printForm a Local Sponsoring Community
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Steps to Forming a Sponsoring Community
Begin by becoming familiar with G.A.P. What is the program, what are its guiding
principles, how did it start? Read About NISGUA and
the Introduction
to G.A.P. Early in the process of forming a Sponsoring Community, please
contact the G.A.P. office. We can offer guidance, as well as up-to-date information
about where
accompaniment support is most needed.
- Invite others to join you in learning more about Guatemala. Talk about
the need for accompaniment. Create excitement to continue learning together.
- Create a committee. Identify a core group of individuals who will ensure
ongoing creativity, communication, and who will do work! Making a group effort
to form a Sponsoring Community will be more sustainable than having one person
try to do it all.
- Name your group. You may want to consider how your name would be interpreted
in Spanish.
- Identify roles, which could include:
- Contact person, to be the principle communicator with
the NISGUA office and initiate an emergency response in the event of a human
rights violation (also name a back-up).
- Treasurer, to keep track of income/expenses and to ensure
that money is sent in a timely manner to the accompanier.
- Press contact, to coordinate media
contact for publicity and education.
- Fundraising coordinator, to ensure ongoing
plans for financing accompaniment are implemented.
- Education coordinator,
to ensure ongoing community awareness-raising
about Guatemala and the work of the Sponsoring
Community.
- Logistics/meetings
coordinator,
to arrange
location/logistics
of Sponsoring
Community
activities
and events.
- Community
liaison/outreach
coordinator,
to
facilitate
communication/contact
with
people
interested.
- Correspondence
coordinator,
to
coordinate
sending
thank
you
letters
to
supporters;
letters
to
community
and
to
the
accompanier.
- Accompanier liaison, to be in touch with the accompanier's family; keep track of birthdays, special needs, etc.
To coordinate does not mean to have to do all the work! A coordinator's job is to ensure that work gets done.
5. Invite community involvement. In creating initial events, consider ways to invite/include individuals who can provide contact with other organizations that may become interested. Farm or labor organizations may become involved. Religious groups may have Peace and Social Concerns committees. A Rotary Club member may have traveled to Central America. University students, especially those in Latin American Studies, pre-law, or Spanish departments, may be interested. Involvement of various sectors is possible and notifying people from a broad spectrum will facilitate their continued involvement. As individuals become interested, they will tell their friends who will become interested, and they will tell their friends.
6. Establish an Emergency Response Network within the community for disseminating Action Alerts in the event of a human rights violation. An email list for quickly sending written materials is recommended, along with a phone tree to respond to the most serious violations requiring immediate and more nuanced action.
7. Recruit accompaniers from your area to apply to attend the G.A.P. training. If there isn’t a qualified candidate with ties to your community and whose timeline for service matches the Guatemalan region where you support accompaniment, an accompanier from elsewhere will be paired with you.
8. Gather letters of support from local and state officials, in addition to national Congresspeople. This is also an opportunity to make an initial visit and raise your concerns about the human rights situation in Guatemala.
9. Accords between the Sponsoring Community, the accompanier, and NISGUA are signed, outlining the responsibilities of each.
10. Accompanier departs for Guatemala, regularly receiving reports from the Sponsoring Community about their activities in addition to their financial support.
11. Sponsoring Community meets regularly to continue educating themselves, build community among the members, brainstorm creative fundraising ideas, and make contacts that will be useful – such as with the media – when the accompanier visits.
12. Accompanier returns and visits Sponsoring Community to share her/his experiences in Guatemala, do public presentations and fundraisers for the Sponsoring Community. This is an ideal time to use your media contacts.
13. A new accompanier is placed and the process of support, community building, activism, and education begins again.