About

Friends of San Lucas is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that supports development in San Lucas Tolimán and the surrounding communities in Guatemala. We support a locally-based organization: the Mission of San Lucas Tolimán. The Mission is run by more than 100 Guatemalans in seven program areas, including:

• Healthcare The Mission Hospital and Health Promoter Program serves more than 20,000 people each year on a pay-what-you can basis.
• Education The Mission School provides quality, Montessori-style instruction for over 600 students. All students receive scholarships.
• Coffee Café Juan Ana supports small growers and compensates them at above-market rates. This Direct Trade Program supports families and strengthens communities by providing a dependable income for their best coffee.
• Construction The Mission builds block, wood, and hybrid (a combination of block and wood) homes that impact families for generations. Each year the Mission builds 80 or more units of housing and over 400 fuel-efficient stoves.
• Charity This program provides monthly assistance for those identified as having the greatest need, including the elderly, disabled, and widows. The Charity Program also manages our school scholarship program and solicits and maintains the list of families who will receive stoves and/or homes.
• Women’s Center This program promotes women’s advancement through classes and workshops that help women learn skills to earn an income. It also provides a safe place to gather and share experiences and dreams.
• Visitor Program This program provides opportunities for people from the U.S. and beyond to travel to San Lucas Tolimán to build relationships, learn, and experience the culture.

Our Founders

On October 4, 1963, Fr. Greg Schaffer arrived in San Lucas Tolimán to serve as a parish priest. He found himself immersed in a community suffering from generations of extreme poverty on the brink of a 36-year civil war. As he learned about the needs in his new community, Fr. Greg started using his connections in the US to raise funds for development projects in San Lucas. Soon, Sandra Spencer of the School Sisters of Notre Dame, and Fr. John Goggin, as well as other priests and School Sisters, joined Fr. Greg. Together with local community leaders, they established programs in healthcare, education, and land distribution.

Fr. Greg served the people of San Lucas for almost 50 years until his death in 2012. In recognition of his work in San Lucas, Fr. Greg won many awards, including the Order of the Quetzal, the highest award given by the Guatemalan government.

During the last few years of his life, Fr. Greg invited several supporters of his ministry to form a US-based non-profit, later named Friends of San Lucas (FOSL), to fund the continued operations of the Mission’s programs. With Fr. Greg’s passing came a period of transition and reorganization culminating in the re-birth of the Mission and its programs in 2014. Fr. John Goggin and Arch Mrkvicka, who served as FOSL’s first Executive Director, played crucial roles during this transition period. The new Mission was founded under the leadership of Leonel Tun, Julio Cesar Morales, Francisca Ajcibinac, Patricia Quiacain, Dr. Rafael Tun, Edy Morales, Emi Tun, and Carlos Hernandez, many of whom remain in leadership today.

Today, all of the Mission’s programs are led by Guatemalans. The Friends of San Lucas provides the funding to make these programs possible.

The Friends of San Lucas and the San Lucas Mission exist today thanks to the efforts of many Guatemalans and Americans who passionately worked for decades to create a more just world. As Fr. Greg famously said: “Juntos Podemos!” [Together, we can!]