Originally a coffee plantation by the name of Providencia, the history of the people in the new community “Nueva Providencia” is one of struggle.  For numerous years as the San Lucas Mission began its early work with the rural communities, the mission was unable to communicate with or help the people in Providencia because of the tight, strict control of the plantation owner. 

The workers suffered at the hands of the owner who did not pay them well and at the hands of the military and guerrilla forces who used the heavily wooded areas of Providencia to hide and fight during the civil war. 

It was not until a coffee crisis in 2000, in which the prices for coffee fell so low that a majority of the coffee plantations lost vast sums of money and business negotiations that the mission was able to begin to intervene on behalf of the people living and working on the plantation.

In the aftermath of the war and the continuing coffee crisis, the land on the plantation was not well tended and cultivated.  Additionally, the owner had recently died and left the plantation to his five children, fighting over how to govern and operate the plantation.  The disorganization and mayhem of the Providencia plantation allowed the mission an avenue to begin negotiating with the owners and helping the people.

Landslide and Relocation:
In September 2004, after the mudslide of El Porvenir, which wiped out the community, the mission began looking for land to relocate the community in an area with low risk for natural disasters.  Having begun negotiations with the owners of the Providencia plantation, the mission was able to purchase enough land to relocate the community of El Porvenir, along with the people of communities Totolya and Tierra Santa who were also in locations at high risk for natural disasters.

Additionally those who continued to endure the struggles on the Providencia plantation, finding money by selling firewood, and other families from nearby Sajbinaj who suffered similar struggles also found a home on the land purchased by the San Lucas Parish in what become known as Nueva Providencia.

Continued efforts in Nueva Providencia:
Once transitioned into the community “Nueva Providencia,” the people lacked access to healthcare, education and the outside world.  With a river running through the plantation and no bridge to cross it, during the heavy rains of winter it was difficult for the people to cross the river.  Furthermore, there was no possible entry for vehicles. Mission staff and the Engineers Without Borders group from Milwaukee School of Engineering worked with the people of Nueva Providencia to build a bridge for vehicle and foot traffic, providing access to the highway and opportunities outside of the community.

Noting the need for education, through which the people could gain better job opportunities, the mission aided in the construction of schools and provided paid teachers for the community.  Before the presence of schools and teachers in the community, the children in Nueva Providencia had to walk either six kilometers to Pampojila or three kilometers to Quixaya to receive an adequate, formal education. 

This aid in structural development has allowed the people of Nueva Providencia to better organize and form committees to discuss and address the needs of the people.  In doing so, the community has been able to request government-supported educators for their schools.

Nueva Providencia has also been connected to the mission clinic and its services through the health promoter system and has a local health promoter to tend to healthcare needs.

This mission continues to aid Nueva Providencia and the various communities with their structural needs.  “They are now more coordinated and organized,” says Community Liaison Felipe Yoxon about Nueva Providencia.  “Now there is an exchange of ideas among the communities and it is motivating the people to open their minds and move ahead.”