Justice and Human Rights Guatemala Project #8220

Break the Chains of Slavery

by The GOD'S CHILD Project

Project Report | 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.

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.

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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.

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Jul 7, 2023
Studying for a Better Future

By Robbie Middleton | Becas & Padrinos

The Chávez family live on the outskirts of Antigua. They are a family that survives on the generosity of others as they do not have enough to manage by themselves. Currently they are living in a house that has been lent to them without charge for one year. They have until the end of the year before they are back on the streets.

The family consists of Catalina*, 27, and her three children, Frances*, Elijah* and Alex*. Catalina is originally from a town called Nebaj in the Quiché department in the western highlands of Guatemala. Nebaj is one of three towns in the Ixil region, so-called because the people are of Ixil descent. Ixil is a language spoken by around 120,000 people in Guatemala and parts of Mexico. Catalina and her family moved to Antigua when she was 1 year old to find better opportunities.

At first, the family made money by selling newspapers, before starting to sell sweets and bubbles. Catalina helped when she was a child, before being married off to her husband. The family did not have enough to survive and so decided to sell Catalina’s hand in marriage to support themselves. Catalina was married to a man from her hometown and returned there to start a family. Frances and Elijah were born in Quiché. Two years ago, Catalina was finally able to separate from her abusive husband and returned to Antigua once again looking for a better life. Whilst she asks her ex-husband for help to look after her children, she has never received any child support.

Currently, Catalina works in the Antigua Central Park selling sweets. Frances and Elijah often also sell in Central Park to support their mother. The family earns around Q800 ($107) a month.

Last year, Frances took part in our CAIPETI programme to take children off the streets and into school. She was not studying last year but was inspired by the classes to start this year at school. Currently, Frances and Elijah are both studying in school, though this is their first year and they are a few years behind. They find it difficult to learn in school due to the language barrier. Whilst they speak some Spanish, they find it much easier to understand and communicate in their own language.

Both Frances and Elijah have been added to our Scholarship and Sponsorship Programme this year to support them in their studies. They, like the other 211 children in the Programme, will receive monetary support when they bring us their grades and can use the money to further support their education. By being in school they have a better chance at a future and a way to support themselves. We believe that the scholarship cheque will encourage the children to stay in school. The children are also enrolled in our Reforzamiento Programme to help them with homework and to try and fill in the gaps in their learning.

Recently, we also supported the family with a new bunkbed, meaning that Frances and Elijah will have their own bed to sleep in for the first time in their lives. They were delighted with their new beds and couldn’t wait to try them out.

When asked what they want to be in the future, both Frances and Elijah told us they would like to be cleaners. Catalina has higher hopes for her children, however, hoping that they can become lawyers or graduates in the future. She wants them to have the opportunities that she never had. With the support of the GOD'S CHILD Project, the family will not have to sell their children's hand in marriage ever again.

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