PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #350 Jose Julian
$ SPONSORED by the Schwartz and Gamble Family, Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #349 Eduardo Alejandro
$ SPONSORED by the Schwartz and Gamble Family, Thanks!

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #348
$ SPONSORED by S.R. Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #347 Cristian
$ SPONSORED by Migo and Friends. Germany Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #346 Sandra
$ SPONSORED by Migo and Friends. Germany Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #345
$ SPONSORED by the De Sutter Family, Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #344 Lesvia
$ SPONSORED by the De Sutter Family, Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #343 Sulma
$ SPONSORED by the De Sutter Family, Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #342 Javier
$ SPONSORED by the De Sutter Family, Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #341 Monica
$ SPONSORED by the De Sutter Family, Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #340 Vilma 
$ SPONSORED by the De Sutter Family, Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #339 Milda Cristina
$ SPONSORED by the Schwartz and Gamble Family Family, Thanks!

Milda is 12yrs old. She lives in Godinas. She is in 7th grade. Her first year in Jnr. High.

Milda lives with her mother, Odilla 32yrs old and two brothers. One is Jose, 11yrs old and he is in 5th grade. The other is Eduardo, he is 10 yrs old and is in 4th grade. 

Milda's father died 4 years ago.  He was murdered by thieves who were trying to break into his workplace.

The mother is the only one who now supports the family. She works as a domestic in private houses and earns $26 a month.  She does not have regular work, she gets only occasional work. 

This is not enough money to feed the family, it is definitely not enough to buy school supplies, shoes and clothing.

Quite often the mother has to go to the mountains and collects for herbs to make a herb soup , other times the children have mostly tortillas and salt. They live in a very remote area, they have no neighbors.  Most people do not like to live in her area because they think it is dangerous.  But Milda has no other option. They own the house that they are living in.  

The house is made of mud and cane.  The roof is made of tin sheeting, the floor is dirt.

They have only one room. They do not have a kitchen.  She has a small brick stove. She doe not have an onil stove. They have two beds. They do not have a pila. They collect water in a large tub. When Odilla needs to wash clothes, she does it on a piece of wood with a rock. They do not have any closets. They have water connected

They pay 25 cents U.S  per month for water.
They do not have electricity.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #338 Karen Eunice who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Caruso Family, Thanks!

Karen Eunice is 8yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She lives with her father, Fransisco, 36yrs old and her mother Maria Candelaria 37yrs.  Karen has three siblings, Kevin 12 yrs old . He is in 5th grade and twin three year old sisters, Rosaura and Rosalia. 

Fransisco is a day laborer which means that he takes whatever work is available.

He earns $26 US per week .  Maria Candelaria makes beaded jewelry at home and makes $2,.00 US per week.  

The amount of money that the family has does not cover all their costs. The only way that they have found the money to stretch so that they have something to eat every day is that they have just beans and tortillas four days a week.  

This family owns their own home but they suffered a lot of damage to their house during hurricane Stan two years ago.  The walls were very badly damaged and the father has tried to repair them as best he can but they really need replacing.  

There house is made of cement block, they have two rooms and a small wooden planked room for a kitchen.  The roof is made of tin sheeting and the floor is cement. They have an Onil stove. They have a water filter. They have a pila. They have two closets and three beds for all of them.  They have water connected and pay $4 US per year. They have electricity connected and pay $10 US per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #337 Wendy Aracely who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Tufts Family, Thanks!

Wendy Aracely is 8 years old.  She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is 1st grade. She lives with her mother who is a single mother, Marta 27yrs old.  

She has no brothers or sisters. The father left when Wendy was born. He did not want to have a daughter, he wanted a son, so he abandoned Marta and her daughter, and has never given them any financial support.

Marta works making beaded jewelry. She makes $4 US  a week. 

Marta lives with her parents.  She has one room that is made of mud brick, the roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement.  Marta cooks in her parents kitchen. She has an onil stove.

She has one closet to keep her clothes. She uses her mothers pila. She pays $4 per year for the water. She pays $3US. for electricity to her parents.

Mayan Families gave Marta 10 chickens a few months ago and she is growing her chickens and very happy with them.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #336 Karen Abigail who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Houseknecht - Funkhouser Family, Thanks!

Karen Abigail is 9 yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in 2nd  grade.

She lives with her father, Mario 37yrs old and her mother, Rosario, she is 35yrs old.

Karen has three sisters. They are:

Ingrid is 15yrs old. She finished 6th grade. But was unable to continue her studies because the family could not afford it.

Jakelin is 11 yrs old.  She is in 5th grade.

Janette is 6yrs old.  She is not in school.  

Mario is a day laborer . This means that he takes whatever work he can find. It may be in the market carrying heavy loads, it may be planting in the fields or helping out with construction work.

He earns $46 US. per week.  The mother makes beaded jewelry at home and makes approx. $10 US. a week.

The money that the parents are making is not enough to cover their costs.  Sometimes they have only tortillas and sauce to eat.

Ingrid would like to continue studying but for the family's income it is not possible.

Karen would love to be able to continue to study.

They  live in their parents in law house. The house is made of mud brick , the roof is made of tin sheeting and the floor is cement.

They have only one room and a small kitchen.

They have an Onil stove.

They have a water filter.

They have two beds for all of them. 

They do not have their own pila.

They have electricity connected and pay $1.00 US per month.

They have water connected and pay $4 US. per year.  

Rosario would like to be able to have chickens but has not been able to afford to buy them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #335 Maydeni Melisa who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Mary Dowling, Thanks!

Maydeni Melisa is 7yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in kindergarten. She lives with her father, Aristides 34yrs old and her mother, Maria, 36yrs old.

She has 4 brothers and 1 sister. They are : 

Luis is 13yrs old.  He is in 4th grade.

Elvin is 12yrs old . He is in 4th grade.

Gerber is 9yrs old. He is in 2nd grade.

Elder is 4yrs old.

Glenda is 3yrs old.  

Aristides is a builders assistant. He unfortunately does not work regularly because he is an alcoholic.  This causes huge hardship to this family. They do not have regular money coming in. When he does work he makes $40 US  a week. When he does make money he does not give very much of it to Maria.   Maria works making beaded jewelry to be able to feed her children. She makes $4.00 US. a week.  This is basically the money that the family live on.

Maria also goes to peoples houses to wash clothes by hand .  When she gets this work she makes $3 per day.    She is very concerned that her children always have food. The husband is not concerned about the welfare of the family.  

They do not own their own home. They live in a house that is owned by Maria's brother - in - law.  He does not charge them rent because he knows that they cannot afford to pay. The house is only one room made of mud brick. The roof is tin sheeting. The floor is cement. This is the only room that they have to sleep and cook.  They have an Onil stove. They do not have a water filter.  They have two beds for all of them. They do not have a pila. She has to use her mother - in - laws to wash.  They have one closet for all their clothes. They keep all the rest of their clothes in a plastic bucket.  They have to pay $9. a month for the electricity.  The problem that they are facing is that the brother-in-law is getting married and wants to have the house back. Unfortunately, they have nowhere to go to be able to move so it is a difficult situation. Maria would like to have chickens but has not been able to afford to buy them or keep them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #334 Cindy Carolina who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Cindy and Norman Mc Holme, Thanks!

Cindy Carolina is  10yrs old.  She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in 3rd grade at school.

She lives with her father, Pedro Luis 43yrs old and her mother, Susana, 35yrs old. She has two brothers and one sister.

They are Luis Fernando who is 15yrs old.  He is studying in 9th grade.

Rosa Angelica is 13yrs old. She is in in 7th grade. Elmer is 3yrs old.  

Her father works as a day laborer which means he takes whatever work is available. Buildings, field work or carrying heavy loads at the market. He earns $40 US per week.

Susana stays at home looking after the children.

Until two months ago Susana used to work weaving and making beaded jewelry but she now suffers from heavy strong headaches and is unable to work.  They have not been able to afford to take her to a doctor to seek medical attention.

Cindy has a dream of becoming a secretary.

They own the house that they live in.  The house has three rooms, one is made of cement block and the other two rooms are made of mud brick.  The roof is made of tin sheeting, the floor is made of cement.  They have a small lean to kitchen . They do not have an Onil stove.

They do have a water filter.

They have a bed in each room, 3 beds in total.  They have a pila but Susana is not able to wash clothes there but they do not have any drainage and the water runs straight into the house.  She takes all the clothes to the communal washing area and uses that.

They have two closets . They have water connected and pay $4 US. per year.

They have electricity connected and pay $6 US. per month.

Susana keeps chickens and likes to be able to do so. She says that it helps greatly for her family economically, they can sell the chickens and they can eat them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #333 Esperanza who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Frank Family, Thanks!

Esperanza is 8 yrs old.  She lives in San Jorge la Laguna, a small town on the shores of Lake Atitlan. She is in 1st grade. She lives with her father, Augstin 35yrs old. Her mother died 6yrs ago. The family could not afford medical attention for her until it was too late. It appears that the mother died of pneumonia.

Esperanza has 3 sisters and 2 brothers.  They are - Rosa is 20yrs old. She is married. She only studied until 6th grade.

Jose. 17yrs old.  He is studying first year in Jnr. High.

Julia 15yrs old.  She studied only until 6th grade. She now looks after all her siblings. She does all the cooking, cleaning, and washing.

Isabel 13yrs old. She is in 5th grade.

Sebastian 10yrs old. He is in 3rd grade.  

Augustin works as a builders assistant and makes $20 US  a week.  The father is the only one who brings in a wage for the family.  His money is not enough to be able to cover all the school costs  plus, food, clothing etc for the family.

The house that they live in is their own.  The house is made of cement block. The roof is half concrete and half tin sheeting, two rooms have cement floor , the rest have dirt floor.

They have four rooms and one kitchen.  They do not have an Onil stove. They have two beds for all of them.  They have a pila. They have one closet for all their clothes. They have water connected and pay $4US. per year. They do not have a water filter.  They have electricity connected and pay $8.00 each month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #332 Yeymi is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Claudia B. and Jackie G. Thanks!

Yeymi ( Pron. Jamie) is 12 yrs old and is 5th grade. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. A small village in the highlands on lake Atitlan. She lives with her mother, Teresa 36yrs and three brothers.   Her father, Juan died 8 yrs ago in an accident.  Her brothers, Marvin 18yrs old, he studied only until 6th grade . He is now working to be able to help his mother with all the costs of the family. He works as an a builder's assistant . He earns $28 US. a week.

Victor, 15yrs old . He also studied only until 6th grade because of the family's finances.

He is now working as waiter in a restaurant and is earning  $16 US  a week. Walter is 10yrs old and is in 3rd grade.  

Teresa works as a domestic in a private house in Panajachel. She earns $16 US.   a week. She works 6 days a week. 9 am. until 5p.m.    

The money that the family has coming in is very limited.  Teresa does not feel it is possible to be able to give her children the education that they need and want.   

Yeymi would like to keep studying and she has a dream of becoming a teacher.  

They own the house that they live in . The house is made of cement block, the roof has part concrete and part tin sheeting, the floor is cement.  They have two rooms and a kitchen.

They do not have an onil stove. They have three beds. They have a water filter.

They have a pila and two closets. They have water connected and pay $4US. per year, they have electricity connected and pay $9 US. per month.  

Teresa has a few chickens and would like to have more. She says that this helps her financially, she is able to sell her chickens and they can also eat them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #331 Karla Cecilia who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Gallo Family, Thanks!


Karla Cecilia is 12yrs old.  She is in 5th grade. She lives in San Jorge with her father, Gavino, 43yrs old and her mother, Cecilia 42yrs old.  She has 5 brothers and one sister.

They are Vinicio who is 23 years old.  He studied only until 6th grade  He wanted to study further but financially the family was unable to do so.. He is now married.

Carmen 22yrs old. She tried very hard to become a teacher. She was short just two years from graduation to become a teacher and was unable to complete her studies. She was working and studying and it became impossible for her financially to graduate. She is now married and pregnant with her first child.

Gavino is 20years old and he studied only until 6th grade. He is now married with one child.

Jose 17years old and he stopped studying his first year in Junior High. He was financially unable to continue.  He was working to be able to pay his studies but there was not enough money. He is now working and helping his family pay off the debt that they have for building their house.  They pay $106 US per month for the loan for their house.   Quite often this family does not have enough food because they are paying off this debt. It is quite common for them to have only tortillas with salt to eat.

Henri is 14yrs old. He is studying in first year in Junior High.

Edin is 7yrs old and is in 2nd grade.

Gavino works as a day laborer. This means that he takes whatever work is available, building sites, working in the market carrying heavy loads, working in the farm fields etc. He usually earns $40 US.  a week.   Cecilia works half day as a domestic in a private house. She washes clothes by hand, irons and cleans. She earns $53 US. per month.

The house that they have is constructed from cement block. The roof is part concrete and part tin sheeting. The floor is cement.  They have four rooms and one kitchen. They have an onil stove. They have four beds. They have a water filter. They have water connected and pay $4.00 US per year. They have electricity connected and pay $16.00 US per month. 

They would like to have chickens but do not have enough money to buy them. 
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #330 Ana Isabel who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by S.R. Thanks!

Ana Isabel is 9 yrs old and lives in San Jorge la Laguna.  She is in 2nd grade. She lives with her father, Diego 32yrs , her sister, Sylvia 6yrs old who is in kindergarten, and her brother, Juan is 3yrs old.  

Ana Isabel's mother died three months ago.  They were not able to afford medical treatment for the mother and so they do not know what she actually died from but she was having very bad headaches and stomachs.

Diego works as a day laborer and takes whatever work is available.  The money that he earns does not cover all the costs that the family has. He makes $33 US  a week.

During the day the maternal grandmother is looking after the children.  The father pays for the food that the children are eating with the grandparents and for the soap to wash their clothes.

Ana Isabel would like to study and has a dream of becoming a teacher.  But the family finances make it very difficult for her to be able to continue her education.

Ana is photographed with her Aunt.

They own the house that they live in. It is made of cement block.  The roof is made of tin sheeting and the floor is cement. They have only one room. They use the grandmother's kitchen to cook food.  They have an onil stove. They have a water filter. They have only one bed that the whole family sleeps in.  They use the grandparents pila. They have one closet that is borrowed from the grandparents. They have water connected and pay $4 US. per year.

They have electricity connected and pay $9.00 US. a month.

Ana would like to have chickens but they do not have enough space to be able to keep them.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #329 Lesby who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Migoya Family, Thanks!

Lesby Paola is 6yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna.  She is in kindergarten.

She lives with her father, Rene 36yrs old and her mother, Florinda 35yrs old.   She has

3 brothers and 3 sisters.  The oldest is Maynor 17yrs old.  He is in 2nd year in Jnr. High. He works during the  day as a builders assistant and goes to school in the evenings. He has a great desire to become a professional.   He earns $4 per day.  He pays all his own school expenses.

Zoila is 15yrs old. She has never been to school, she does not know how to read or write.

She is working as a domestic in a private house. She earns $1.30 US. per day.

Andrea is 13yrs old. She has never been to school . She does not know how to read or write. She is not working. She helps her mother with the household duties. Luis 10yrs old.,  he is in 2nd grade. Gladis 3yrs old. Nelson is 2yrs old.  

Lesby's father, Rene works as a builders assistant. He earns $34 US per week.

The mother makes beaded jewelry in her spare time. She earns approx. $2 US. per week.

The money that the fathers makes is not enough to cover food, clothes , shoes and the school expenses.    Rene works a fair distance away from home and has to pay 80 cents U.S a day for his transport. 

Quite often they run out of food for the family. The mother gets food on credit from the store but they have a very difficult time paying it off.  When they do not have enough money for food the family eats nothing but tortillas and salt. 

They own the house that they live in.  The house is made of wooden planks, the roof is tin sheeting , it has a dirt floor. They have only one room and a kitchen.

They have an onil stove. They have two beds that they all share.  The children sleep 4 to one bed, the other 3 children sleep in the other bed and the parents sleep on woven mats on the floor.

They do not have a pila. Florinda has to carry all the washing to the communal water tank to be able to wash the clothes by hand.

They do not have any closets, they keep all their clothes in cardboard boxes and they have a piece of rope to hang some clothes.

They have water connected and pay $4US. per year.  They have electricity connected and pay $6 US. per month.  

Florinda keeps 8 chickens and they help the family. They keep them for eggs, sometimes they sell them or eat them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #328 Irma Cecilia who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Taffah Family, Thanks!

Irma Cecilia is 10yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in 4th grade. She lives with her father, Pedro, 31yrs old, and her mother Paulina 33yrs . She has one brother, Marvin who is in 2nd grade and one sister, Gladis is 4yrs old.  

Pedro works as a builders assistant and earns $40 a week.  Paulina makes beaded jewelry at home and earns $1.00 US  per day.  The money that they make is not enough to cover all their costs.  They have just enough to cover their costs and food. It is very difficult to cover the costs of the school.  

Irma wants to continue with her education but her parents are very concerned that they will not have enough money for her and her siblings.  

They own the house that they live in. It is made of mud brick, it has tin sheeting for the roof and a cement floor,. It has two rooms and a small outside kitchen.  They do not have an onil stove. They cook over an open fire over rocks.  They have two beds. One in each room. They have a pila. They have one small closet, the rest of their clothes they keep in cardboard boxes.  

They have water connected and pay $ 4.00 US. per year. They have electricity connected and pay $8.00 per month.  

Paulina keeps two chickens . She likes to have them for eggs, or to be able to eat.  She would like to have more but does not have the money to be able to do so.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #327 Gerber
$ SPONSORED by the Chadwick Family, Thanks!

Glendi's older brother.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #326 Juan Carlos
$ SPONSORED by the Chadwick Family, Thanks!

Juan Carlos is 17yrs old. He is studying third grade at week end school.  He studies only on the week ends. He did not have the chance to go to school when he was little and now he is determined to get an education.

It is very difficult for him because he has to work during the week to be able to pay for his schooling and help maintain his family.

He works as a baker and earns $26 US. per week.  With this money he has to help pay the electricity, help buy the medicine for his mother, food for the family and help clothe his brothers. With the rest of the money he pays his schooling.

Juan Carlos suffers from very bad stomach aches - which may be gastritis and he suffers from bad headaches but he has not been able to afford medical treatment for any of these ailments.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #325 Olga Patricia
$ SPONSORED by the Ball Family, Thanks!

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #324 Yesica Joanha who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Herb and Judy Farner, Thanks!

Joanha is 6 yrs old. She is in kindergaten in Panajachel.  She lives with her father, Rolando 24yrs old and her mother, Amarillis 24yrs old.  She has one brother Rolando, 4yrs old and he is in preschool.  Rolando works taking sand out of the river. He makes $20 US. per week.  This is very hot, very tiring work that pays little. 

Amarillis stays at home looking after the children.  

It is very difficult for them to be able to cover all their expenses. The parents have the desire for their children to be able to study and have a better future.  But they do not have the capacity to be able to send them to school.

Amarillis only studied until 5th grade and so did Johana's father. Neither the parents want the same thing to happen to their children.

The children need shoes and clothes and all their supplies for school.

They are caretakers on a piece of land.  The house that they are living in is made of tin sheeting, the roof is also tin sheeting. It has a dirt floor.  They have only one room that is used for sleeping and cooking.   Amarillis cooks on an open fire outside over rocks.

They have only one bed. They have a pila. They have a small wooden closet for their clothing.

They do not have water connected. They have to carry water by bucket from a public tap.

They have electricity connected and pay $10 US per month.

Amarillis would like to have chickens to keep but has not been able to afford to do it.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #323 Jackelin Marleny who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Linda Spencer, Thanks!

Jakelin is 10yrs old. She lives in Panajachel.  She is in 3rd grade at school. She lives with her father, Alejandro 35yrs old and her mother, Rosario 32yrs old.  Jakelin has one brother and two sisters.  Wilner is 12yrs and is in 2nd grade. He is a special needs child.  Evelin is 8yrs old and is in 1st grade. Elisabet is 1 yr old. 

Alejandro works as a day laborer which means that he takes whatever work is available. Either in the fields, working at the market place, carrying heavy loads, cleaning etc.  He earns $30 US  a week. Rosario stays at home looking after her children.

This family is very poor.  They have been giving their son treatment at Fundabiem - which is the govt. for physical rehabilitation.  The parents have to pay a small fee for this service. For 6 years they have been taking their son there but now for the past year they have not had the money available to continue his treatment.  He needs physical therapy for his arm and his left leg.  

They live on their own land ,the house has two rooms and a kitchen. It is made of cement block and the roof is tin sheeting. The floor is cement. They have a stove but it is not an onil stove.  They have two beds, one bed in each room. The three children all sleep in one bed.

They have a pila. They have one small closet, the rest of their clothes they keep in a cardboard box.

They have water connected and pay $8 US. per year for it.

They have a water filter.

They have electricity connected and pay $7.50 US. per month. 

Rosario has two chickens. She likes to be able to keep chickens. She hopes to be able to sell these two chickens when they are grown.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #322 Santos Diego who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Johnson Family, Thanks!

Santos Diego is 10yrs old.  He lives in the orphanage in San Andres.

He is the brother of Edra Tomas #321.  He has lived in the current orphange for 1 year, before that he was 3yrs in another orphanage and one year in a catholic mission.

His mother is an alcoholic and his father is unknown. The children were abandoned by their mother.

He is in 2nd grade. He likes to play football and he likes to study.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #321 Edra Tomasa who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Johnson Family, Thanks!

Edra is 7yrs old.  She has been at this orphanage since 2006. Before that she was at another orphanage for 3 yrs and before that she lived in a Catholic institution for one year.

Edra is the sister of Diego #322.  Their mother abandoned them. She is an alcoholic. The father is unknown.

Edra is in kindergarten and she likes going to school . She likes singing, doing puzzles and drawing.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #320 Juan Manuel who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Johnson Family, Thanks!

Juan Manuel is 9 yrs old . He came to the orphanage in San Andres with his sister, #318 Maylin and his brother #319 Luis Angel.  They lived in another orphanage for 6 years before being transferred to this orphanage.

Their mother is an alcoholic.  The court took the children from her.

Juan Manuel is a good student and really enjoys playing. He is a very affectionate boy.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #319 Luis Miguel who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Johnson Family, Thanks!

Luis Miguel is 8yrs old. He came to the orphanage in San Andres with his sister, #318 Maylin and his brother #320 Juan Manuel.  They lived in another orphanage for 6 years before being transferred to this orphanage.

Their mother is an alcoholic.  The court took the children from her.

Luis Miguel is in first grade.  He has very good grades at school and enjoys doing his schoolwork.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #318 Maylin Maribel who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Johnson Family, Thanks!

Maylin is 7yrs old.  She lives in the orphanage in San Andres.  She was transferred from another orphanage in 2005.  She had been in the first orphanage since she was 1 yr old.  The mother is an alcoholic.

Her father is unknown.  Ocassionally an uncle comes to visit but the

mother has never been to visit.   Maylin is in kindergarten.  She is a

very sweet, happy girl.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #317 Glendi who is 15 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Chadwick Family, Thanks!

Glendi is 15yrs old. She lives in Panajachel in the Highlands of Guatemala.  Glendi lives with her mother. She has 9 siblings.  Two siblings have passed away. Two years ago her 16 yr old sister , Erica,died of complications from an operation.  Approx. 5 years ago her little brother , 9 months old died. He had stomach pain but they were not able to afford medical treatment.  

Her mother, Marta 41 yrs old has been ill for the past two years. She is suffering from ovarian cancer.  Her father, left the family 5 years ago and now lives with another woman. He does not give any finances or attention to his family.  He now has other children. The older sister Mercedes, is 23yrs old. She is married and has three children.

Gerber is 21 yrs old. He is in 7th grade.  He works during the week as a baker and goes to week end school.  He uses his money to pay for week end school and the rest of his money he gives to his mother to help her with buying medicines and buying food. He earns $40 US. a week.  Juan Carlos, 16yrs old, he is studying 3rd grade at the end of the week.  He works during the week to make money to pay for his studies.  He works as a baker and makes $26 per week.

Eddy Amilcar is 11yrs old and is in third grade in Panajachel. Walter is 8yrs old and he is in first grade. Elvis is 5yrs old and is in kindergarten.  

Glendi stopped going to school four years ago. Her family could not afford to put her through school.   She is now enrolled in week end school. She is studying 4th, 5th and 6th grade together.   If she passes then she will be able to go to Junior High next year.  

Glendi is working during the week. This money helps towards putting food on the table.

She is responsible for cooking, cleaning and washing all the clothes by hand.  Her mother is very ill and is unable to work.  Glendi also takes the children to school.  

This family is often without food and have only tortillas and salt to eat. They often cannot afford to buy the painkillers that she needs.  

The house that they live in has two rooms and an outside kitchen.  The house is made of wooden planks, the roof is made of tin sheeting, the floor is dirt.   They have an Onil stove.

They do not have a water filter. They have four beds, two were given to them.  They have one small closet that they all use. The rest of the clothes are kept in wooden boxes.  They have water connected and pay $8 per year. They have electricity connected and pay $11 US per month.  

All the costs that this family has is covered by these three young people.  

The family has chickens that were given to them by Mayan Families. They have used them to sell to be able to buy food.  

This family is in a very difficult situation.   The young people in this family are being very responsible but they really need help to be able to continue.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #316 Juan Armando who is 5 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Moore Family, Thanks!

Juan is 5yrs old and is in kindergarten.  He lives in San Jorge la Laguna with his father, Julian 40yrs old and his mother, Juana, 37yrs old.

He has two brothers and one sister. They are:

Maria 20yrs old.  She was never able to go to school and does not know how to read or write.

Julian Antonio 17yrs old.  He was never able to go to school and does not how to read or write.

Jorge Mario 12yrs old. He also did not go to school and does not know how to read or write.

Juan's father is a day laborer and takes whatever work he can get, building, field work, carrying heavy loads on his back at the market.

He earns $30 US  a week.

Juana stays at home doing all the washing by hand, cooking and cleaning and looking after her family.

Unfortunately, Juan's father has a drinking problem and does not give enough money to Juana for her to be able to cover all the costs for the food for the family.  Quite often she has to go to the mountains to look for herbs that they use to make a soup for her children.  The children were never able to study due to the poor economic situation of their father.

Most of the clothes the children have has been given to them.

They live in their own home. The house is made of wooden planks, the roof is made of tin sheeting, the floor is dirt.  They have one room and they have a small outside shelter for the kitchen. They have an onil stove. They have only one bed for all of them. The rest of them sleep on the dirt floor on woven straw mats. They do not have a pila, which is a wash sink to be able to wash in. They do not have a closet, they put all their clothes in a cardboard box. They have water connected, they pay $4 US per year, they have electricity connected and pay $8 US per month.

The mother is keeping a few chickens and she sells them when they are big enough and with this she also finds a way to feed her children.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #315 Irma Yolanda who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Smerz Family, Thanks!

Irma is 9yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna.

She is in third grade. She lives with her father, Fransisco 46yrs old and her mother Juana ,43yrs old.  She has 2 brothers and one sister.

They are Frederico 15yrs old.

He is in 2nd year of Jnr. High.

Susana Martinez 15yrs old . She is not going to school now.

Sergio Almando 12yrs old. He is in 6th grade.

Fransisco works as a builders assistant and makes $33 US a week.

Juana stays at home doing the cooking, cleaning , washing by hand and looking after the family.

On Fransisco's wages it is very difficult for them to cover all the expenses that they have.

Juana weaves and sometimes is able to sell them to help with the children's expenses.

Fransisco does not have a fixed job and when he is out of work it makes it very difficult for them to have enough to eat.

Juana has a nervous illness, and she also suffers from gastritis.

She has been to the hospital but they have not been able to afford to buy the medicines that have been prescribed.

They own the house that they live in. It is made of mud brick, the roof is tin sheeting , the floor is cement. They have two rooms and a small kitchen outside.

They do not have an Onil stove. They have two beds, they have one small closet and the rest of the clothes they keep in a cardboard box.

 They have a pila and they have water connected. They pay $4 US. per year. They have electricity connected and paid $10 US. per month.

Juana has chickens that she is breeding to be able to sell to help the family income.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #314 Lidia Maribel who is 5 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Ball Family, Thanks!

Lida is 5yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in kindergarten at school.

Lidia lives with her father, Rodolfo 27yrs old and her mother, Elvira 25yrs old.

She has two siblings, Telma 3yrs old and Brayan 1yrs old.

Her father works as a builder and he makes $40 US per week.  Her mother stays at home cooking, cleaning, washing the clothes by hand and taking care of the smaller children.

This family took out a loan to build their house and have a large amount of money to pay back each month. They are paying $147 US. a month for their house payments. They will be paying this off for the next 5yrs.

So they do not have much money left over for extras.

The parents are very preoccupied that their daughter will be able to continue at school but what the husband is making is not enough to cover all their costs. 

The house that they live in is made of block, the roof is made of cement and the floor is made of cement.  They have two rooms and a kitchen. They have a gas stove. They do not have an Onil stove. They have two beds. They have a pila and they have a closet.  They have water connected and pay $4 U.S  a year for the water, they have electricity connected and pay $8.50 US  a month.

The mother is breeding chickens so that the family income and diet will be increased.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #313 Kayla Vanessa who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Lemmen Family, Thanks!

Kayla is 9yrs old.  She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in 2nd grade.

She lives with her father, Oscar, 33yrs old and her mother, Reyna 31yrs old.

and one brother, Elmer who is 5yrs old.

Oscar works as a builders assistant and earns $33 US  a week.  Reyna stays at home looking after the children and cooking and cleaning. All washing is done by hand.

What the father earns is not enough to be able to cover all their costs and they are finding it very difficult to supply their daughter with all her needs for school.

The mother hopes that her children will not have to miss a year at school because the family does not have enough money.

The house that they live in belongs to Keyla's grandparents.  The house is made of mud brick and the roof is cement, the floor is cement. They have two rooms, they do not have a kitchen. They have a small gas stove that they cook with. They do not have an Onil stove.

They have two beds.  They do not have a pila. They have one small closet for all their clothes.  They have water connected and pay $4US.

per year. They have electricity connected and pay $6 per month for that service.

They do not have chickens but would like to be able to have some but do not have space to keep them.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #312 Marvin Oswaldo who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Sifford Family, Thanks!

Marvin is 12 years old. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna. He is in 3rd grade at school.

He lives with his father, Jose 37yrs old and his mother, Celestina 35yrs old.

He has 5 sisters and 3 brothers.

They are :

Ortencia, 17yrs old. She is studying in 1st year of jnr. high.

Floridalma 15yrs old. She is in 3rd grade.

She usually works three times a week in the fields so this is one of the reasons that she is so behind for her age at school. She makes $3.30 US. per day for picking onions.

Leydi is 14yrs old. She is in 3rd grade.

Jarron 10yrs old. He is not studying. He has never been to school.

Sergio 8yrs old. He is also not studying and has never been to school.

Odilla 6yrs old and is also not in school.

Roni 4yrs old.

Nelson is 2yrs old. 

Their father, Jose works as an builders assistant and makes $23US  a week.

Their mother, Celestina, works in the fields picking and cleaning onions. She earns $3.30 when there is work.

This money is not enough to be able to buy food and be able to send them to school.  This year they were only able to put four children into school.

Jose and Celestina do not know how to read or write, they were never able to go to school.

They realize that without education that it is very difficult for their children to be able to earn a good livelihood.  They are very keen to have their children in school but just cannot afford it.

Lots of times Jose cannot find work, when this happens the family cannot eat three times a day. It is very difficult for them to have enough food for the family.

They own the land that their house is on. Their house is made of mud brick. The roof is made of tin, and the floor is dirt. They have only one small room for the whole family. They cook outside on their corridor .  They have an Onil stove.

They do not have a kitchen, they have very little space, they do have a toilet, they do not have a pila, they do have a water filter. They have three beds where three children sleep with their parents and the other 6 sleep in two beds.

 They have their clothes in a wooden box.  They have water connected and pay $4.00 US per year. They have electricity connected and pay $10 US.  a month.

The mother now has five chickens that she is breeding. This helps them a little bit with the costs for the family.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #311 Tomas (brother of #299)
$ SPONSORED by Pauley Family, Thanks!

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #310 Mildred who is 11 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Traci Royal, Thanks!

Mildred is 11yrs old.  She lives in Santa Caterina. She lives with her father , and has three brothers and two sisters. Her mother died two months ago.  They could not afford to take her to a doctor so they do not know exactly what she died from. They said that her feet were very swollen and she was in a lot of pain.

Mildred is in 1st grade.

The eldest sister is Mercedes is 25yrs old and is married. She never went to school and does not know how to read or write.

Next is Rafael, 23yrs old.  He studied until 3rd grade and that is all. He is now married.

Lucas is 20yrs old, he studied until 4th grade. He is now married.

Byron is 16yrs old and only studied until 6th grade. He is now working as a builders assistant and makes $26.00 US. per week.

Maria is in 2nd grade.

The father's name is Ventura and he is a gardener.  Ventura is 50yrs old. He earns $106 US. per month The money that is coming in is not enough to cover all the costs that the father has.

Maria now is the one who does all the cooking, cleaning and washing by

hand of all the clothes.   Sometimes she does not have enough time to

do her homework. Her father helps when he can.   Mildred goes to

school in the morning so that she can help and Maria goes to school in the afternoons.

This family was also very affected by the Hurricane Stan nearly two years ago. They lost their mud brick house, it basically collapsed around them. They were fortunate to receive brick blocks from an institution and they have been able to build one room that they all share.  They have one other room but it was badly affected by the storm and they have not had the money to fix it and cannot use it.

Their house is made of cement block.  They do not have a kitchen, the children cook over an open fire on the patio.  They do not have beds, they sleep on the dirt floor on woven straw mats.  They have a pila.

They do not have closets to mind their clothes, they keep them in cardboard boxes.

They have water connected and pay $3.20 US. per month. They have electricity connected and pay $11.50 US.  a month for the electricity.

They own the land that their house is built on.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #309 Maria Bernadina who is 13 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Traci Royal, Thanks!
 

Maria is 13yrs old.  She lives in Santa Caterina. She lives with her father , three brothers and two sisters. Her mother died two months ago.  They could not afford to take her to a doctor so they do not know exactly what she died from. They said that her feet were very swollen and she was in a lot of pain.

The eldest sister is Mercedes is 25yrs old and is married. She never went to school and does not know how to read or write.

Next is Rafael, 23yrs old.  He studied until 3rd grade and that is all. He is now married.

Lucas is 20yrs old, he studied until 4th grade. He is now married.

Byron is 16yrs old and only studied until 6th grade. He is now working as a builders assistant and makes $26.00 US. per week.

Mildred is 11yrs old. and is in first grade.

The father's name is Ventura and he is a gardener.  Ventura is 50yrs old. He earns $106 US. per month The money that is coming in is not enough to cover all the costs that the father has.

Maria now is the one who does all the cooking, cleaning and washing by

hand of all the clothes.   Sometimes she does not have enough time to

do her homework. Her father helps when he can.   Mildred goes to

school in the morning so that she can help and Maria goes to school in the afternoons.

This family was also very affected by the Hurricane Stan nearly two years ago. They lost their mud brick house, it basically collapsed around them. They were fortunate to receive brick blocks from an institution and they have been able to build one room that they all share.  They have one other room but it was badly affected by the storm and they have not had the money to fix it and cannot use it.

Their house is made of cement block.  They do not have a kitchen, the children cook over an open fire on the patio.  They do not have beds, they sleep on the dirt floor on woven straw mats.  They have a pila.

They do not have closets to mind their clothes, they keep them in cardboard boxes.

They have water connected and pay $3.20 US. per month. They have electricity connected and pay $11.50 US.  a month for the electricity.

They own the land that their house is built on.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #308 Hilcias who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Nick Bacon and Diane Hughes, Thanks!
 

Hilcias is 6 yrs old. .  He has 3 siblings, Sergio 12 yrs old,  Juan 10yrs , Obed 8 yrs  All boys.

The whereabouts of the boys father is unknown, they each have a different father.  The mother has recently passed away from an attack of epilepsy.  

They were removed from the home over a year ago, they were malnourished.

they had nothing to eat and had stolen some fruit. They did not know that this fruit had been poisoned and they all were hospitalized.  The judge then removed them from the home and relocated them to the orphanage. The mother visited them weekly until her recent death.  

Hilcias is in 1st grade.

He is in need of shoes and clothing.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #307 Juan Yener who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Gallo Family, Thanks!
 

Juan Yener is 10 yrs old. He has three siblings. Sergio 12 yrs old.  Obed 8 yrs Hilcias 6 yrs old.  All boys.

The whereabouts of the boys father is unknown, they each have a different father.  The mother has recently passed away from an attack of epilepsy.  

They were removed from the home over a year ago, they were malnourished.

they had nothing to eat and had stolen some fruit. They did not know that this fruit had been poisoned and they all were hospitalized.  The judge then removed them from the home and relocated them to the orphanage. The mother visited them weekly until her recent death.  

Juan Yener is in 2nd grade.

He is in need of shoes and clothing.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #306 Sergio Leonel who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Claudia and Larry Van Diver, Thanks!
 

Sergio is 12 yrs old.  He has 3 siblings, Juan 10yrs , Obed 8 yrs Hilcias 6 yrs old. All boys.

The whereabouts of the boys father is unknown, they each have a different father.  The mother has recently passed away from an attack of epilepsy.  

They were removed from the home over a year ago, they were malnourished.

they had nothing to eat and had stolen some fruit. They did not know that this fruit had been poisoned and they all were hospitalized.  The judge then removed them from the home and relocated them to the orphanage. The mother visited them weekly until her recent death.  Sergio is in 2nd grade and is studying very well.

He is in need of shoes and clothing.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #305 Lidia who is 4 years old.
$ SPONSORED, Thanks!
 

Lida is 4yrs old.. She has 3 siblings, Juan Carlos, 12yrs, Reina 10yrs , and Fidencio 8yrs.

They all live in the orphanage in San Andres.

They come originally from Patzun, Chimaltenango.

They arrived a year ago. The judge removed them from where they were living , they had been left with a stepfather who physically abused them. They were malnourished.

The whereabouts of the mother is not known.

Lida is in kindergarten in San Andres school.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #304 Juan Carlos who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Claudia and Larry Van Diver, Thanks!
 

Juan Carlos is 12yrs old. He came to to the orphanage with his three siblings. Fidencio is 8yrs old. , Reina 10yrs , and Lidia 4yrs. They all live in the orphanage in San Andres. They come originally from Patzun, Chimaltenango.

They arrived a year ago. The judge removed them from where they were living , they had been left with a stepfather who physically abused them. They were malnourished.

The whereabouts of the mother is not known. Juan Carlos is in 4th grade  in San Andres.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #303 Fidencio who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Linda Spencer, Thanks!
 

Fidencio is 8yrs old. He has 3 siblings, Juan Carlos, 12yrs, Reina 10yrs , and Lidia 4yrs.

They all live in the orphanage in San Andres. They come originally from Patzun, Chimaltenango.

They arrived a year ago. The judge removed them from where they were living , they had been left with a stepfather who physically abused them. They were malnourished. The whereabouts of the mother is not known.

Fidencio is in 2nd grade in San Andres.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #302 Nahum Abisai who is 4 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Anita Berger, Thanks!
 

Nahum is 4yrs old. He arrived at the orphanage with his elder brother, Kevin, 7yrs old.

They arrived because of an order of the Judge. They were abandoned in the municipality of Peten.  The mother left them with a family that was very poor and could not afford to feed them as well as their own children.  They had them for four months but found that it was impossible to keep minding them.

They brought them to the mother's family in San Andres. Unfortunately, that family also has many children and could not afford to maintain two more.

Nobody knows where the mother has gone.

Nahum is in kindergarten now.  He is too young to be going but he doesn't like to be left at home.

It appears that Nahum may suffer from asthma.  He did not do very well with the climate change from the heat of Peten to the cold of the Highlands.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #301 Kevin Moises who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Anita Berger, Thanks!
 

Kevin is 7yrs old. He has recently arrived in the orphanage in San Andres. He arrived with his 4 yr old, Nahum Abisai.  

They arrived because of an order of the Judge. They were abandoned in the municipality of Peten. The mother left them with a family that was very poor and could not afford to feed them as well as their own children.  They had them for four months but found that it was impossible to keep minding them.  

They brought them to the mother's family in San Andres. Unfortunately, that family also has many children and could not afford to maintain two more. Nobody knows where the mother has gone.  

Kevin has never been to school before. He has started in first grade but because he came more than halfway through the year, he will have to repeat first grade next year.