United in Service Latin America

United in Service Latin America (USLA) is a small 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to breaking the cycle of poverty through education. Our primary focus is providing educational options to children who are underprivileged and/or have disabilities in Latin America. We do this by supporting existing organizations with financial and consultative support as well as material donations such as books, computers, and classroom and school supplies. We try to do this in the most efficient ways possible to maximize your donations.

In 2005, we traveled to Guatemala to study Spanish and to volunteer. We felt very strongly that our marriage should be bigger than ourselves, and we structured our vows and gift registry around this. We used the money we received from our wedding to help pay (in part) for the costs associated with opening an early childhood center in Guatemala. Claire returned in the summer of 2005 to volunteer at this center. Gradually, we became involved in more projects in Guatemala, and realized we would need to start a nonprofit in order to receive adequate funding and better organize how we support projects in Latin America.

USLA is always evolving; we have expanded our support from Guatemala to also include areas in Northern Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. We support Projects in the following ways:

• Financial support (e.g., scholarships for impoverished children to attend school or participate in a soccer league)
• Collecting and disseminating books, computers with learning software, and other educational resources
• Providing assessment and consultation to the projects we support so that children can best meet their educational goals

Our mission is to serve communities, families, and children through programs that target basic needs, psychological health, and education within Latin America.

USLA contributes to the existing systems of care, both informal and formal, in Latin American communities in a manner that honors the local culture. USLA assists in providing opportunities for children to reach their potential through the following ways:

• Promoting resiliency in children
• Enhancing the bond between parents and children
• Providing education, consultative services, and/or funding to existing agencies to:
• Promote environments that nurture children
• Help children to meet developmental milestones
• Encourage children to thrive physically, cognitively, and emotionally
• Providing direct services as well as training to local providers in the areas of special education, early childhood education, family systems functioning, and related topics.
• Disseminating research findings and training providers through workshops, lectures, and conference presentations.

Current research findings are incorporated into our work with the understanding that limitations exist when applying findings to various populations. Please visit our projects page to better understand what we do in Latin America.

We are Claire and Michael Duckwitz, a school psychologist and an engineer with regular jobs, who also run United in Service Latin America (USLA) as part of our commitment to use our marriage to help others. We receive no salary or other material/financial benefits through this “other job.” It’s just a part of our life that we find necessary and gratifying. We are primarily focused on ensuring children who are underprivileged and/or have disabilities have access to an education.