The term Yuda comes from the Spanish word “ayuda” which means help and that is what students are doing for the Guatemalan children. Yuda bands are sold throughout schools in America in order to raise money for the education of children in Guatemala. The money goes to tuition, fees, books, and, uniforms.

Yuda bands are handmade in Guatemala by former students who have graduated because of the Yuda Bands project. The bands come in a variety of colors and with different designs. The band part is leather and the design is carved onto a piece of coconut.

The bands are $7 each, $3 goes to the Yuda band makers and import fees, $3 goes to the scholarship fund of the Guatemalan child, and the remaining $2 goes to the organizational fees (website, staff, etc.).

The Yuda Band project is student based. The project leader, Iliana Gomez, and select students from Curtis’ Key Club, joined a video conference via Facetime, with a leadership training guide to help them through the process. The students picked two kids from Guatemala that they wanted to sponsor. The bands were then shipped to the school for free so the students could start selling for two weeks.

The Key Club made posters, posted on Twitter and Instagram, and had an announcement everyday to get the word out. During the two weeks of selling in the cafeteria, to family, teachers and neighbors, the club raised $2,156 and sold 308 Yuda Bands. The bands were a hit, people were buying more than one. Ms. Turner, who bought a Yuda Band, said “I usually just invest money into the fund raiser for support without really liking the product, but the Yuda Bands looked really nice.”