These children are in the day care at Safe Passage, an organization formed by a U.S. American woman who saw the need to provide a better life for the kids who live in and around the city dump.
Several hundred families live at the dump. Until recently, they were able to gather recyclables, e.g. plastic milk jugs and get a dollar for 100 pounds of plastic. But the bottom fell out of the market for recyclables when the recession hit hard in Fall 2008, and now they are basically working for nothing.
It is not clear how they are managing to sustain themselves in this situation.
One of the schools where we deliver the “Hombres Contra Feminicidio” program, in Z. 18, one of the worst parts of Guatemala City.
Near the school lives one of our scholarship clients, Bianca (center) who is in high school now, and we are planning to help her with tuition and expenses to go to college next year.
Her mother runs a small store and restaurant where we ate breakfast. Several delegates said it was the best meal of the whole trip; tamales de chipilin, handmade tortillas, and other hand-crafted foods made it a great meal.