Natalie is a seven-year old adopted Guatemalan girl who lives in Budd Lake, New Jersey. She and her parents recently welcomed a second child into their hearts (long distance via sponsorship).
This new friendship has brought joy not just to Natalie, but to her new friend, Alicia and her family who live in Nuevo San Ildefonso, a small Mam village located in the remote northwestern area of Guatemala. In initiating the friendship, Natalie and her classmates made a colorful poster for the village children and sent it to Frances Dixon, head of Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala (AAV), who would personally deliver it to Alicia. Adopt-a-Village is a 20-year-old organization based in Florida that has been helping Mayan families rebuild their lives after the 36-year civil war. Education has been at the forefront of their efforts. The organization also runs a child sponsorship program in which American children can make friends overseas and learn about the Mayan culture at the same time. A small, independent group run by volunteers, it offers an unusually high level of personal contact and insight into how the Maya live in this region of Guatemala. Natalie is one of many Guatemalan adopted children who have found friends through AAV’s program. 
In addition to her interest in her birth country, Natalie is a unique little girl in as much as she has confided to her mother, “I was born to weave.” AAV’s leader shared this vision with the families in Nuevo San Ildefonso. Obviously delighted to hear this news, Alicia’s mother set to weaving a colorful bag on her back strap loom which Dixon would take back to the States for Natalie.
What a warm and inimitable response to Natalie’s friendship!
