KATO' KI
Guatemala Projects
ABOUT US
Kato' ki—Kaqchiquel for "let's help each other"— is a recreational, educational and community development project that supports poor and under-resourced villages in and around the town of Patzun, Guatemala and more recently has also supported other Kaqchiquel speaking communities in the country.
The Kato' ki Story
What started as a small scale bi or tri-annual soccer gear drive by the Magzul-Lydon family to bring cleats, balls, and uniforms to Patzún, Guatemala, blossomed into a coordinated initiative with the support of the Opportunitas Aequa non-profit organization in the summer and fall of 2008.
With community support and many volunteer hours, the project successfully raised enough money to pay for the construction of a soccer field, the purchase, construction and installation of soccer goals, nets, and the transportation of educational and recreational supplies.
Fundraising came from online donations, soccer camps, an auction, and a Playing for a Cause benefit night with music, comedy and visual presentations from Opportunitas Aequa and Kato'ki initiative founder and designer Kieran Magzul.
The Magzul-Lydon family then traveled to Guatemala to carry out the project and an online recording of the progress of the development in Patzún was documented photographically accompanied by stories.
Since then the Kato' ki project has retained ties to the communities that have been helped since 2008/2009. School supplies, soccer supplies, and other donations have continuously been brought down by the main coordinators of the Kato’ ki project and other volunteers.
A calendar was produced in 2011 from photographs taken in Patzún and sold to raise money for other goalposts in 2012.
For 2021, we are fundraising to support the primary school of the village of Cruz de Ayapan, in the municipality of San Juan Sacatepequez. We are selling cards for all occasions and we are accepting donations.
None of the accomplishments would be possible without the contribution of countless volunteer hours both in Canada and Guatemala.