Creating Resilient Communities in Guatemala
Tejiendo Futuros
(Weaving Futures)
PMI Social Impact Initiative
Project Managers Without Borders
UN Sustainable Development Goals Supported
#1 No Poverty, #2 Zero Hunger, #3 Good Health and Well-Being, #4 Quality Education, #8 Decent Work and Economic Growth, #11 Sustainable Cities and Communities
Learn More about PMI’s Partnership with the United Nations
Ingrid Villaseñor was raised by a single mother who taught her that women are strong, successful and resilient. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have such an encouraging force in their lives, Villaseñor knows. So in 2018 she created Tejiendo Futuros (Weaving Futures), a nonprofit offering social services to families in Panajachel, Guatemala. The organization runs a network of programs to educate, feed, provide medical care and raise aspirations for vulnerable families.
“Ingrid is helping break the poverty cycle by working with families to help them realize that no matter your culture or origin, you are worthy and can succeed,” says María Laura González, PMP, Latin American community coordinator for the nonprofit Project Managers Without Borders (PMWB).
A Farm to Grow Food
and Incomes
But, like many an advocate focused on social impact, Villaseñor lacked a well-defined business plan and a capable team to help see through her vision. “It was a one-woman show,” González says. “She needed help to focus her efforts on what was really important and delegate the rest.”
That’s where PMWB stepped in. The organization’s volunteers worked with Villaseñor to help Tejiendo Futuros better communicate its services. And they also helped the nonprofit plan and build an agroecological farm for residents of Panajachel, providing both food and a source of income to the community.
PMWB has more than 500 volunteers across the globe, offering their services to help nonprofits improve efficiency and achieve more. The group has committed an impressive 2,210 hours to social impact projects worldwide—including Villaseñor’s group—to drive progress toward multiple UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Mutually Beneficial Partnership
The partnership with Tejiendo Futuros has been a great fit for PMWB, says founder Deanna Landers, PMP: “Project managers gain the feeling of accomplishment and contribution, while those who are receiving the benefit of the volunteer hours gain tremendously as well—especially if the time was dedicated to project management.”
For González and Landers, helping organizations like Tejiendo Futuros become more sustainable, efficient, and effective is the ultimate reward.
“When we collaborate and focus, we can affect the well-being of the entire planet and the people who live on it,” Landers says. “And I can’t imagine anything more important than that.”
