The United Nations just released its highly informative State of the World’s Indigenous Peoples report. Throughout the report, the UN reiterates the fundamental importance of providing greater educational opportunities to indigenous children. For those without the time to hunker down and read all 250 pages of the report, here are a few excerpts that pertain specifically to […] Continue Reading

Once again, childhood malnutrition in Guatemala has made international headlines (read the Miami Herald story here). The drought in Jalapa department, the worst in 30 years, has depleted food supplies and worsened an already existing food shortage among a huge sector of Guatemala’s rural poor. We see the effects of malnutrition on children in Guatemala every […] Continue Reading

Another article about the rampant poverty and malnutrition in Guatemala ran in a top publication, this time in The Atlantic (read it here). The article reports that in some areas of the country “malnutrition levels top 90 percent, among the highest rates in the world.” The author explains that, along with high food costs and zero infrastructure, […] Continue Reading

In a heart wrenching article (here), The Economist reports that, “according to Unicef, almost half of Guatemala’s children are chronically malnourished—the sixth-worst performance in the world.” The article goes on to say that, “In parts of rural Guatemala, where the population is overwhelmingly of Mayan descent, the incidence of child malnutrition reaches 80%.” That’s twice what it […] Continue Reading

Child Aid’s first reading program was based in the library located in El Tejar, a few miles up the mountains from Antigua. The program, Aventuras en Lectura (Adventures in Reading) was designed to help school age kids engage in reading during their school year break. Since then Child Aid has continued to run Adventures in Reading during […] Continue Reading

Reference books like encyclopedias, atlases and other reference materials are extremely rare in rural Guatemala. If a library does have a set of encyclopedias it is often outdated or incomplete. Child Aid recently received a generous donation from Bilingual Educational Services, Inc. of 30 sets of Time Life encyclopedias focusing on different areas of science and […] Continue Reading

The Peace Corps has a strong presence in Guatemala and often works in remote areas that Child Aid does not have easy access to, primarily because we lack the resources, staff and time to get out to these extremely isolated areas. The aldeas (villages) out here have very few books, and the children face incredible […] Continue Reading

Music, art, recreation, story hour and ample personal attention all help to create an environment for growth and development in a child’s life. These constructive outlets and activities are important for all children, but can be especially beneficial for children from extremely poor families, families which lack the time and resources to provide these outlets […] Continue Reading

Teacher training is a key component of Child Aid’s programs in Guatemala, a country where most rural teachers have only the equivalent of a high school degree. Last week, a teacher approached Elba Arroyo, one of Child Aid’s regional coordinators who was assisting a librarian at the Melotto School, and asked her what is involved […] Continue Reading