Frances Dixon Honored for Humanitarian Efforts through Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala, Inc.

    NORTH MIAMI BEACH, FL, June 28, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Frances Dixon, President of Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala, Inc., has been recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in nonprofit leadership.

She happened upon Quetzali, one of dozens of tiny villages in the rainforest where people displaced by the conflict were hunkered down, trying to carve out a life. There was no reliable water supply, few roads to speak of, no schools—not even paper and pencils. Every child who was old enough to walk was at work in the coffee fields or minding their brothers and sisters. The conflict around them; arbitrary violence could erupt at any moment.

A long way from her native British Columbia, Frances Dixon can be found traversing the villages of Barillas, Huehuetenango in Guatemala. Surrounded by rainforests in the midst of the Cuchumatan Mountains, rugged dirt roads and narrow walking paths lead visitors to a wilderness dotted by small communities of impoverished Mayan people, many of whom are refugees and children of Guatemala's 36-year civil war. Frances has walked these hand-carved, unpaved thoroughfares for many years—reaching, as it would appear to some, world's end. She first arrived in Guatemala in the 1980s, during the height of the area's armed conflict. It was then that her eyes first bore witness to the desperate conditions of the Mayan refugees—poverty, fear and hopeless spread out in every direction; a palpable air of defeat and desperation hanging like a thick fog on the land and its people. Driven by her strong sense of social justice and fueled by the compelling urgency of the Mayan's situation, Frances founded Adopt-a-Village in Guatemala to help village rebuilding efforts. For nearly 20 years now, she has worked with the Mayan people to school young people, build homes, roads and water systems, and breathe life back into those individuals in such desperate need of assistance.

Frances' humanitarian efforts began at the age of 16—she established a charity to join the needs of marginalized teens with those of poor families. She left her family home in the 1950s and traveled extensively throughout the United States, New Zealand, Europe, Africa, South America and Central America. Her career has made stops at the Canadian Consulate in Africa and in the United States, where she founded two businesses. It was during the 1990s however, that she would find her life's work in Guatemala, at the helm of Adopt-a-Village, better known as AAV.

Since its inception, AAV has funded multiple projects in Guatemala with a focus on schools and education. Under the watchful eye of Frances, the organization and its humble group of volunteers have completed an excess of 60 major village projects. The very first funds ever raised by AAV went toward the purchase of land for a primary school in Quetzali.

In the years since, Frances conceptualized a Child Sponsorship program, through which she and her team have built nine elementary schools in locations that previously had no access to education of any kind. AAV now supports middle school programs as well as the recently established Mayan Center, a residential high school for students selected from 250 area villages. In addition to educational outreach efforts, Frances provides food, housing and medical services for the poorest families in the service area through the Widows and Orphans program and the Medical Emergency Fund.

Frances attended Simon Fraser University in Canada, where she earned a bachelor of arts in history and political science. She is an affiliate of Rotary International and supports organizations in Mexico and Guatemala and in her hometown of North Miami Beach, Florida.

With volunteer opportunities available in Guatemala and the United States, Adopt-a-Village welcomes inquires from interested parties of any age. In addition to hands-on help, volunteers are able to provide AAV with Spanish-English translations, Internet research, clerical work, marketing and fundraising drives.
For additional information about how you can change the life of Mayan child, please visit http://www.adoptavillage.com.

About Cambridge Who's Who
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Cambridge Who's Who membership provides individuals with a valuable third party endorsement of their accomplishments and gives them the tools needed to brand themselves and their businesses effectively. In addition to publishing biographies in print and electronic form, it offers an online networking platform where members can establish new professional relationships.

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