Justice and Human Rights Guatemala Project #8220

Raising Hope for Healing Survivors

by The GOD'S CHILD Project

Project Report | Jun 28, 2024
Health and Education

By Robbie Middleton | Padrinos & Becas

The family lives in San Lorenzo El Cubo. They are currently staying in a friend’s house after being forcibly removed from their previous home. The family consists of Doña Rose, the matriarch, her seven children, and her two grandchildren. Doña Rose’s two oldest daughters, aged 20 and 18, are both currently pregnant for the second time. Doña Rose also has four other children who are no longer living with her, two of whom were removed by social services.

Before they were removed from their previous home, the family’s house was made of sheet metal with a dirt floor. There was a small rubbish dump next to the house, which was precariously close to a drop-off down to the rest of the village. The family had almost no possessions, other than the beds that were given to them by ANA so that they would not be sleeping in the dirt and a stove, also given by ANA, to cook their food.

At the end of 2022, Doña Rose’s two oldest daughters, Nadine and Silvia, spent two nights on the streets with their babies before ANA stepped in to temporarily house them. Their babies were checked by our medical staff in Casa Jackson and the mothers were given a space to live and some supplies to last them the Christmas period. After they had spent the time in our temporary housing the girls were able to return home.

Since that time, ANA has been closely involved with the family and attempting to support them as much as possible. Our main focus has been trying to get the younger daughters, Ana and Daniela, into school and to check on the health and welfare of the family. After a year of visits, discussions and support, we were able to enrol both Ana and Daniela in school for 2024. Both girls were given school supplies and a rucksack and encouraged to make the most of their schooling. They will receive their first scholarship cheques when they bring in their grades next month.

The difference was immediate. Previously, when visiting the house, we would find the children barefoot, in dirty or torn clothes and having not bathed for days. Now, however, the children take pride in their school uniform and clothes and bathe every day. The grades are fairly low, as to be expected for children who have not had the opportunity to study before, but the progress is definitely being made. Now the children are in school they spend less time out in the street on their own. Doña Rose enrolled Ana in our Reforzamiento Programme to help her with her homework and to fill in the gaps in her learning. She will also be also attending sessions with our psychologist to help her mental health.

In addition, Doña Rose and her daughter Nadine have both received medical support from us. Nadine came to us unwell and we were able to help her with the extreme pains she was suffering from. We were able to get her a diagnosis and provide her with medicine. This was when we were also able to help her realise that she was once again pregnant. Doña Rose we helped first through our medical brigade with Heart to Heart where we identified a tumour in her womb and we have since been able to support her with the exams and ultrasounds that she needs. We will continue to support her with her treatment.

The family has received support from us in lots of different ways, but there is still a long way to go. We will continue to work hard to protect the family and to give them the best chance at succeeding at life.

The GOD’S CHILD Project and ITEMP have been working for 30 years to break the chains of poverty and slavery through education, housing and healthcare as well as direct intervention. Please click the link below to donate to support us in our ongoing mission.

Permalink

Mar 1, 2024
19 People in 1 House

By Robbie Middleton | Becas & Padrinos

The family lives in San Gaspar Vivar. They are split into 4 smaller families, three that live in one house and the other that lives in a separate house. They are all renting and share the rent between them.

The grandfather is Don Antonio, aged 87. He has children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren who make up the four families. The first is Don Juan and Doña Juana who have 6 children. Then there is Don Antonio and Doña Juana who have 4 children. Then there's Don Antonio and Doña Ana who have 2 children. These 19 people live in one house. The house is rented and made of cement blocks. Each family has a single room and there is a shared kitchen space for them all. Between the 3 families and Don Antonio they are paying Q1600 ($213) a month in rent.

In the other house is Don Manuel and Doña Juana who have 5 children. Their house is 2 rooms made of sheet metal with a cement and dirt floor. They are paying Q700 ($93) a month in rent. The family has a debt of around Q25,000 ($3333) because theyare still paying medical bills. Their child was in hospital before passing away but they are still required to pay for the treatment received.

The family came to our knowledge as Rodolfo, one of our social workers, would drive past them on the way to work and noticed that there were many family members and children working. When we visited we noted that most of the adults were working in the fields collecting coffee and that a large number of the children were also working. None of the children were enrolled in school or studying.

On our first visit we were able to give out bread and toys to the family and invited them to the Project for a check-up. When they came to the Project we checked the health of the children and gave them new shoes and clothes. Last Wednesday we visited the family and delivered 4 bunkbeds as well as two Ecofiiltros. We also gave the medicine that was prescribed by our paediatricians. This medicine was to remove the parasites and bacteria in the children's stomachs and the Ecofiltros was to ensure that the family now has safe drinking water.

This Wednesday we delivered a further 2 bunkbeds to the family, sharing half a bunkbed each. One of the children, Eliseo, had told us how he and his family slept on the floor. Now, he and his family have their own beds to sleep in. In the other house there were 2 beds and a broken mattress between the 7 family members before. Now the beds are in good condition and the children can sleep soundly.

We enrolled the mothers in our Empowerment Programme so they can receive vegetables from us. The mothers will also receive courses and adult learning classes this year. Our next task is to get the children enrolled in school and studying. We have already had conversations with the parents where they have expresed an interest in their children studying. This week when the mothers visited us for their vegetables they told us that some of the children have already started school. We will be following up this month to make sure the kids are in school and no longer working.

Permalink

Nov 7, 2023
No Longer Sleeping on the Floor

By Robbie Middleton | Becas & Padrinos

This past month we were able to support two families who arrived on our doorstep looking for aid. Don Miguel* and Doña Margarita* have 5 children between the ages of 3 and 14. Doña Candelaria* has 3 children aged between 6 months and 8 years old. The two families rent rooms in a house on the outskirts of Antigua with another two families. Each family has a room to themself and they all share a kitchen and bathroom.

The families are originally from San Antonio, Quiché, around 5 and a half hours away from Antigua. They moved to Antigua to find better opportunities for work as, in San Antonio, they could only get a job working in the fields. In San Antonio they earned around Q30 ($4) a day and were not guaranteed consistent work. Often they went without food.

Don Miguel and family moved to Antigua around 12 years ago. They married young and moved to find better opportunities. In Antigua Don Miguel works as a shoeshine in the streets of Antigua and Doña Margarita washes clothes and sells tortillas. They earn around Q1300 ($173) a month for the 7 family members.

Doña Candelaria moved to join her other family members 8 years ago after the birth of her oldest son. She left the father of her two oldest children as he was an alcoholic. She also washes clothes and sells tortillas, making around Q400 ($53) a month for her and her 3 children.

Last month, Doña Margarita and Doña Candelaria visited us to ask for support for them and their children. We filled out our socioeconomic form with them. We were struck when we learnt that neither family owned any beds. The family members were sleeping on the floor on pieces of cardboard and blankets. We decided to carry out a home visit to check up on the family and confirm that what we had been told was the case. When we visited the house we realised that it was indeed true and that the children had never slept on a bed before.

This week we were able to find the donations to buy the two families a bunkbed each. We drove to the house in the pouring rain, stretching over puddles to unload the beds from the pickup truck and get them inside before they got too wet. The children were literally jumping for joy as the beds were set up in their rooms, giving each other and our staff members hugs of excitement and gratitude. Their smiles for the photos we take as evidence said it all.

Yesterday the family arrived at the Dreamer Center to receive their vegetables. Both Doña Margarita and Doña Candelaria have signed up to be a part of our Women's Social Empowerment programme. They will take part in workshops and adult learning classes to learn new skills which they can add to their CV and use to start a new business or enterprise.

At ANA we work to prevent trafficking and slavery through addressing the root causes. By providing improved living conditions, education and emotional support to the Lobos Families we are able to protect them from the possibility of further migration and all the dangers that come with it.

Permalink

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ... 18 ›

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can recieve an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.