In the small villages that surround the Rio Dulce and in many many other villages throughout Guatemala, the indigenous people live simple lives - so very different to the live style that is common in western society.  Poverty is rife.  People live in the most basic of conditions, and many of them have never had any education, access to medical services, even clean drinking water.  Food is scarce and malnourishment is common.  Children that grow up in these conditions have extremely tough lives.

To make matters worse, the indigenous culture has some traditions that are very [bad, backward, etc]. 

The legal age for marriage in Guatemala (with parents consent) is 12 years old for girls, and 16 for boys.  Potential husbands can ask the father of a young girl for permission to marry her, and if the father grants it, the the marriage will take place.  The young girl has no choice in the matter once the father has made his decision.  Sometimes money is exchanged, so even if the girl is unhappy with the decision, her father will not consider her pleas. 

Once married the young girl will not receive any education, will soon become pregnant and this tradition will proliferate.  All that this young child has to look forward to is a life of frustration and poverty.

Young boys have similar difficult traditions that they must contend with.  Fathers are expected to deliver their own babies.  The attitude is that if a boy is mature enough to have a wife and get her pregnant then he is mature enough to deliver the baby.  Often young boys of 16 years attempt to perform a delivery unaided by anybody.  Often the baby dies.

Once a young family is established it is common for the mother to look after the children, and for the the father to work to provide for them.  Families travel with the husband - wherever he goes the family goes, so that the wife can provide for him.  These villages are often extremely isolated from the infrastructure provided by the government - roads, electricity, hospitals, communication, sewerage, clean water are non-existent.  The result of this is that people often never leave the village and the surrounding area in which they live.  For example here in Rio Dulce unless a villager owns a boat or a small kayak, the nearest town is several days away by walking.  The terrain here is swampy and sometimes impassable.  Making a trip like this is a scary prospect and not straightforward.  Those that do make the trip often do so in order to purchase tools and supplies, but also to drink.

Often people that live in the villages have no knowledge of science or medicine, and put their faith in witch doctors and superstitions.  Sometimes even when people are told that certain conditions can be cured, they refuse to believe it and prefer to take the advice of the local shaman.  A large problem is that the indigenous population here have mixed catholic traditions and Mayan superstitions.  Even when birth control is available it is sometimes not used to begin with, however as people start to become aware of the benefits over time, they begin to ask for it. 

Very large families are commonplace.  Sometimes with 12, 14 children or even more.  When a family starts to become large, feeding the children becomes a struggle.  The children become a burden to their parents and are sometimes abandoned, given away or sent to orphanages. 

Education and a broader experience of the world can change this.

Giving the children a broader experience and making them aware that they have potential to get jobs and live a life that is so different from the background that they come from can make all the difference.  With an education the kids become motivated to travel further a field, to get training for a profession or to work in the tourist industry, or even to go to university.  It is possible for kids to do this, but very difficult. 

Where they come from, they have nothing.  When they come to Casa Guatemala, we provide them with food, and education up to 6th grade.  We can only do this with the funds that are raised from donations and sponsorship of the children in our care.  We can see that the education we provide does affect the attitude and the behavior of our children.

Further education here is not very expensive - but the children have to pay for food and accommodation whilst they are studying there.  Their parents have no hope of paying for this kind of education, and often do not want their child to receive the education either.  The only chance is to make people aware that they have alternative ways to live there lives, and to give them a helping hand in order to get there. 

Please, read through the stories of some of our children, and consider whether or not you would like to make a difference to their lives.