Having a dream of improving the lives of an entire community in Guatemala
The Futuro Vivo association provides children and families from a marginal neighborhood in Guatemala city with comprehensive care
Current Project
In Concepción de Las Lomas, a small rural town which has been engulfed by the expansion of Guatemala City, urban growth has led to the overcrowding and deterioration of the community. There is no basic infrastructure, the only health center offers inadequate services and the public primary school does not have enough staff or the ability to look after the children properly. The residents of the community have very little financial resources as a result of casual work and being low-skilled. This means they are unable to cover their minimum basic necessities.
This situations leads to problems of malnutrition, alcoholism in men, disease, child exploitation, gender-based violence and abuse. Faced with a lack of opportunities, young people inevitably look for an easy way out through drug taking, early sexual relationships and in joining street gangs.
Futuro Vivo considers that education is an essential tool to help bring about the development of people in the community, although the program goes even further and attempts to help with the dietary, hygiene and community needs of the population.
The Concepción las Lomas Pre-school and Primary Education school provides educational and psychological support and comprehensive training in their spare time in exchange for the families’ participation in productive activities, school maintenance and in training processes. In addition, all the children in the Program are given daily meals (breakfast and lunch) and the beneficiary families receive practical nutrition guidance. The program also provides health care services to ensure a minimum level of health and organizes music, dance, stilts, theater and sports activities workshops for young people and teenagers. The program also ensures that the mothers of the children in the Community Program receive specific training through skills training workshops in order to help them gain access to decent employment.
As of today’s date, 400 people are benefiting from this initiative which seeks to slowly improve the situation and offer a better future for those living in the community.
