Guatemala

Diego Vi Caba came to EAA in 2019 at the age of 16. Since then, we have watched a young man grow into an honest, hardworking, compassionate, and deeply committed member of our south Florida community. Diego has a valid pending asylum claim, Social Security number, Florida driver’s license, and has held employment authorization for approximately seven years. He has worked tirelessly to become fluent in English while also fluent in Ixil and Spanish. He has been studying for his GED, and for the past two years has pursued his passion for playing the cello. Outside of EAA, Diego has served as a deacon and youth mentor at his church in Homestead, Florida, giving his time to help younger people in his community.

At EAA, Diego is one of our lead Forest Keepers and takes tremendous pride in protecting and restoring South Florida’s natural habitats. He enjoys working with Dr. Lisa Johns and our EAA staff at local schools as we teach regenerative agriculture and environmental awareness with our collaborative partners at the GEN2050 Initiative. Last summer, Diego helped EAA restore Florida International University’s Cox Hammock with the EAA Forest Keepers Enzo Hubbard and Abraham Raymundo. Unfortunately, ICE enforcement it was during this time that ICE enforcement began taking young people in Homestead. Diego was the point person that helped arrange thousands of dollars in donations to EAA that enabled us to assist in efforts to secure the release of two Guatemalan youths from detention. That is the kind of person Diego is: even while living with uncertainty himself, he was thinking about how he could help others.

Now Diego is going back to Guatemala to continue his dream of starting a formal education while creating an arm of the Environmental Awareness Academy in a country EAA was destined to work. The EAA is dedicated to providing him, as well as other asylum youth, much needed support to become more resilient and self-sufficient through environmental education. EAA, as an organization centered around long-term support for youth, understands our responsibility does not end at the border. Diego’s hometown of Chajul, in the Guatemalan highlands of Quiché, does not provide access to much needed higher educational opportunities that he, and other youth, need to continue building a future. Thus, EAA is committing itself to helping Diego establish himself where we can use our existing Central American relationships to help him, and others, continue their education.  

As the current United States administration makes rapid changes to it’s immigration enforcement policies, so must the Environmental Awareness Academy make changes to meet the needs of the demographic of the students we serve. Diego will be our first student to receive funding in Guatemala, as we continue to grow our programs in Central America. Help us make a difference with your recurring donation to get this program in place. Thank you! https://donorbox.org/humanitarian-medical-mission-team-donation

"If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else." – Booker T. Washington