Located in Central America between El Salvador and Mexico, Guatemala is slightly smaller than Tennessee. It is susceptible to many natural disasters including volcanoes, violent earthquakes, and hurricanes. Guatemala is made up of 22 departments and has a population of approximately 13 million. Over half of the population is below the national poverty line. Human trafficking, drug trafficking, and crime are serious and growing problems in the country.
A major result of the poverty and lack of jobs in rural areas of Guatemala is the abundance of families that relocate to the cities in search of work. Children are forced to give up their schooling to help make money in whatever way they can. When the parents can no longer provide for their children, they are forced to leave them to live on their own in the streets. At least 5,000 Guatemalan children live in the city streets today. They are forced to root through garbage dumps for food, and they often end up turning to drugs and violence to face the reality of their living situation.
Our efforts in Guatemala are focused in its capital, Guatemala City. Nuevo Reto (New Challenge) is a Christian ministry that seeks to reach the street children in Guatemala. In conjunction with Youth Challenge International, Nuevo Reto offers comfort to those children who have been abandoned, neglected, or abused by their families by providing them with nutritious food and a formal education. As we partner with Nuevo Reto, we hope to show these children that there is more to life than the violence and pain they experience in these streets. We want to meet their physical and educational needs, but most importantly we hope to show them the love of Jesus by helping them to restore a healthy outlook on life based on Biblical principles.
Please note: The factual information above was gathered from the 2008 World Fact Book and The World Bank websites. Interested in learning more? Visit the sites at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook and http://www.worldbank.org.
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