Our Story
On a soccer field in Morristown, NJ in 2000 a group of young undocumented immigrants from Cajolá (in the western highlands of Guatemala) gathered to talk about a companion, Pedro Vail, who had been hit by a car. None of his friends had felt safe enough to come to his aid while he was in the hospital. Outsiders decided to send him back to Guatemala, where he died two days after arriving. This incident inspired the young men to organize themselves. They vowed to watch over Cajolenses and other countrymen when they faced illness, accidents, or tragedy while in the United States. The commitment to community solidarity led them to people who helped them understand their underdog position in the US and the structural causes that led them to leave their homes. And thus was born their dream to change the situation in their home town of Cajolá so that people weren't forced to migrate. So, In 2005, some members returned to Cajolá to begin that work, and thus was born Association Grupo Cajolá in Cajolá.
In 2021 we organized Grupo Cajolá in North America to support the work of Grupo Cajolá in Cajolá.
Mission
Promote the well-being of the people of Cajolá who live in Cajolá or in the United States.
Protect the rights of women, men, children, youth, and the elderly to a dignified life, including access to health, education, safety, and well being
of Cajolá lives below the poverty line
How much of the Cajolá community lives in the United States
