Juan Carlos is 10yrs old. He is in 2nd grade in Panajachel. He lives in Tierra Linda but his mother, Maria works in Panajachel so every day they make the trip to Panajachel. He lives with his mother and sister in Tierra Linda. They have been living in a horrible house that his mother built by hand. It is on borrowed land and they have to leave this land now because the owner wants it back. They do not have electricity or a bed to sleep in. Maria, the mother, works as a domestic - maid in a private house. She earns $40 US. a month. She works six days a week.

The father abandoned the family seven years ago. He has never given money to support the family. Maria has no family, her parents are dead and she was an only child. She has no help from anyone. Many times this family has nothing to eat, just tortillas and salt.

The money that the mother makes is not enough to be able to feed and clothe her children. She does not have enough money to buy school supplies or send her children to school.

Yessica is 8yrs old. She is going into first grade this year. Yessica's father was killed in a car accident 4 years ago. Her mother, Maria, 29yrs old does not know how to read or write. Jessica has a small sister, Celestina 4yrs old. They were living in a very ramshackle room where the rain was coming in through the roof. We built a block house for them last year. It is really just one room because that is the size of the land. We bought them a bed, before that they were sleeping on the floor.

Maria, Yessica's mother is the elder sister of , #198 Florestina. Yessica's met another man who said that he would look after her and the children, when she became pregnant he disappeared. She is now expecting a baby in 2 months time. She works usually washing clothes or washing dishes, for this work she is paid $2.00 U.S per day, now she is unable to work she is staying at home and making beaded jewelry. She is earning $6.00 US. a week.

Yessica is often without sufficient food and her clothes are very tattered. Both she and her "Aunt" #198 Florestina wear broken shoes that are hanging on by a thread.

Without help Yessica would not be able to go to school.

Marly is 9yrs old. She lives in the village of San Jorge la Laguna. She is going into first grade this year. She lives with her mother and father. Her father works as a day laborer. Her mother is very ill - she is bedridden and has been for several years now. She very rarely leaves the house. She is one of 8 children, they are all grown up. Marly is the youngest. None of her brothers or sisters went to school. None of them have ever been to school. Marly's family has very little economic resources, the children are often hungry and I have been told that they go from house to house asking neighbors to give them something to eat. Without help this child will definitely not be going to school.

Marlily is 5yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna, a small village overlooking Lake Atitlan in the Highlands. She has one brother who is 3yrs old, Walter. She lives with her mother, father and grandmother. Her father works as an assistant on the public buses. He makes $3.30 a day. Two years ago he had an accident while working on the bus, his job is to pile goods on top of the buses, while he was putting a big basket on to the top of the bus, he fell off and hit his head. He was unable to work for a year. He has undergone a personality change from his accident. Before the accident he was very responsible but now he does not pay much attention to the family, he has taken up drinking and does not give his wife enough to feed the family.

The grandmother, Elena, is the only one working, she supports her grandchildren and daughter- in-law. She works in a restaurant and makes $107 US a month. She is also unwell. She was recently operated on for cancer of the uterus and continues to be experiencing a lot of pain. All of them sleep on the floor. Last month the restaurant where she works gave her a fold up bed for the children to sleep in. The house belongs to the grandmother, part of the house is made of mud brick, another wall is made of wood planks and another wall is plastic sheeting. The house has a dirt floor. They cook with firewood over an open fire on the ground. Marlily will not be able to go to school without sponsorship. The family cannot afford to pay her registration fees and her school supplies.

Here the children are photographed with their grandmother.

Photographed with grandmother and baby sister.

This is the family the day that we delivered food to. The mother is either in bed or she uses a wheelchair that we gave her.

This is Debora's mother Candelaria with her youngest son.

Debora is 9yrs old. She is entering kindergarten this year. She started school last year but had a difficult time because her mother had no money to buy her school supplies and the children made fun of her. There are five children in the family. The oldest Jose is 20yrs old. He went to the U.S. three months ago to earn money for the family. He was caught in the net of illegal's and was returned this past week to Guatemala. He is being held in custody in the city and is expected to be returned in the next two weeks to his village. Oscar Zacarias is 7yrs old. He is in kindergarten. Johanna is 6yrs old and is in kindergarten also. Karina is 2yrs old. The father died 2yrs ago while the mother was pregnant with Karina. He died as a result of alcoholism. The mother, Candelaria, 39yrs old is wheelchair bound. Shortly after she gave birth, she had trouble with the feeling in her legs, this has progressively got worse until she is now wheelchair bound.

They live in a rented house, they have difficulty having sufficient food to eat, especially now with the son unable to send them any money. They have two beds that they all sleep in. They live in two rooms and one small kitchen. They have to pay $11US a month for electricity. They have water connected.

Mynor is 8yrs old. He lives in Panajachel with his mother, father, brother, William 10yrs old and Lisbeth 2yrs. Mynor is in 1st grade this year. The father, Fransico. is a day laborer and makes $100 US. a month. This is when he has work . His work is based on when work is available so he does not always make this amount of money. When there is no work, there is no money coming in. The mother, Patricia, stays at home with the children. She is expecting another baby in 4 months.

Patricia has had a lot of health problems and had to have partial amputation of one finger last year. This took a long time to heal due to the fact that at first she could not afford the antibiotics. They are living in a room at the grandparent's house. They all sleep and cook in this room. They have two beds for all of them. They use cardboard boxes to mind their clothes. The room they are staying in is made of wooden planks. They have water and electricity. It is very difficult for them to be able to afford food and other necessities on the husband's wage. It is impossible for them to afford to send their children to school without help.

William is 10yrs old. He lives in Panajachel with his mother, father, brother Mynor 8yrs old and Lisbeth 2yrs. William is in 4th grade this year. The father, Fransico. is a day laborer and makes $100 US. a month. This is when he has work . His work is based on when work is available so he does not always make this amount of money. When there is no work, there is no money coming in. The mother, Patricia, stays at home with the children. She is expecting another baby in 4 months.

Patricia has had a lot of health problems and had to have partial amputation of one finger last year. This took a long time to heal due to the fact that at first she could not afford the antibiotics. They are living in a room at the grandparent's house. They all sleep and cook in this room. They have two beds for all of them. They use cardboard boxes to mind their clothes. The room they are staying in is made of wooden planks. They have water and electricity. It is very difficult for them to be able to afford food and other necessities on the husband's wage. It is impossible for them to afford to send their children to school without help.

Rosio is six years old. She is going into kindergarten. Her mother Olga is a single mother. She does not have any family. She has not been able to find work in Panajachel. She has gone to another town 3 hours away to be able to work in a pizza restaurant. Olga has had to leave Rosio in the care of woman she has known for a long time. She is only able to come back to see Rosio every two weeks or sometimes only once a month. The bus fare is expensive for her, it costs $4. us. one way. She is making $106 US a month. Olga has had the caretaker move into her house in Panajachel, so she is paying rent on that of $34US. a month and she is paying the woman to look after Rosio $40 US a month. She also leaves $40 a month for Rosio's food. She is paying out more than she earns, she has to hope that she has tips at the restaurant to help her bridge the gap. It is impossible for her to send Rosio to school without help.

Juanito is 5yrs old an he is entering kindergarten this year. He lives in Panajachel and he is one of six children. The others are Veronica 13yrs old, Marta 11 yrs, Alvaro 8 yrs and Erica 6 yrs. Juanito also has an older sister, 17yrs old who i! s married. Juanito's mother Bartola is a widow. Juanito's father became very ill about 4 yrs ago, they sold their house to be able to pay for his medical care. Unfortunately, he passed away and the family was then homeless. They now live in a rented one room, where they have two beds that they all sleep on. One has a mattress, the other is just blocks with a blanket on it. They pay $54 a month in rent. They have a very hard time making enough to cover the rent and their food. The mother has a small fruit stand where she sells bags of cut up fruit. The children also work on the fruit stand in the day, by night they sell Guatemalan handicrafts to tourists, going from restaurant to restaurant. They often do not have enough to eat. The mother usually makes one big pot of beans that will last the whole week.

Alvaro lives in Panajachel . He is 8 years old. He is in kindergarten. He is one of six children . His brothers and sisters are Veronica 13yrs old, Marta 11 yrs, Alvaro 8 yrs, Erica 6 yrs, and Juanito 5 yrs old. Alvaro also has an older sister, 17yrs old who i! s married. Alvaro's mother Bartola is a widow. Alvaro's father became very ill about 4 yrs ago, they sold their house to be able to pay for his medical care.

Unfortunately, he passed away and the family was then homeless. They now live in a rented one room, where they have two beds that they all sleep on. One has a mattress, the other is just blocks with a blanket on it. They pay $54 a month in rent. They have a very hard time making enough to cover the rent and their food. The mother has a small fruit stand where she sells bags of cut up fruit. The children also work on the fruit stand in the day, by night they sell Guatemalan handicrafts to tourists, going from restaurant to restaurant. They often do not have enough to eat. The mother usually makes one big pot of beans that will last the whole week.

Marta is one of six children. She lives in Panajachel. Her brothers and sisters are Veronica 13yrs old, Alvaro 8 yrs, Erica 6 yrs, and Juanito 5 yrs old and also has an older sister, 17yrs old who is married. Veronica's mother Bartola is a widow. Veronica's father became very ill about 4 yrs ago, they sold their house to be able to pay for his medical care. Unfortunately, he passed away and the family was then homeless. They now live in a rented one room, where they have two beds that they all sleep on. One has a mattress, the other is just blocks with a blanket on it. They pay $54 a month in rent. They have a very hard time making enough to cover the rent and their food. The mother has a small fruit stand where she sells bags of cut up fruit. The children also work on the fruit stand in the day, by night they sell Guatemalan handicrafts to tourists, going from restaurant to restaurant. They often do not have enough to eat. The mother usually makes one big pot of beans that will last the whole week.

Rosina is 16 years old. She lives in San Juan la Laguna. She is in 8th grade. Her mother died 8 yrs ago. The father does not live with them, he moved out many years ago and he does not support them financially. He has another family. Rosina lives with her brother, Jovani, 14yrs old. They rent a room that they are paying $67 a month for the rent and the elec. bill. They both work before and after school to be able to afford to pay these costs and have enough to eat. They have an aunt, who is the mother's sister and she is the only one in the family who helps them. Rosina has dreams of being able to go to university but she first needs to be able to finish high school.

Hansel is 4yrs old and going into kindergarten this year. His father died 2years ago. He and his mother Veronica, #180, live with his grandparents. His grandmother, Florinda is a back strap weaver and makes many beautiful weavings by hand.

His mother, Veronica, washes dishes in a local restaurant but she has big dreams of becoming a social worker. She is in her first year of University in Solola and is struggling to pay her costs. She also has to pay travel costs, she takes the boat across the lake and then takes a bus to the university.

With her own costs and the costs of her son, she is struggling to be able to keep them fed. It is very hard for her to be able to buy the school supplies and needs of little Hansel.

Veronica is 30yrs old. She is a widow with a four year old son. She is studying to be a social worker at the University. She does not own her own home, she is living with her parents. Her son , Hansel, entered school for the first time this year and the money that she earns in restaurants washing dishes does not cover all her costs. She really wants to be able to get ahead and provide a decent life for her son but she is in dire need of help with her costs. She is photographed with her mother, Florinda who is a backstrap weaver.

Aura is 8yrs old. She is in 1st grade in Panajachel. Her father died in a bus accident eight years ago. Aura has two brothers and an older sister. All her brothers and her sister sell fruit in the street. They do this to enable the mother to be able to afford to buy enough food for the family. Her older brother Cesar is 16yrs old, he is studying but he works selling fruit in the morning. Carlos 14yrs old, he is in 7th grade, he helps his mother in the house while his other siblings study and work. Raquel goes to school in the morning and sells fruit in the afternoons. Aura's mother was pregnant with Aura when the father was killed. When the children in the family sell fruit they make $2.US a day when they have sales. The house that they live in is just one room. It is made of mud brick. They have one kitchen. The two boys sleep in the kitchen and the girls sleep in the house with the mother. They are renting the house and they pay $34 US a month.

The mother, Juana, approx. 30yrs old works washing clothes for people. She goes to peoples houses and washes them by hand. She also cleans private houses when she can get the work. For this she earns $93.00 US. a month with all her combined work. It is very difficult for her to be able to afford all the costs of sending her children to school.

Raquel is 12yrs old . She is in 5th grade in Panajachel. Her father died in a bus accident eight years ago. Raquel has two brothers and a younger sister. Raquel since she was very young has been selling fruit in the street to be able to help her mother buy food for the family. Her older brother Cesar is 16yrs old, he is studying but he works selling fruit in the morning. Carlos 14yrs old, he is in 7th grade, he helps his mother in the house while his other siblings study and work. Raquel goes to school in the morning and sells fruit in the afternoons. Aurora Marina is 8yrs old. Her mother was pregnant with Aurora when the father died. When the children in the family sell fruit they make $2.US a day when they have sales. The house that they live in is just one room. It is made of mud brick. They have one kitchen. The two boys sleep in the kitchen and the girls sleep in the house with the mother. They are renting the house and they pay $34 US a month. The mother, Juana, approx. 30yrs old works washing clothes for people. She goes to peoples houses and washes them by hand. She also cleans private houses when she can get the work. For this she earns $93.00 US. a month with all her combined work.It is very difficult for her to be able to afford all the costs of sending her children to school.

Mayser is 7yrs old. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna . He has a little sister, Kenia who is 5yrs old. They live with their mother in San Jorge la Laguna. The father is in jail - he has been there for 6 months and he has a very long sentence. I am unsure of what crime he committed but the children are suffering a lot. The mother has found it very difficult to be able to provide them with enough food. They live in a one room mud brick house. They have one bed they all share. The mother makes beaded jewelry at home but this is very low paying work. It would be impossible for her to send these children to school on her very limited income. Mayser David will be going into 1st grade this year.

Sisters Griselda 11yrs old and Elvi, 9yrs old live in the very rural area of Solola. Griselda is in 4th grade and Elvi is in 3rd grade. They are 9 children in their family. These two are in the middle. The father works as a tailor and does not have a fixed wage. He travels a long distance every day to come to work in Panajachel. The mother works at home looking after this large family. The money that the father earns is just enough to cover the cost of the food, gas, electric bill etc. There is very little left over for buying clothes or shoes. It is a very big hardship for this family to try and send all their children to school. The parents are very concerned that their children receive an education but it will be very difficult to send these girls to school without help. The house that they live in is mud brick, they have four rooms and have a bed in each room. They have a small outside kitchen. They cook over an open fire.

Sisters Griselda 11yrs old and Elvi, 9yrs old live in the very rural area of Solola. Griselda is in 4th grade and Elvi is in 3rd grade. They are 9 children in their family. These two are in the middle. The father works as a tailor and does not have a fixed wage. He travels a long distance every day to come to work in Panajachel. The mother works at home looking after this large family. The money that the father earns is just enough to cover the cost of the food, gas, electric bill etc. There is very little left over for buying clothes or shoes. It is a very big hardship for this family to try and send all their children to school. The parents are very concerned that their children receive an education but it will be very difficult to send these girls to school without help. The house that they live in is mud brick, they have four rooms and have a bed in each room. They have a small outside kitchen. They cook over an open fire.

Oneyda is 5 years old. She is entering pre-school this year. She is one of 7 children. They live in Panajachel with their mother and father.They are Omar 7yrs old in 2nd grade, Juan 10yrs old in third grade, Ovidio 11yrs old in 6th grade, Sefora 14yrs old in 7th grade and Ortensia 17yrs old in 8th grade and Otoniel 16yrs old in High school. Her family lost their home last year in the Hurricane that devastated this area. Oneyda's father works taking sand out of the river. This sand is then sold for construction purposes. It is very hard, low paid work. He makes $27 a week and this is just enough to feed the family. They do not have any money left over for extra's such as school supplies etc. They have returned to the land that they own where there house was swept away. Their house now is made of tin sheeting and they are all sleeping on the ground. They have no beds and very little furniture.

Juana is 9yrs old. She is going into 2nd grade this year. She lives in a small village called Pena Blanca. She is one of five children. Her sister, Celestina 13yrs old, brother Adelino 7yrs old, brother Martin 4yrs old and the baby Jorge 1yr old.

They live with their mother and father. Her father works as a builder's assistant and makes $13.00 a week. This is not enough to feed such a large family and it is impossible to send them to school on this amount.

Juana's mother works in the fields planting and then every three months she can sell whatever she has grown. She gets up very early in the morning to travel to her fields...the fields are in Panajachel...it takes her more than an hour of walking and taking a bus to get to the fields. She has to rent the fields that she is planting on, she pays $3.00 US. a month for the fields.

The house that they live in is made of mud brick has only one room and a small kitchen. They only have one bed that is made of pieces of wood. They have a dirt floor. They do not have a sink to wash clothes and dishes, she uses a piece of wood and a rock for her sink. They do have electricity and water connected to the house.

Denis is 6yrs old. He is going into kindergarten this year. He lives with his mother who is a single mother, his sister, Astrid 5yrs old and his older brother Pedro who is 15yrs old who is in 8th grade.

Denis and his family live with his aunt. The Aunt has been supporting them since the mother had an accident. Denis's mother is epileptic and cannot always afford her medicine to help control her seizures. She had a seizure and fell into a fire and badly burnt her hand. She has been unable to work since April. Her sister, who washes dishes in a restaurant, makes $6U.S. a week and this is not enough to feed the whole family.They are renting a house that they have trouble scraping enough money together to pay each month. It has only one room and a small kitchen. They have two very small fold up beds that they all share.

Denis's mother used to work in a restaurant washing dishes, she would like to be able to work again, but she cannot put her hand in water, every time she does the burns get infected. She needs to have plastic surgery which we hope to be able to arrange for her with a visiting medical group.

Sonya Roxanna is 11years old. She is in 6th grade. She lives in Panajachel with her mother, father and 1 brother and two sisters.Her elder sister is 13yrs old and is in 7th grade, Henry is 8yrs old and is in 2nd grade and Iris is 7yrs old and is in first grade.Her father works in the river taking sand out of the river which is used for construction. This is hard low paid work. He earns $26 US a week.Sonya's mother works weaving belts and the traditional blouses that the women wear here.They have a one room house made of cement block. In this room they have two beds, one for the parents and one that the children share. They have a little kitchen outside. They have water and electricity connected to their house. It is very difficult to be able to pay all the expenses that they have and be able to send their children to school.

Astrid is 5yrs old. She lives with her mother and her brother Denis, 6yrs old and her big brother, Pedro 15yrs old. He is in 8th grade. Astrid and her family live with her aunt. The Aunt has been supporting them since the mother had an accident. Astrid's mother is epileptic and cannot always afford her medicine to help control her attack. She had an attack and fell into a fire and badly burnt her hand. She has been unable to work since April. Her sister, who washes dishes in a restaurant, makes $6U.S. a week and this is not enough to feed the whole family. They are renting a house that they have trouble scraping enough money together to pay each month. It has only one room and a small kitchen. They have two very small fold up beds that they all share.

Astrid's mother used to work in a restaurant washing dishes, she would like to be able to work again, but she cannot put her hand in water, every time she does the burns get infected. She needs to have plastic surgery which we hope to be able to arrange for her with a visiting medical group.

Yessica is 9 yrs old. She is in 2nd grade in the village of San Jorge la Laguna. She has two smaller sisters, Yusel who is 6yrs old and Orquidea 5yrs old. Yessica's father works as a caretaker in a house. He makes $120.US a month. Yessica's mother makes beaded jewelry at home. This is very low paid work. With this small amount of money she makes she helps her husband with paying the family costs. This year they have all three children in school and the costs are very high for them. They live in a mud brick house with three rooms and one kitchen. They have three beds for everyone. They have electricity and water connected to their house.

His name is Luis Felipe. He is 12 yrs old. He lives in San Jorge with his mother, father, two brothers, Daniel is the eldest at 13 yrs and then there is a younger brother who is 9 yrs old. Luis Felipe is going into 5th grade this year.

His father is an unskilled day laborer. He does not have a fixed job, he goes from job to job when there is work available., such as picking crops, cleaning etc. When there is work he makes $120 US. for the month. Their house is made of mud brick, it has two rooms and a small kitchen. The money that the husband makes is really just enough for the family to eat. It is difficult for them with three children at school to be able to buy all the supplies that each child needs.

Marta is 6yrs old and she is going into first grade in Panajachel. Marta is the youngest of 6 children. She lives with her mother and father and five siblings. Her father is a gardener. He earns $120 U.S. a month. It is difficult for this family to be able to afford to send their children to school.

Sometimes Marta's mother sells handicrafts, when she does that she earns$4 U.S. a day but this is not regular work and she is lucky when she can sell things. Miguel 19yrs old is working as a builders assistant. What he earns is just enough to buy his own clothes and pay his transport costs, he is able to give his parents a very small amount. Tiburcio is 17yrs old and is working as a waiter in a restaurant. He earns very little. Manuel is 13yrs old and was not able to continue studying for lack of finances. He is working with his brother in a restaurant.

Marvin is 12yrs old and also was not able to continue studying. He helps his mother around the house, washing clothes, going to the mill to grind the corn, taking his father lunch etc. Andreas 8yrs old he is in first grade. Christina is the only girl in the family.

They do not own their own house, they live as caretakers on a small piece of land. The house is made of block and has three rooms and a kitchen. They do not receive any payment for looking after the house but they also do not have to pay rent.

Sylvia is 11yrs old. She lives in the village of San Jorge La Laguna. She goes to school in Solola. She is in 6th grade this year. She lives with her mother, father and an 13yr old sister, Brenda and her brother, Mynor 7yrs old. Her mother is a nurses aide at the local hospital and her father is a tailor. The father does not have a fixed wage and it makes it difficult to afford all the expenses of three children in school. The family lives in a mud brick house . Education is very important to the parents and they want to encourage their children to succeed but it is very difficult for them financially.

Josue is 19yrs old. He is studying to be a teacher. He is in his last year of studying. He is the eldest of nine children. It is a wonderful accomplishment for him to become a teacher. He will be a Kakchiquel and Spanish speaking teacher so he will be able to help indigenous children in his own community who do not speak Spanish. His father is a tailor and his mother looks after the children at home. They live in a small village outside of Solola. They have a house made of mud bricks that has four rooms and a kitchen. Each room has one bed. His father travels a long distance to Panajachel every day to be able to work.

Josue gets up very early so that he can get to his classes. He rides a bicycle 20 kilometers a day to go to school. The family has made a lot of sacrifices to be able to send their son to school and for him to become a teacher. This last year is very expensive and they just do not have the money to be able to cover all Josue's expenses.

Celestina is 13yrs old She lives in a small village called Pena Blanca. She is one of five children. Her sister, Juana 9yrs old, brother Adelino 7yrs old, brother Martin 4yrs old and the baby Jorge 1yr old.

They live with their mother and father. Her father works as a builder's assistant and makes $13.00 a week. This is not enough to feed such a large family and it is impossible to send them to school on this amount.

Celestina mother works in the fields planting and then every three months she can sell whatever she has grown. She gets up very early in the morning to travel to her fields...the fields are in Panajachel...it takes her more than an hour of walking and taking a bus to get to the fields. She has to rent the fields that she is planting on, she pays $3.00 US. a month for the fields.

The house that they live in is made of mud brick has only one room and a small kitchen. They only have one bed that is made of pieces of wood. They have a dirt floor. They do not have a sink to wash clothes and dishes, she uses a piece of wood and a rock for her sink. They do have electricity and water connected to the house.

Fernel is 6 yrs old. He is going to school in Panajachel. He is the eldest child in the family. He has a younger sister, Yahaira 3 yrs old and a baby brother who is 9 months old.

His father works installing water pumps and his mother is a teacher at the school that Fernel goes to. Both the parents work very hard and education is very important to them. But because his mother Lucrecia, has to work , she also has to put his younger sister into kindergarten. This is very hard financially on them to have two children in school and they also have to pay to have someone care for the baby while she is working. Fernel's father was out of work for a long time and they are behind on their house payments and are struggling financially. It is very difficult for them this year to be able to pay for Fernel's schooling and his supplies.

Henri is 7yrs old. He lives in San Jorge La Laguna. He lives with his mother and father and a little sister. He is going into 1st grade this year. Henri's mother is unable to work because she has arthritis. Some days she finds it very hard to get out of bed. Henri's father works as a day laborer. This is not stable work, and he does whatever work he can find, such as working in fields, carrying heavy loads at the market etc. When he has full time work he makes $27 a month. He often does not have full time work. The father spends a lot of his money on his wife's medication. This really affects the amount of money he has available for food and electricity, etc. For this reason the family is asking for help to be able to send their child to school. Without help they will not be able to send Henri to school this year.

Sandy is 7yrs old. She is one of 12 children. She is going into first grade this year. She has 3 older brothers who are married. She has a 20yr old sister who is a single mother, her 18yr old sister is in studying to try and graduate from jnr. high school, her 16yr old brother is in 7th grade, 11yr old brother is in 5th grade, 13yr old sister is in 2nd grade, 9yr old brother in 2nd grade, and then comes Sandy, after her a 4yr old brother, and the baby is 18 months old.Her father is a day laborer. He takes whatever work is available. This is usually hard, low paid work. Working in fields, carrying goods at the market. He does not always have work. When he works a whole week he gets paid $27.US. a week.They are living as caretakers on a piece of land. They have a small house made of rough wood planks and part of it is made with tin sheeting. They cook over an open fire on the ground.

They have four beds that they share with all the family.It will be very difficult for this family to be able to afford to send Sandy to school without help.

Miguel is 13yrs old. He is in 6th grade this year. He was born with cleft palate, he has been operated on twice but really needs to have another operation. He has a speech impediment. He is a very nice kid who comes from a very poor family. He works when he can get it, working in the river sifting sand, washing dishes in restaurants. In 2005, his family lost all their possessions and their house in the flood that was caused by Hurricane Stan. We have built them a small simple house made of wood planking. But they have no water connected. His mother takes in washing, she takes it to the river and washes it by hand.

Otoniel is 12yrs. He is in 6th grade this year. He lives with his mother and father and 2 brothers. Jose 13yrs old is in 7th grade and Natanial is 7yrs old and is in 1st grade. The father works digging sand out of the river and selling it for construction. This is hard, low paid work. He makes $27 U.S. a week. He is 60yrs old and it is very hard work for him physically so he is not always able to work. In 2005 they lost their whole house and possessions in the flood caused by Hurricane Stan. They are borrowing a house made of wooden planks from Otoniel's uncle. It has only one room and one small kitchen outside. They cook over an open fire on the ground. They have only one bed they share. It has been very difficult for them to recover from the devastation of the hurricane. They also have a lot of costs with the older son going into Junior High. Without help it will be difficult for Otoniel to continue studying this year.

Jonathon graduated last year from High school and he would like to go onto University. He desperately wants to become a systems engineer and work with computers. He wants to study in Guatemala city in the University of San Carlos. He has taken his entrance exam and has passed. The University fee is only $12 US for the year. What is very difficult for him is the costs of the text books and the cost of buying a computer. He also has to pay for board and food. His parents are unable to help him with these costs. Jonathon wants you to know that he has "all the desire in the world" and that he has the intellectual capacity to do this - he was first place in his grade in Chemistry and 2nd place in Physics. He has very high grades and high marks for his IQ.

Mario Carlos is 12 yrs old. He lives in the village of San Jorge la Laguna. His father died when Mario was 3yrs old. He had an accident and became a paraplegic. He died from complications. Mario lives with her mother and 3 other siblings. He has a big sister, 21yrs old who is married with a baby. Florinda is 16yrs old and she works in another village across the lake. She works as a domestic and only comes home one day a week. Roberto, 14yrs is in 4th grade. When Roberto was 8 yrs old, he had to leave school and go to work to help support the family. He continued doing that until he came to work with Mayan Families. We sponsored him to go to school and he is now doing very well. He works on week ends and after school to help support the family.

Mario Carlos is 12 yrs old. He is in 4th grade and he works after school and during the week ends making beaded jewelry. Ana also works after school and on week ends making beaded jewelry. The mother works as domestic in a private house and makes $40 US a month. They all live in one room that is made of mud brick, this rooms also serves as the kitchen.

Ana is 10 yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. Her father died when she was one year old. He had an accident and became a paraplegic. He died from complications. Ana lives with her mother and 3 other siblings. She has a big sister, 21yrs old who is married with a baby. Florinda is 16yrs old and she works in another village across the lake. She works as a domestic and only comes home one day a week. Roberto, 14yrs is in 4th grade. When Roberto was 8 yrs old, he had to leave school and go to work to help support the family. He continued doing that until he came to work with Mayan Families. We sponsored him to go to school and he is now doing very well. He works on week ends and after school to help support the family.

Mario Carlos is 12 yrs old. He is in 4th grade and he works after school and during the week ends making beaded jewelry. Ana also works after school and on week ends making beaded jewelry. The mother works as domestic in a private house and makes $40 US a month. They all live in one room that is made of mud brick, this rooms also serves as the kitchen.

Rosa is 18yrs old. She lives in Panajachel with her widowed mother and four other siblings. She is in High school. She is studying to be an accountant. Her mother is unable to work, she is an asthmatic and is often unwell. Two of the sisters are married but all the family pitches in to be able to support the mother. The money that the rest of the family earns is not enough to be able to pay Rosa's studies. Rosa works in a pizza restaurant on the week end so that she can help pay her studies. She is the only one who has been able to study in the family and it has been a real struggle for her. She has a real desire to better her life and be able to look after her mother.

The house that they live in is rented. They pay $74 US a month. It has two rooms, one is made of mud bricks, the other of cement blocks, they have a tiny kitchen made of wooden planks. They have electricity and sometimes they have running water but not often. Rosa has to travel each day to Solola to her school to study. This is one of the costs that she covers with her week end job but it does not cover all that she needs. If you can help Rosa she would be very grateful.