In July 2023, Bubba and I made our second trip to Guatemala to help complete the 143rd schoolhouse with HUG IT FORWARD. Our volunteer group of 19, made up of old and new friends, families from across USA, and four beautiful people who traveled all the way from France worked together in the community of Zaculeu.

Upon our arrival, we all were immediately welcomed with singing, dancing, the community leaders, school educators and hundreds of children. We would get to know a lot of these kids, as they worked side by side with us daily throughout our visit.

We were tasked with one of the most exciting construction phases when building a HUG IT FORWARD, “Tying the Bottles”. Kneeling on the ground or climbing the scaffolding, the walls were built by tying twine to the 10,000 Ecobricks, (plastic bottles stuffed the plastic bags) to chicken wire, creating an insulated wall to later be covered with plaster.

The community of Zaculeu currently has about 350 students attending grades 1-6. As of this date, the children of Zaculeu do not have access to continued education after completing 6th grade. To advance their education they must leave their families, friends and the town to attend a private boarding school in the big city.

Understanding the importance that each additional year of education offered to the children, we wanted to find a way to help the community add a middle school. The leadership of HUG IT FORWARD met with the Community Leaders and were able to find the land and a commitment from the people in Zaculeu to provide the necessary teachers. Construction will start in early 2024 and we need you to help us complete the first ever middle school built by HUG IT FORWARD. The plan is to build 4 to 5 schools each year in Guatemala.

We are looking for Volunteers. Talk with friends, family, church groups and anybody who might be interested to join us, July 18-24, 2024.

If our scheduled date does not work for you there will be volunteer trips throughout the year. Get involved. We promise this is a project that will warm your heart and provide you lasting memories. We highly recommend you get your children involved. Our group of 19 volunteers included three kids between the ages of 11-17.

If you are unable to join, please consider a donation to this wonderful program.

It was said by one Volunteer:

“We think we’re going there to help them, and what we find is we get so much more out of this than we give.”

With Love,
Bubba and Tracy Meyers

How kids and communities build bottle schools

Pictures from our previous bottle school trips

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Fundraising for bottle schools

You might also like to fundraise for Hug It Forward bottle schools. Fundraising for bottle schools is optional – it is not a requirement of participating in a bottle school trip.

If you choose to fundraise, we suggest a $250 fundraising goal, but some people choose to do more or less than this. It’s really up to you – how much you think your friends and families can give, how creative you can be, and how much time you’re prepared to put into it.

See more information about fundraising.