Meet the Women Who Make
New Life Cards

Julia, Tania & Nancy

Julia lives with her six daughters and husband in the little town of Santa Lucia, about 20 minutes outside of Antigua. Her husband suffers from Glaucoma, which has left him partly blind, making it difficult to find and maintain work.  Thus, Julia works very hard at three jobs to support her household and put her girls through school so that she can give them a chance at a better life.  School is not a free in Guatemala, and the family must spend more than 19,000 Quetzales each year on uniforms, school supplies, and class time for the girls. 

Nancy, 17, is Julia’s oldest daughter, and is studying in her second to last year to become a primary school teacher. Tanja, 15, is in her last year of basic high school before she selects a career path and studies for two more years at that.  She is not completely sure what her career will be but she might be leaning towards tourism, as she loves meeting new people and teaching them about Guatemala. 

Julia first learned how to make the New Life Cards three years ago, before teaching her daughters when they asked to learn.  “I love to make the cards with my daughters because it is a great activity that we can all do together.  They have school and their lives, and I have my other jobs that keep us busy and apart much of the time, but when we’re making the cards, we get to spend time with each other.  It has really made our relationship grow to be thinking about new designs, working through the difficult process, and producing work that we are really so proud of.  We chat and giggle our way through them and I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to work with my girls.”  

Nancy and Tania are fascinated by the creative side of making the cards and enjoy growing and collecting the dainty little flowers to adorn them.  “We really appreciate the opportunity to make and sell the cards because it has taught us how to do something new, it lets us be creative, and it gives us a way to help our parents.”

Angelica & Gloria

Angelica and Gloria are two sisters from a little town called La Libertad, located just outside of Guatemala City.  They live together with 12 other family members and four dogs and have been hand-making New Life Cards for more than two years.  Angelica and Gloria feel that making the cards gives them a meaningful, challenging occupation and helps them earn income to support what’s most important to them.

Gloria, 27, is married and has a little three-year-old boy and an eight-month-old baby girl. While her husband’s income keeps the family afloat day to day, she saves the money she makes from New Life Cards and will use it to pay for her children’s education. She wants to give them a better hand at life, and she feels that making sure they receive a solid, long-term education is the best way she can do that for them.  

Angelica, 19, is studying to become an International Chef. The New Life Cards income helps her to finance her studies and in the future she hopes to one day open her own little restaurant.  Just as she works with food daily, creating and trying out different recipes, Angelica likes to use her imagination to design new products, such as journals and keepsake boxes, in addition to the tried and true cards.  Gloria, too, enjoys her work, especially the satisfaction she gets when completing a new batch.  She is fascinated by how they liquefy the old paper before they remake it anew.  “It surprises me every time how we can turn something old and used up, something that’s just waste, into something so fresh, so delicate, and so beautiful…with our very own hands.”