Page 8 THE VILLADOM TIMES II • November 20, 2013 Glen Rock Holiday Artisan Sale to benefit Guatemalan youth On Sunday, Dec. 8, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., Glen Rock native Courtney Wong will host the fifth annual fundrais- ing sale of Guatemalan artisans’ products. This is a ben- efit for Limitless Horizons Ixil, a community-development nonprofit that opens educational opportunities for youth and families in the secluded, genocide-torn indigenous Maya community of Chajul, Guatemala. The sale will take place in the Fellowship Hall at the Community Church of Glen Rock, 354 Rock Road in Glen Rock. Patrons are asked to use the Hamilton Avenue entrance. A variety of handmade items perfect for holiday gifts will be sold, including handmade scarves and book- marks, bags, beaded jewelry, stuffed animals, and holi- day ornaments. This year, there will be brand new items directly from the women and youth artisans in Chajul, and everyone’s favorite crafts from prior years. Limitless Horizons Ixil (LHI) is a U.S. 501(c)(3) non- Handmade scarves from Guatemala (Photo courtesy of Sue Rissberger Photography.) profit and Guatemalan nongovernmental organization that creates opportunities for the indigenous youth, women, and families of Chajul, Guatemala, to develop the academic and professional skills needed to effect change in their lives and within the community. LHI works in the indigenous Ixil region of the western highlands of Guatemala, which has maintained its rich Mayan traditions despite being par- ticularly hard hit by genocide against its people during the 36-year-long Guatemalan civil war. It is an area marked by significant poverty and post-war trauma. The community has a corn-based agricultural economy where the aver- age income is $2 per day and adults struggle to feed their families. Less than 11.5 percent of children graduate from middle school, and adults have an average of only 2.5 years of schooling. LHI opened Chajul’s first and only community library to serve the county’s population of 50,000 people; resources like story hour and homework help have been hugely popu- lar, and the library now serves over 1,400 users. The orga- nization operates a youth development program, which includes comprehensive educational support services and scholarships for Chajul’s most promising and impoverished youth. LHI also runs an artisans’ program that offers schol- ars in the youth development program and mothers of LHI youth the opportunity to create woven and embroidered products in exchange for fair wages and professional train- ing. After graduating from Brown University with a degree in public policy in 2009, Wong worked in Chajul for Lim- itless Horizons Ixil until November 2010. Since then, she has been a member of the organization’s board of directors, and is highly active in fundraising and strategic planning for the organization’s long-term sustainability. For the fifth year in a row, she is excited to be able to share her experi- ence working in Chajul and to be hosting this sale, which will raise essential funds for the organization’s work to increase sustainability over the next several years. “Last year, we raised an amazing $2,500,” Wong said. “I hope we can even surpass that this year so we can con- tinue to provide this essential funding for LHI’s work that enables youth to overcome Chajul’s challenges and become educated young leaders. We’re making incredible progress in a community that really needs it.” For more information about Limitless Horizons Ixil, visit www.limitlesshorizonsixil.org or contact Courtney Wong (CourtneyRebeccaLHI@gmail.com).