Stories on poverty are fairly common in the press. Generally, they describe those living in poverty as having very little or no money or material possessions. It’s a pretty vague concept which makes it difficult for those of us living in relative prosperity to truly understand. The concept of poverty is further clouded by single statistics—the World Bank classifies those around the world who live on less than $1.90 per day live in extreme poverty. That’s right; extreme poverty is a thing. But that kind of number is simply too hard for many people to wrap their mind around. 

So, what does it look like then, to live life in extreme poverty?  

The community of Tzuncoc is in rural Guatemala, and here students must cross a river to get to primary school. Some students walk as much as 1.5 hours a day to school, and several accidents have resulted when students have tried to cross the river.

Our Expedition Philosophy

This is NOT poverty tourism

CHOICE Humanitarian is an international development organization whose purpose is to eliminate extreme poverty. We are NOT a travel company, and this is NOT poverty tourism. CHOICE believes in hand-ups, not hand-outs. With over 36 years working in international development, we have learned that for humanitarian expeditions to be sustainable, they MUST be part of a larger, locally driven program that exists long before expeditions arrive and the programs must have commitments from every community that lasts long after the expeditions leave.

Helen Keller said, "Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." We agree! One of our partners is Singular Humanitarian, has been working with us for over 10 years and just returned from an expedition to Guatemala. 

On behalf of the staff, Board of Trustees, and the tens of thousands of villagers whose lives you have helped improve thank you for being a part of the CHOICE Humanitarian family. Together, we reached new heights in 2017, and we owe this success to you for two reasons. First, you believe that extreme poverty can and should end in our lifetime. And second, you trust that CHOICE Humanitarian is the organization best suited to achieve this goal. Quite simply, you are the reason CHOICE continues to flourish and, on behalf of the entire CHOICE team, we can't thank you enough! 2017 Impact Report 

We are fortunate enough to have a great relationship with Salt Lake Community College. Maisoon is taking an English class that is participating in a service-learning program. Maisoon was born in California and loved it. When she was six years old, her family moved to Palestine for several years. While she was there, she married. Eleven years ago she and her husband came back to the United States and now live in Utah to be close to family. She has three daughters and wants them to get a good education and feels strongly about setting a good example.

I have the great privilege of being the Field Director for CHOICE Humanitarian. Recently I was working with our Kenya team and some communities there, and I came to realize the true meaning of unity. Muungano is a Swahili word meaning come together or unity. In this small village in Kenya, Muungano is more than a word, it is a culture. In Dzugwe the population is predominantly Muslim with the largest minority group practicing Christianity.

Cade, a young man of 12, was working to receive his Eagle Scout award. He wanted to do something impressive. Something that no every Boy Scout does, so he went big. He knew that his family was going to Bolivia with CHOICE on an expedition to help a local community there build a school, so he decided to gather enough supplies for the whole school.

How humanitarian work happens at our home office.

Not all humanitarian work happens in the field. We often forget that in order for humanitarian organizations to make change happen, they have to be run like a business; there’s paperwork and finances and people to keep track of. For every program, initiative, and expedition launched to help end extreme poverty, there is someone in an office making sure that it all runs smoothly.

May 2018 was a significant month for the Pop family.  In addition to carrying out all of his duties and responsibilities as the Director of CHOICE Guatemala, Olger has been 'moonlighting' as a student at the University of Rafael Landivar.  Olger has worked diligently for two years and now he has received his Master of Science Degree from the Faculty of Environmental and Agricultural Sciences in Tropical Agroforestry at the Campus of La Verapaz. CHOICE Humanitarian is extremely proud of Olger's accomplishment and would like to share his achievement widely.