made by Otis McAllister and its family of brands, including La Sirena, Village Harvest and INSERT.
For all of this and more, we congratulate Fotokids and its founder, Nancy McGirr. Otis McAllister is a proud Fotokids sponsor, and we are honored to support the work Fotokids is doing to break the cycle of poverty.
