The Sienna Project is a living memorial honoring Sienna Lavanhar, daughter of Dr. Rev. Marlin and Anitra Lavanhar, and sister of Elias and Lyla Lavanhar. Marlin is the Senior Minister at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Sienna died unexpectedly three days after her third birthday in May 2006. Sienna’s grandfather Martin Lavanhar, step- grandmother Caroline and uncle Derek Lavanhar established the Sienna Project as a 501(c)3 in 2007. Derek lives in Guatemala and was aware that the indigenous and marginalized Mayan children of the mountainous Quiche region were lacking adequate access to education. While the Guatemalan government will provide funding for teachers, it does not provide funding for school buildings. In 2007, the Lavanhars committed to building 10 schools in memory of Sienna, which they accomplished by 2014. Having met that goal, Marty and Caroline, by then octogenarians, were no longer able to lead volunteers (mainly from US Unitarian congregations) to Guatemala to build these schools and decided to discontinue the Sienna Project.

All Souls was fortunate and honored when the Sienna Project was passed on to members who were interested in continuing this legacy for Sienna. With guidance from Marty and Caroline, and Derek’s continued help in Guatemala, All Souls has built two schools – one in 2017 and another in 2019. Approximately 825 children attend school in Sienna Project classrooms and thousands of people (students and their families) have been touched by having this access to education since 2007.