Change a Life, Educate a Child

Wilmer is seventeen years old, he lives in San Juan Alotenango, Sacatepéquez, and he studies in the IV Stage at The Scheel Educational Center.  He has six brothers and the mother, who takes care of all of them. They are a very poor family whose only economic support has been the mother who, by doing household chores and working in the countryside, has managed to obtain just enough for the whole family. The father abandoned them a few years ago because he was an alcoholic, was very irresponsible and violent, no one in the family has ever heard of him since then.

In a home visit that our Social Workers at Asocición Nuestros Ahijados did around the area, they detected this family and they decided to help them by providing education to all children. Food is provided to the mother thanks to the "Mothers Club" where she was registered to receive all kind of social benefits. This young man, is very smart and likes to study, he is one of the older brothers.

He wants to finish middle school at the Scheel Center and then study high school and graduate to find a good job opportunity with which he intends to help the mother and her brothers in the economic aspect. He is also a good student, with excellent grades, very respectful and he likes to help his brothers with the tasks and the chores of the house.  In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer with his friends and brothers.

The young man and his family are very grateful for the help they have received from the project, because thanks to this, they have the opportunity to surpass themselves academically. The mother stated that due to lack of resources, she would leave them without studying and everyone would have to go out and work in any kind of jobs to bring some money to the house.  However all of them, and especially the young children are taking advantage of this opportunity to overcome and improve their lives, which since they belong to the program, has changed greatly.

Poverty in Guatemala is often generational. One generation grows up with so little that they can't afford to go to school and then when they grow up they are only qualified for low-wage jobs that are often only seasonal or temporary making it impossible for them to send their children to school. Thanks to donors like you we are able to help break the cycle of generational poverty by allowing older than average students the opportunity to get the education and technical training that they need so that they can earn a living wage.

Gaspar is just one of the new students at the Scheel Center this year. He is 10 years old and lives in very poor conditions in a town called San Pedro las Huertas just outside of Antigua, Guatemala with his father and two siblings. Gaspar's mother was an alcoholic and often neglected and abused her children. She did not send her children to school nor did she provide them with proper nutrition. She would even beat them when they said they were hungry or felt sick. Gaspar's father, Miguel, spent most of his time working trying to support his family but he began to notice that Gaspar was not in good health and was underweight. Seeing that his wife was not giving the children the proper care he decided to separate from her and take custody of the children. His wife was happy to no longer have the burden of caring for the children and continued her life of drinking and parties.

Miguel never had the opportunity to go to school so he does the only work that he can find working for a large plantation owner picking coffee beans. As any father, Miguel wants the best for his children and works hard to keep them safe and tries to provide them with their basic needs. His meager earnings were not enough to pay for his children to go to school so Miguel came to the GOD'S CHILD Project asking for help before the beginning of this school year. Gaspar and his siblings were enrolled in our schools and given clothes and shoes. Most importantly they also began working with our psychologist to overcome the emotional scars they suffered at the hands of their own mother. Now the children are able to move on and get the education they need to break the chains of generational poverty. Miguel says, "Seeing my kids in school is the most important thing. Now I know they have a future."

We hope that you will conintue to support education for children and youth in Guatemala like Gaspar. Every dollar you give helps us give them hope and a future.

With gratitude,

Links:

• The GOD'S CHILD Project website
• The GOD'S CHILD Project on Facebook