The UPAVIM Community Development Foundation (UCDF) is a U.S. based non-profit organization committed to supporting grassroots, community-based development work primarily in Guatemala. We approach development as a holistic and empowering project, committed to the protection of human rights and the creation of communities that offer safety, opportunity, and democratic participation for their residents. We focus, in particular, on working with women and children in low-income, violent urban areas, especially through our support for UPAVIM, a women’s non-profit association in Guatemala City whose name is a Spanish acronym for “Unidas para Vivir Mejor,” or, “United to Live Better.”  We also support indigenous groups and other marginalized populations elsewhere in Guatemala and other Latin American countries. The groups we support offer access to quality services in medicine and education, in addition to opportunities to work for cooperatives that are self-governed. UCDF is made up of a volunteer Board of Directors who work collectively in a fundraising and advisory capacity to these projects with the goal of helping groups to eventually achieve sustainability.