Maine Grandma to Kayak to Guatemala [PHOTOS]

Meet Deb Walters; a 63 year-old grandma, from Maine, whose life was changed when she met the families of a "garbage dump city" in Guatemala. Deb will be paddling 2,500 miles for a year long trek to Guatemala to deliver essential goods and supplies while raising awareness and funds for the children living there. Learn about Deb and follow her journey.

There are at least 7,000 people who work from dawn to dusk, FAMILIES, who spend their lives collecting plastic, metal and old magazines from out of this Guatemalan trash heap to sell to recyclers. Reports from residents say that at least 1,000 of them are children.

Mainer Deb Walters has served on the board of Safe Passage, a Maine nonprofit working with the children and their families in the garbage dump community to provide education, nutrition, health and entrepreneurial support. Being on the board wasn't enough for Deb. She has taken it further by enlisting the help of corporate sponsors to design a custom kayak that she will paddle 2,500 miles to Guatemala. She's paying her own way so that all the money she raises will go directly to helping the children of the garbage dump city.

Deb will launch from Yarmouth Town Landing on July 11 and then from the Eastern Prom beach in Portland on July 13. You can follow Deb's journey and support her mission here.

What do you think about Deb's journey? Share your comments and give her some support on our Facebook and Twitter pages with the hashtag #DebsJourney