Guess what, everyone? This summer we’ll be piloting a NEW KIND OF TOUR to Guatemala and we are SO EXCITED for our first run! In our 20 years of leading trips to Guatemala, we’ve had plenty of adoptive families on board, but we are thrilled to now offer these families a special tour designed just for them. Our new Heritage Tour will offer families and individuals who are connected to Guatemala through adoption a unique opportunity to reconnect with the country alongside other families that are doing the same.
Similar to our Snapshot Tour, the Heritage Tour will be a five-day trip through some of the most beautiful towns and landscapes of Guatemala. Participants will visit CoEd projects such as a Culture of Reading Program school and a Scholarship Program community to meet and share with students who are benefiting from their support. They will even have the opportunity to visit a scholarship student’s home and work side-by-side with scholarship students on a service project for their local community.
What’s unique about the Heritage Tour is its focus on each family and individual’s connection to Guatemala. We’ve partnered with the International Adoption Center (IAC) at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center to ensure that participants are well supported as they journey back to a country that already holds a special place in their hearts. As part of this partnership, Tisha Way, a social worker for IAC, will be travelling with the group to provide an expert listening ear as needed.
In addition, the tour will move at a slower pace to give participants more time for family fun (read: pool time!), tourist activities, and the space to process as needed. Because really, what better way to reconnect with a special place than by doing a service project with local students and then reflecting on the experience during a leisurely sail across Lake Atitlan?
Adoptive father Steve Kenat said of his experience on a previous CoEd tour: “I was humbled by the gratitude of the students, families, and educators that CoEd works with. The passion of the staff, and enthusiasm of the students is contagious. It was a remarkable trip for our whole family!”
