PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #400 Marci Floriselda who is 5 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Frakas Family, Thanks!
 

Marci Floriselda is 5yrs old. She is entering kindergarten. She lives with her mother and father, three sisters and one brother. Her father Rene, is 35yrs old and her mother is Magda, 25yrs old. Santa is the eldest, 9yrs old  and then there is Dinora Marisol 7yrs old, Marcia Floriselda 5yrs old and is not in school yet. Rene is 2yrs old and the baby is Magda is 3 months old. Rene sells Guatemalan Tipico (tourist goods - handicrafts) on the streets in Panajachel. He makes $4.00 US  a day when he has sales. All the stock that they have is very faded and old. It is difficult for them to make a business with this stock.  Magda helps him with the stall that they sell on.

The children sell on the street before school, they have little baskets that they take full of woven wristbands and souvenirs and sell to the tourists.  Some days they sell and make $1 or $2if they are lucky. They have one bed which four sleep in and the others sleep on the floor. They keep all their clothes in a cardboard box.

Thanks to her sponsor her family now has an Onil stove, they now have a house that has doors and windows and a cement floor. They do not have electricity. They have a water filter.  

The children go out with their mother at night to sell wristbands to the tourists. They make very little money. 

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #399
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #398
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #397
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #396
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #395 Claudia

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #394
$ SPONSORED by the Cooey Family, Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #393 Gerson Martin
$ SPONSORED by Mike and Michelle D. Thanks!
   

Gerson Martin is 10yrs old. He is in 3rd grade. He lives in Caserio San Luis, which is a tiny village.  He lives with his father, Martin, and his mother, Leonarda 35yrs old.

He has one brother and four sisters.

They are:

Aidis Leticia, 18yrs old. She works as domestic in a private house.

She earns $10 US per week.

Yessica Suseli, 14 yrs old . She is in 8th grade.

Dalmiris Victoria 11yrs is in 2nd grade.

Esly 8yrs old.  She is in first grade.

Sergio 4 yrs old. Not in school yet.

Martin works as a builders assistant. He earns $26.60 US per week.

Leonarda works washing clothes by hand in private houses. She earns $2.60 US per day.

This family was devastated by Hurricane Stan two years ago. They lost their home completely and their land is uninhabitable.  They had to rent a house for a year - they were paying $80 US per month. This ate away a lot of their monthly income.

They have since bought a piece of land from Martin's brother, they have paid off the land but they had to take a loan to build the house.

 The house is not yet completed but they are working on it slowly.

They are paying $214.00 US  a month for their loan.

They are now finding it very difficult to have enough food to eat. It is impossible for them to be able to have enough money to send their children to school, buy the school supplies and clothes that the children need.

They have five years to pay off their loan.

The house is made of cement blocks, they are still missing doors and windows.The floor is cement. They have put up curtains to keep the wind out of the doorways etc.

They do not have the money to finish the house.

They have a pila.

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

They have electricity connected. They pay $8 per month They do not have any closets. They keep their clothes in cardboard boxes.

They have 2 beds for all of them.

They cook over a wood burning stove.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a water filter.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #392 Damaris Victoria who is 11 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Mike and Michelle D. Thanks!
   

Damaris Victoria is 11yrs old. She is in 2nd grade. She lives in a small village called  San Luis.

  She lives with her father, Martin, and her mother, Leonarda 35yrs old.

She has 2 brothers and three sisters.

They are:

Aidis Leticia, 18yrs old. She works as domestic in a private house.

She earns $10 US per week.

Yessica Suseli, 14 yrs old . She is in 8th grade.

Esly 8yrs old. She is in first grade..

Gerson Martin 10yrs is in 1st grade.

Sergio 4 yrs old. Not in school yet.

Martin works as a builders assistant. He earns $26.60 US per week.

Leonarda works washing clothes by hand in private houses. She earns $2.60 US per day.

This family was devastated by Hurricane Stan two years ago. They lost their home completely and their land is uninhabitable.  They had to rent a house for a year - they were paying $80 US per month. This ate away a lot of their monthly income.

They have since bought a piece of land from Martin's brother, they have paid off the land but they had to take a loan to build the house.

 The house is not yet completed but they are working on it slowly.

They are paying $214.00 US  a month for their loan.

They are now finding it very difficult to have enough food to eat. It is impossible for them to be able to have enough money to send their children to school, buy the school supplies and clothes that the children need.

They have five years to pay off their loan.

The house is made of cement blocks, they are still missing doors and windows. The floor is cement. They have put up curtains to keep the wind out of the doorways etc.

They do not have the money to finish the house.

They have a pila.

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

They have electricity connected. They pay $8 per month They do not have any closets. They keep their clothes in cardboard boxes.

They have 2 beds for all of them.

They cook over a wood burning stove.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a water filter.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #391 Esly who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Mike and Michelle D. Thanks!
   

Esly is 8yrs old. She lives in Caserio San Luis, which is a tiny village.  She lives with her father, Martin, and her mother, Leonarda 35yrs old.

She has 2 brothers and three sisters.

They are:

Aidis Leticia, 18yrs old. She works as domestic in a private house.

She earns $10 US per week.

Yessica Suseli, 14 yrs old . She is in 8th grade.

Dalmiris Victoria 11yrs is in 2nd grade.

Gerson Martin 10yrs is in 1st grade.

Sergio 4 yrs old. Not in school yet. 

Martin works as a builders assistant. He earns $26.60 US per week.

Leonarda works washing clothes by hand in private houses. She earns $2.60 US per day.

This family was devastated by Hurricane Stan two years ago. They lost their home completely and their land is uninhabitable.  They had to rent a house for a year - they were paying $80 US per month. This ate away a lot of their monthly income.

They have since bought a piece of land from Martin's brother, they have paid off the land but they had to take a loan to build the house.

 The house is not yet completed but they are working on it slowly.

They are paying $214.00 US  a month for their loan.

They are now finding it very difficult to have enough food to eat. It is impossible for them to be able to have enough money to send their children to school, buy the school supplies and clothes that the children need.

They have five years to pay off their loan.

The house is made of cement blocks, they are still missing doors and windows. The floor is cement. They have put up curtains to keep the wind out of the doorways etc.

They do not have the money to finish the house.

They have a pila.

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

They have electricity connected. They pay $8 per month They do not have any closets. They keep their clothes in cardboard boxes.

They have 2 beds for all of them.

They cook over a wood burning stove.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a water filter.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #390 Karina who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Prollason Group, Thanks!

Karina is 7yrs old. She is going into first grade this coming January.

She lives with her father, Guillermo 30yrs old, and her mother, Anastasia 34yrs old. She has two sisters and one brother.

The eldest is Ingrid, she is 9yrs old. She is in 2nd grade.

The other is Cristian, he is 5 yrs old.  He is in kindergarten The baby is Shirley who is 1 yr old.

Guillermo works as a builders assistant. He earns $33 US per week.

His work is not steady so there are some weeks when he does not find work and that really puts a strain on their finances.

During the rainy season it is very difficult to find consistent work.

Anastasia is a stay at home mother.  She is studying English with a sponsorship and she has dreams of studying to become a psychologist.

They live at Guillermo's parents house. They have one small room.

Anastasia cooks outside on the corridor.  They have a wood burning stove.

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 of them. They put the rest of their clothes in a cardboard box.

They have water connected. They pay $1.60 US  a month.

They have electricity connected and pay $12 US. a month.

They have a water filter.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #389 Marta who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Shirley J. Thanks!
   

Marta is 10yrs old. She is in first grade in Panajachel. She lives

with her mother, Dominga, 47yrs old.   Marta's father died when Marta

was a newborn.

Marta and her mother live with her grandparents.  Her grandfather is Benancio, he is 100yrs old.  Her grandmother, Marta is 85yrs old.

She has three sisters and one brother.

They are:

Santa 28yrs old. She is married and has a baby.  She lives with her husband.

Rosa.23yrs old.  She is married and has a baby. She also lives with her husband.

Neither of these girls were able to go to school. They do not know how to read or write.

Marcello 14yrs old. He also did not go to school. He does not know how to read or write. He now works helping his grandfather working the fields.

Celestina 12yrs old.  She has never been to school either. She does not know how to read or write.

Marta is the only one in her family to go to school.

Marta's mother, Dominga is the only one working to maintain the family and her parents.  She works selling vegetables in the market. The most that she earns a day is $3US per day. Often it is less.

She is only able to sell Saturdays and Sundays.  The other days she works washing clothes by hand. She does this in private houses.  She earns $10 for the three days work.

Marta has lost two children, one died at age 2yrs old from complications of the measles.  Another died at 5yrs old from the same thing. The family was unable to afford medical care for either of these children.

Marta's father died from the results of alcoholism.

The house that they are living in is rented. They built the house from tin sheeting and they pay $14 US. per year for rent for the land.

The house is made of tin sheeting, the roof is tin sheeting , they have a dirt floor.

They have only one room, they cook and sleep in the same room.

The grandmother cooks over an open fire over rocks on the ground.

Marta's mother has an Onil stove.

They have three beds but are beds that they made themselves out of wood planks. They do not have mattresses, they have only straw mats on the bare planks.

They have a small closet for all of them.

The grandparents do not have a closet . They keep all their clothes in a sack.

They do not have water connected.   To wash, they have to carry water

from the river.

Sometimes they take the clothes to the river to wash over rocks.

They do not have electricity connected. They live by candlelight.

They do not have a water filter.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #388 Nestor Samuel who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Blouin Family, Thanks!
   

Nestor Samuel is 8 years old. He is in first grade. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna. He lives with his father, Bartolo, 48yrs old and his mother, Virginia, 42 years old.

He has 2 brothers and 2 sisters.

They are:

Irma 19yrs old.  She is a single mother.  She is studying 9th grade.

Virginia cares for the baby while her daughter is in school.

Myra 15yrs old.  She is in 6th grade.

Sergio 13yrs old. He is in 5th grade.

Oto 12yrs old. He is in 1st grade.

The father works as a builders assistant. The mother weaves during her spare time . She earns $3US a week from her weavings.

The money that the husband earns is not enough to cover all their

costs and expenses.    Sometimes the mother is able to get work making

tortillas, these days she earns $2.50 US. a day.  This helps towards their finances.

But the parents do not feel that they have the capacity of being able to help all the children go to school.  That is one reason that Oto started so late in school as they just did not have the money to be able to put him in earlier.

They own their own home. The house is made of mud brick. The roof is tin sheeting, the floor is dirt.  They have only one large room and they use this for sleeping and cooking.

They have an Onil stove.

They have a water filter.

They have three beds for all of them.

They have one closet. The clothes that don't fit in the closet, they keep in a cardboard box.

They do not have a pila.  The mother has to carry heavy loads to the general washing tank to be able to wash their clothes.

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

They have electricity connected and pay $7 US. per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #387 Sindi Patricia who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Mary Miller, Thanks!
   

Sindi is 10yrs old. She is in 3rd grade. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She lives with her father, Juan 40yrs old and her mother, Rosa 38yrs old.

She has two sisters and one brother.

They are:

Myra is 19yrs old. She is married and has two children. She only studied until 6th grade.

Sylvia is 16yrs old. She only studied until 6th grade. She makes beaded jewelry at home and earns $3US per week.

Juan Carlos 14yrs and is in 9th grade.

Juan works as cleaner in a hotel.  He earns $40 US per week.

Rosa does back strap weaving and earns $7 a month from the weavings that she sells.

The money that the father earns is not enough to cover all their costs and expenses.

When they do not have enough money to buy food , they borrow it or owe it to the store for the following week.

The mother says that what her children need most is a table to be able to do their homework.  Now they do it on their bed.

They own their own home. It is made of mudbrick, the roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement.

They have three rooms and an outside wood shack that they use for the kitchen.

They have an onil stove.

They have two beds.

They do not have a pila.

Rosa has to go to the general washing tank to wash her clothes.

They have two closets, the rest of the clothes that do not fit in the closets they put in cardboard boxes.  Sindi's father made the closets, they could not afford to buy them.

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

They have a water filter.

They have electricity connected and pay $12 US Per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #386 Yusel Cristal
$ SPONSORED by the Coates Family, Thanks!
   

Yusel is 6 yrs old. She is in kindergarten. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna with her father, Jorge, 35yrs old and the mother, Sandra 27yrs old.

She has 2 sisters.

They are :

Yessica is 10yrs old. She is in 2nd grade.

Orquidea is 4yrs old.

Jorge works as caretaker in a private house. He earns $36US per week.

Sandra makes beaded jewelry in her spare time and earns $3 US per week.

The money that the father makes is not enough to cover all their costs and expenses.

The children need shoes, clothing and school supplies.

Jorge was only able to study until 4th grade.  Sandra never had the opportunity to go to school. She does not know how to read or write.

The parents do not want their children to be in the same situation as they are but they are having great economical difficulties in keeping them in school.

They own their own house.

The house is made of mud brick. The roof is tin sheeting, the floor is cement.

They have one room and one kitchen.

They have an onil stove.

They have a water filter.

They have two beds.

They do not have a pila.

To wash their clothes Sandra has to take them to the general washing tanks.

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

They have electricity connected and pay $12 US. per month.

They have one closet.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #385 Gladis Margarita who is 10 years old.
   

Gladis is 10 years old. She is in 4th grade. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna with her father, Martin, 39yrs old and her mother, Margarita, 36yrs old. She has 3 sisters and 2 brothers.

They are:

Esly 17yrs old. She is in 9th grade.

Dalia 15yrs old. She is in 7th grade.

Rudi 8yrs old . He is in 3rd grade.

Delmi 6yrs old. She is in kindergarten.

William  2months old.

Martin is a day laborer which means he takes whatever work is available either, field work, construction work or working in the market.  He earns $34 US per week.  Margarita makes beaded jewelry in her spare time. She earns $3 US per week.

The money that the husband makes does not cover all their costs . They  have two children in higher grades and this costs a lot of money.

Their children need shoes, clothes and school supplies.

They own their own home. It is very small. They would like to be able to repair their house but they do not have the money to do so.

They have two room, one part is mud brick , the other part is cement block and it is not finished yet.

Part of the roof is cement and the other part is tin sheeting. The floor is cement.

They have an onil stove.

They have a water filter.

They have three beds for all of them.

They do not have a pila.

They have two closets. The rest of the clothes that do not fit in they put them in cardboard boxes.

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

They have electricity connected and pay $9 US. per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #384 Lidia Lucrecia who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Faith, {Canada}, Thanks!
   

Lidia is 9 years old. She is in 2nd grade.  She lives in San Jorge la Laguna with her father, Leonardo 30yrs old and her mother, Margarita

29yrs old.   She has one older brother, Eliseo 11yrs old.  He is in

4th grade.

Leonardo works as a builders assistant. He earns $33.00 US per week.

Margarita is a stay at home mother.

Both the parents hope that their children will be able to have an education so that they will have a better future.

Leonardo only studied until 5th grade.   Margarita never had the

opportunity to go to school. She does not know how to read or write.

They find it very difficult to provide all the necessities that their children need to continue at school.

They live in their parents in law house.

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

They have only one room and a kitchen.

They cook over a wood burning stove.

They do not have an onil stove.

They have one bed for all of them.

They have a pila.

They have one closet.

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

They have a water filter.

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

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #383 Jakelin Eloisa who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Coates Family, Thanks!
 

Jakelin is 6yrs old. She is in Kindergarten.  She lives in San Jorge la Laguna with her father, Andres 32yrs old and her mother, Juana 28yrs old.  She has one brother. He is Edgar who is 5yrs old.  He is in kindergarten.

Andres, the father is a day laborer. This means that he takes whatever work is available. Whether it is planting in the fields, working on building sites, carrying heavy loads or whatever work is available.

He earns $33 US a week.  This money is not sufficient to cover all the family's needs.

When they do not have the money to have a varied diet, they eat only beans and rice, sometimes they have only tortillas with salt.

The needs the children have are clothes, shoes and school supplies.

They own the house that they live in.  The house is made of cement block. The roof is cement and the floor is cement. They have only one room and a kitchen.

They have an Onil stove.

They have only one bed for all of them.

They have a pila

They have one closet for them all.

They do not have water connected.

They have electricity connected. They pay $6.00 US per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #382 Katy Andrea who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Mary K. Geis, Thanks!
   

Katy Andrea is 7yrs old. She is in kindergarten.  She lives in San Jorge la Laguna with her father, Gabriel 36yrs old and her mother , Cristina 32yrs old.  She has three brothers and two sisters.

They are :

Walter 14yrs old. He is in 6th grade.

Marvin 13yrs old. He is in 3rd grade.

Vilma 11yrs old. She is in 2nd grade.

Jaime 9yrs old.He is in first grade.

Angela is 1yr old.

Gabriel works as a builders assistant. He earns $33US per week.

Cristina stays at home looking after the children, washing clothes by hand, cooking etc. The money that he earns is not enough to cover the costs of the family.

This family often passes times when they do not have food to eat. Then their diet consists of tortillas and salt and maybe some herbs that the mother gathers in the mountains.

The children all need shoes, school supplies and clothing.

The parents took out a loan to build their house. They are now paying back their loan - it is $133.50 US.  a month.

They own the house that they live in, it is made of block, the roof is cement and the floor is cement.  They have four rooms and one kitchen.

They do not have an Onil stove. They cook over cement blocks with a sheet of tin.

They have two beds for all the family.

Katy and her sister, Vilma, sleep on straw mats on the floor.

They have a pila.

They have a small closet for all of them. The rest of the clothes they keep in sacks.

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

They have electricity connected and pay $13.50 US per month.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #381 Francia Estafania who is 5 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Robyn and Gabriella, Thanks!
   
Francia is 5yrs old. She is in kindergarten. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She lives with her father, Julian 27yrs old and her mother, Aura 20 yrs.  She has one sister and one brother , they are : Alba is 3yrs old and Marlon is 2 months old.

 Julian works as a builders assistant and earns #33 US  a week.

Aura makes beaded jewelry in her spare time, She earns $3 US per week.

The money that they are bringing in is not enough to cover all their costs.

This family is very poor.

Aura was married at 14yrs old.  Her family was very poor and it was difficult for them to maintain her so she married very young . But really she is still in a very poor situation.

Julian studied only until 3rd grade. The parents could not afford to keep him in school any longer.

Aura was never able to go to school. Her parents could not afford it.

She does not know how to read or write.

They do not want their children to be in the same situation. They want their children to go to school and to have a better future.

They are renting the house that they are living in. They pay $27US per month.

The house is made of mud brick. The roof is 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 only one bed for all of them.

They do not have a pila. To wash her clothes she has to take her washing to a neighbors house.

They have one closet for all of them.

They do not have water connected.

They do not have electricity connected. They live by candlelight.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #380 Julio Cesar who is 16 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Lach Family, Thanks!
 
Julio Cesar is 16yrs old. He is in 9th grade.  He will be going into High School this coming year.

He lives with his mother in Panajachel.  His mother is a single mother,the father abandoned the family when Julio was just born.

Julio goes to afternoon school. He works in the evening selling tacos on the street, he works until midnight or 1.am. ..sometimes on the week ends until 4.am.

His mother, Joaquina, sells traditional clothing on the street. When she has sales she makes $1.30 a day.

Julio helps his mother by working at night, he earns $2.70 per night.

He uses this money to be able to put himself through school.

He has a desire to become a Business Administrator but without help it will be very difficult for him to be able to continue.

The expenses for his upcoming studies are just too much for the family. The father has never been responsible for Julio.  He now has another family.

They own their own house. The house is made of cement block. The kitchen is made of tin sheeting. The roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement.

They do not have an onil stove. They have  a wood burning stove.

They have two beds.

They have a pila.

They have a closet.

They have water connected. They pay $0.40 cents US. per month.

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

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #379 Sulmi Lisbet who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Tufts Family, Thanks!
 

Sulmi is 8 yrs old . She is in first grade in Solola. She lives with her parents, her father is Edwin 46yrs old, her mother , Suli 36yrs old.  She has two brothers and two sisters.  They are :

Aura Aracely 14yrs old. She is in 8th grade.

Glenda 12yrs. She is in 3rd grade.

Edwin 6yrs old. He hopes to be able to go to school the coming year.

He should have started this last year but the parents could not afford to put him in school.

Jose Manuel 3yrs old.

Edwin, her father is not working.  He used to sell ice creams. Five years ago he returned home to find his house had been broken into and all his possessions were gone.  Shortly after that he had a stroke.

His right arm and right leg are affected from the stroke and do not function.

The mother wants to work but has not been able to find it.

Basically, they now beg in the market in Solola.  They usually get about $1.00 a day.  Mostly, they eat tamalitos which cost 6cents each. They eat this for most of their meals.

Sometimes their family helps them with food but if not, this is all they have.

Edwin was not able to seek medical attention because he could not afford to go to the doctor.

Their eldest daughter is 8th grade.  Several local people helped them put her into school but they did not get enough money to pay the whole amount for the year and they now owe $106 US.   Without the money being paid Aura will not be able to graduate and go onto the next grade.  

They live in a small house that is loaned to them by Suli's family.

The house is made of mud brick .  The roof is tin sheeting, the floor is cement. They have one room and one small kitchen.  They cook over a large tin, they do not have a stove.  They have two beds made of wooden planks. They do not have closets, they keep all their clothes in the corner of the room. They have water connected but do not have a pila-wash basin - sink.  They are paying $2.60 US. per month for the water.  They have electricity connected. They pay $3.35 US. per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #378 Glenda who is now 12 years old.
 
Glenda is 12 years old. She is in third grade in Solola. She lives with her parents, her father is Edwin 46yrs old, her mother , Suli 36yrs old.  She has two brothers and two sisters.  They are:

Aura Aracely 14yrs old. She is in 8th grade.

Sulmi is 8yrs old. She is in first grade.

Edwin 6yrs old. He hopes to be able to go to school the coming year.

He should have started this last year but the parents could not afford to put him in school.

Jose Manuel 3yrs old.

 Edwin, her father is not working.  He used to sell ice creams. Five years ago he returned home to find his house had been broken into and all his possessions were gone.  Shortly after that he had a stroke.

His right arm and right leg are affected from the stroke and do not function.

The mother wants to work but has not been able to find it.

Basically, they now beg in the market in Solola.  They usually get about $1.00 a day.  Mostly, they eat tamalitos which cost 6cents each. They eat this for most of their meals.

Sometimes their family helps them with food but if not, this is all they have.

Edwin was not able to seek medical attention because he could not afford to go to the doctor.

Their eldest daughter is 8th grade.  Several local people helped them put her into school but they did not get enough money to pay the whole

amount for the year and they now owe $106 US.   Without the money

being paid Aura will not be able to graduate and go onto the next grade.

They live in a small house that is loaned to them by Suli's family.

The house is made of mud brick .  The roof is tin sheeting, the piso is cement. They have one room and one small kitchen.  They cook over a large tin, they do not have a stove.  They have two beds made of wooden planks. They do not have closets, they keep all their clothes in the corner of the room. They have water connected but do not have a pila.  They are paying $2.60 US. per month for the water.  They have electricity connected. They pay $3.35 US. per month.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #377
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #376 Gerardo who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Faith {Canada}, Thanks!
 

Gerardo is 10yrs old. He is in 2nd grade. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna.

He lives with his father, Valerio 40yrs old and his mother, Manuela 27yrs old. He has two sisters, Alba 8yrs old, she is in kindergarten, and Natalia who is 1 yr old.

Valerio works as a builders assistant. He earns $40 US. per week.

Manuela works at home looking after the family.  The money that Valerio earns is not enough to cover all their costs.  When they do not have enough food, Manuela goes to the mountains to find herbs to feed the family, other times they have just tortillas with salt to eat.

The children need food in this family, plus shoes, clothes and school supplies.

The parents really want their children to be able to study and have a better life but for their economic situation it is very difficult for them.

They own their home. It is made of cement block. The roof is cement and the floor is cement.  They have three rooms and a kitchen. They do not have an onil stove but do have a wood burning stove.

They have three beds.

They have a pila.

They have a closet. Their other clothes they keep in a basket.

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

They do not have a water filter.

They have electricity connected and pay $7 U.S per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #375 Cecilia who is 11 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Laurie and Isabella, Thanks!
 

Cecilia is 11 yrs old. She is in 4th grade. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna.

She lives with her father, Juan, 43yrs old and her mother, Cecilia 43yrs old.

She has three brothers and three sisters.

They are:

Rosaria, 24yrs old. She is married and has three children. She only studied until 2nd grade.

Marta Julia, 22yrs old. She is married and has two children. She studied until 6th grade.

Juan Fransico, 20-yrs old. He studied only until 4th grade. He is working as a day laborer. He earns $33 US per week.

Alexandra, 14yrs old. He studied only until 6th grade. He is now working as a day laborer and earns $20 US. per week.

Jorge Luis is 9yrs old. He is in 3rd grade.

Heydi is 10 months old.

Juan works as a day laborer. He earns $33 US. a week.  Cecilia works in her spare time making woven bracelets, she earns $3 US. per week.

The father and the two sons are the only ones earning enough to be able to help with the costs.  The father does not feel able to give his children an education due to his financial situation.

Often when they do not have enough money they buy only firewood and corn. Then they eat tortillas with salt as their main diet.

The children are all needing shoes, clothing, school supplies etc.

The father, Juan studied only until 6th grade.

Cecilia, the mother does not know how to read or write. She did not go to school.

They want their children to be able to have an education but feel unable to provide it for them.

They live in their own home. The house has three rooms, two rooms made of mud brick and the kitchen is made of wood planks.  The roof is tin sheeting and the floor is dirt.

They do not have an onil stove.

They do have a water filter.

They have two beds.

They have a very old pila.

They have one closet. The rest of the clothes they keep in cardboard boxes.

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

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

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

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #374 Sabina who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Matthew and Philip Clarke, Thanks!
 

Sabina is 8yrs old. She is in 2nd grade. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna.  She lives with her father, Bonifacio 45yrs old and her mother, Reina 36yrs old.

She has three brothers and two sisters.

They are :  Jose 24yrs old. He is married and has one son . He studied until 6th grade.

Sandra 19yrs old. She studied only until 4th grade. She now works in a private house as a domestic.  She earns $26 US per week.

Carlos 17yrs old, he is in 7th grade. Every Saturday and Sunday he works as a builders assistant. He earns $8 for the week end.

Maria is 15yrs old. She studied only until 6th grade. She is now working in a private house as a domestic. She earns $13 US. a week.

Jorge is 11yrs old. He is in 6th grade.

Unfortunately, the father, Bonifacio is an alcoholic and does not work consistently.  When he does work he sells ice creams from a cart. He earns $2.50 US.  a day.

Reina works in a private house as a domestic.  She earns $20 US per week.

She is the main breadwinner in the family, she cannot rely on her husband to give her money to feed the family.  She buys used clothes for her children and herself.  They often do not have enough to eat and they often have to eat only tortillas with salt.

Reina did not have the chance to go to school and she does not know how to read or write.

She does not want her children to suffer the same way that she has but she does not have the capacity to be able to financially keep her children in school.

They own their own house. It is a mud brick house with a tin roof and a dirt floor. They have two rooms and a small outside kitchen. They do not have an Onil stove but they do have a wood burning stove.

They have only two beds for all of them.

They have a pila.

They have one closet for all of them.

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

They have electricity connected and pay $11.50 US. per month.

They have only one chicken. She would like to have more but has not been able to afford to buy them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #373 Erica Isabella who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the DiFranco Family, Thanks!

Erica Isabella is 8yrs old. She is in 2nd grade. She lives in Panajachel on Lake Atitlan in the Highlands.

She lives with her mother, Manuela. She has three sisters and one brother.

Her father abandoned the family 2yrs ago and sometimes he gives them a little money but not regularly...when he does give them money, it is $13US for the month.

The siblings are

Anselma who is 20yrs old.  She works as a domestic in a private house.

She earns $13 US per week.

Hugo Ariel 16yrs old. He works as a builders assistant, he earns $33 US. per week.

Irma is 12yrs old. She is in 6th grade.

The youngest is Gloria who is 2yrs old.   The father left when Manuela

was pregnant.

Manuela does the best she can to make money, she washes clothes some days, she makes tortillas other days...it depends on whenever she is given the opportunity. On these days she earns $2US. per day.

Manuela is also sick, she has lost a lot of weight but has not been able to afford to go to the doctor.  The family is often without sufficient food.

Two years ago the family were victims of Hurricane Stan.

A huge boulder crashed into their house, the baby was buried in the

mud but fortunately was pulled out alive and well.   They lost all

their possessions and all the things that they have now were given to them.  They are now living back in the same house but it is at the bottom of a mountain in a dangerous location.  But they have no choice to live there.  They own the house.

They have only one room. It is made of cement block, it has a tin roof and a cement floor.

They have a small kitchen. They do not have an onil stove .

They do not have a water filter.

They have electricity connected.

They have water connected.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #372 Brenda Leticia who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Kahl Family, Thanks!
 

Brenda Leticia is 10yrs old. She is in 5th grade. She lives in Panajachel.  She lives with her father, Fabian 40yrs old and her mother, Cristina 35yrs old. She has five sisters .

The eldest is Claudia Elisabet 15yrs old. She is in 9th grade.

Her twin sister is Olga Maritsa 15yrs old.  She is in 7th grade.

Elsa is 12yrs old and is in 6th grade.

Jakelin is 4yrs old and is in kindergarten.

Jessica is 5 months old. 

Fabian works as a builders assistant and earns $30 US per week.

Cristina works washing clothes in various houses. She earns $2US per day when she has work.

The money that they are earning is not enough to cover their costs.

Quite often this family is without enough food to eat and they have to eat only tortillas with salt.

Brenda really wants to be able to continue studying. She knows that it is very difficult for her parents to be able to afford to keep them in school.

They live in their own house. It is made of wooden planks. The roof is made of tin sheeting and the floor is cement.

They have only one room and they cook outside in a small shed.  They have an onil stove, they do not have a water filter, they have three beds, they have a pila, they have one small closet for them all, the rest of the clothes they keep in a cardboard box, they have water connected, they have electricity connected and pay $8 US  a month.

Mayan Families has given this family 10 chickens that they are breeding.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #371 Regina Angelica who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Shirley J. Thanks!
 

Reina Angelica is 8yrs old. She lives in Panajachel, Lake Atitlan.

She is in 2nd grade.  She lives with her mother, Blanca Estella, 32yrs old. Reina has a brother, Hugo , 13yrs old. He is in 6th grade.

Reina's father abandoned the family many years ago and has not given them any financial support.

Blanca Estella works in a private house as a domestic. She earns $20 US per week.

They are living in a house owned by Blanca's brother. It has only one room and a small kitchen. It is made of cement block. The extended family share this house. Their a 4 adults and two children sleeping in this one room.  Blanca's brother and her parents also live there.

They do not have a stove. Blanca cooks on the ground over an open fire. They do not have any beds, they are sleeping on mattresses that they put on the floor.  They do not have a closet. They keep their clothes wrapped up in a sheet.

They have one table and four chairs.

This family was a victim of Hurricane Stan two years ago. They lost all their possessions and they still have not been able to recuperate from such a devastating blow.

 They do not have a Onil stove.

They do not have a water filter.

Blanca is the only one paying for her children's education. It is a real struggle for her to be able to send them to school.  The eldest son is graduating and could be going to jnr. High school this year but they do not know if they can afford it .

They have water connected.

They have electricity connected. They pay $6 US. per month.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #370 Luz Miley who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Harvette Nelson, Thanks!

Luz Mileydi is 7 yrs old.  She is in 1st grade.  She lives in San Jorge with her father, Jose, 26yrs old and her mother, Juana 25yrs old.  She has one brother named Jonathon , 3yrs old. 

Jose works as a day laborer. This means that he takes whatever work is available such as agricultural, constuction or working inthe markets carrying heavy weights. He earns $26.US per week.  

Juana makes beaded jewelry and earns $5 US. per week. 

Luz lives with her family at her grandparents house. Her parents have just taken out a loan so that they can build their own home.  They are paying $66 US  a month for the loan for their house.

The money that they have coming in is not enough to cover all their expenses.  Their children need shoes and clothing.

They are now constructing their house. The house that they are living in right now is mud brick.

They do not have an onil stove.

They have two beds.

They do not have a pila .  They have to take their clothing to the general washing area to be able to wash.

They have water connected. They are paying$4 US per year.

They have electricity connected.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #369 Luci Aracely who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Jones Family, Thanks! 

Luci is 7yrs old. She is in first grade. She lives in San Jorge with her father, Rafael, 39yrs old and her mother, Dominga 30yrs old.

She has four sisters.

They are Claudia 14yrs old. She only went to school until 6th grade. She now stays at home helping her mother, sometimes she is making beaded jewelry .  For that work she earns $6 US a month.

Yessica - 12yrs old.  She is in 5th grade.

Silvia -10yrs old. She is in 2nd grade.

Natalia 4 yrs old.  

Rafael works as a caretaker for a private house in Panajachel. He earns $30 US per week.

Dominga works at home, looking after the children .

The money that the father makes is not enough to cover all the costs that they have.

This family is very poor and has a very hard time being able to keep their children in school. They also cannot afford medical care for their children, whenever they are ill, they use natural cures, they have never been able to afford medical treatment. 

Rafael studied only until 6th grade. Dominga studied only until 2nd grade. They do not want this to happen to their children.

Dominga tells us that she needs shoes for all her children, school supplies and clothing. This are their greatest needs. 

They own the house that they are living in.

It is made of mud brick. It has tin sheeting for the roof and the floor is dirt.

They have only one room and an outside kitchen.

They have an onil stove.

They have two beds.

They have a pila.

They have one closet.

They do not have a water filter.

They have water connected . They pay $7 us   per year.

They have electricity connected and pay $9 US  a month.

Dominga keeps chickens . She has two. When they are grown she will sell them and use some of the money to buy more chickens. She uses the money from the sale of the chickens to be able to buy food for her children.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #368 Brenda Marily who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Kathleen and Ysidro, Thanks!

Brenda is 12yrs old.  She is in 5th grade. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She lives with her father, Luciano 50yrs old and her mother, Fransisca 50yrs old.  She has 6 brothers and 2 sisters.

They are : Jose 33yrs old.  He is married and has three children. He studied only until 6th grade and then could not continue studying,.

Carlos 29yrs old.  He is married and has two children. He also was only able to study until 6th grade because of family finances.

Hermalinda 27yrs old. She is not married and lives at home.  She was only able to study until 3rd grade.  She is now working as a domestic in a private house. She earns $66 a month.

Walter 25yrs old. He only studied until 6th grade. He is now married with one child.

Esbin 22yrs old.  He is married and has one child. He also studied only until 6th grade.  

Norma 18yrs old.  She only studied until 6th grade. She is now working as a domestic in a private house. She earns $15 a week.

Otto. 16yrs old. He also studied only until 6th grade and is now working as a day laborer.

He earns $26. US  a week.

Mario 13yrs old. He only studied until 6th grade. He is now working half days as a day laborer.  He earns $13 US  a week.  

The father works taking sand out of the river in Panajachel. This is very low paid work and is very hard. He earns $33 US. per week.

The money that the father has earned has not been enough to be able to cover all the costs of the family. 

Luciano only studied at school for one year and does not know how to read or write.

His parents could not afford to send him to school.   He feels badly that he was not able to give his children a better education.

Brenda wants to continue studying but the family cannot afford to send her to jnr. high school.

They house that they live in is their own. It is made of mud brick , the roof is tin sheeting, the floor is cement.

They have three rooms and a small wooden structure that they use as a kitchen.

They have an Onil stove.

They have four beds.

They have a pila.

They have a closet.

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

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

They have six chickens.  Brenda's mother likes to be able to keep chickens to help with the family finances. 
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #367 Claudia Marleny who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the O'Dea Family, Thanks!
.

Claudia is 8yrs old.  She is in 2nd grade. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She lives with her father, Carlos, 29yrs old and her mother, Marcelita 28yrs .

She has one brother, Dany 4yrs old.  

Carlos is a day laborer, this means that he takes whatever work is available either, agricultural, construction or working in the market carrying heavy loads.  He earns $40 per week when he has full time work.  

Marcelita sells fruit in the street. She earns $1.50 US  a day on a good day.  

Carlos and Marcelita have borrowed money to build their house.  They are paying $93 US  a month.  It is very difficult for them to cover all these costs with the money that they are earning. It is difficult for them to get the supplies that Claudia needs for school.  

Carlos and Marcelita both only studied until 6th grade and they want their children to be able to have a better future and be able to keep studying.  

They own their own house. The house is made of block, the roof is cement and the floor is cement. 

They have one room . They use the mother in laws kitchen to cook in.

They have one bed.

They do not have a pila.

They have one closet .

They have water connected .

They have electricity and pay $4 US  a month.

They do not have chickens but would like to be able to keep them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #366 Alicia who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Coates Family, Thanks!

Alicia is 9yrs old. She is in 2nd grade. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She lives with her father, Santiago, 40yrs old and her mother, Estella 30yrs old. She has 2 brothers and one sister.

Alex 15yrs old.  He is in 7th grade.

Elisabet 5yrs old. is in kindergarten.

Hugo is 4yrs old and is not in school yet.  

 She had another sister, who was physically disabled who passed away this year at 13yrs old 

The father works as a day laborer which means that he takes whatever work is available, agricultural , construction or working in the market carrying heavy loads.  He earns $30 US  a week.

The mother stays at home looking after her children, washing by hand, cooking etc

They are in debt from the medical treatment that they had for their 13yr old daughter who passed away.

This debt and all the family expenses that they have are making it very difficult for them to be able to maintain their children in school.

Quite often they are only able to have tortillas and salt to eat.

They own their own home.

The house is made of block with a tin roof, with a cement floor.  They have one room , they have a wood burning stove,

They do not have an Onil stove.

They  have two beds.

They have a pila.

They have a closet. The rest of the clothes they keep on a shelf.

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

They have electricity connected and pay $12 for one month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #365 Lilian Roxana who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED in Memory of Lillian Kremer, Thanks!

Lilian Roxana is 6yrs old. She is in kindergarten.  She lives in Panajachel. She lives with her father, Jose 30yrs old and her mother, Cecilia 24yrs old. She has 2 brothers. They are Anderson - 8yrs old . He is in first grade.

Jose - 18 months old.  

Jose works in the fields growing vegetables.  He earns $30 US a week.  Cecilia works making beaded jewelry in her free time.

She earns $2.00 US  a day.

Jose and Cecilia have a loan to build their house. This debt is very hard for them to pay and they are finding keeping their children in school is very difficult for them.  

Lilian had a speech defect and earlier this year Mayan Families was able to arrange for her to have an operation on her mouth and she can now speak much clearer.  She is now going to therapy once a week at the Govt. Fundabiem which supplies the therapy.  They family has to pay $4.US  a week for this therapy.  Her speech is getting much better.  

They own their own house. The house is made of cement block, the roof is cement and the floor is dirt.  They have two rooms.  They do not have a kitchen and Marta cooks outside on the patio.  

They have an Onil stove.

They have one bed.

They do not have a closet. They keep their clothes in a cardboard box.

They do not have water connected. They carry it from a nearby house.

They do not have electricity connected. They live by candlelight at night.

They spend 25cents US. a day on candles. They have four chickens that they are keeping.  They eat the eggs and occasionally will kill a chicken or sell one.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #364 Gerson Abdias who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Jones Family, Thanks!

Gerson Abdias is 6 yrs old. He lives in Solola.  He is in kindergarten.

Gerson lives with his father, Marcuario 26yrs and his mother, Gloria 24yrs old. He has one sister. , Heydi 3yrs old.  

Marcuario unfortunately has a drinking problem. He works as a builder's assistant.  Sometimes he gives some money to his wife but not often. When he is drinking he is uncontrollable and unruly. When he is like this Gloria takes the children and stays out on the street. Gloria works making beaded jewelry at home. When she works very long hours she makes $8 US.  a week, but sometimes she cannot find the time and only makes $6 US a week. This is the money that she maintains her children with so that they have food.

Quite often they only have enough money to eat a herb soup that Marta makes from herbs that she collects in the mountains.

 Marcuario only studied until 6th grade and he does not put much importance on his son's education.  Gloria also studied until 6th grade. 

They own the house that they live in.

It is made of mud brick, the roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement.

They have only one room and one kitchen.

They have an Onil stove.

They have a pila.

They have one small closet.

They have water connected. They pay $6.00 US. per year.

They have electricity connected and pay $8 US. per month. 

Marta does not have chickens but would like to be able to have them but has not been able to afford to buy chickens and buy the food for them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #363 Gladis
$ SPONSORED by Molly, Thanks!

Gladis is 6 yrs old. She lives in Solola.   She is in kindergarten.  She lives with her mother , Marta 22yrs old and father, Juan Fransisco 26yrs old, one sister and one brother. 

The siblings are : Debora - 3yrs old.

Jose Alberto is 7 months old. 

Juan Fransisco is a day laborer. This means that he takes whatever work is available, field work , construction work or working in the markets carrying heavy loads.  

He earns $26 US. per week.  This money has to cover all their food and household costs plus they are paying off a loan that they took out to build their house.

They have to pay $106 US  a month so there is very little money left over for food, clothing or school supplies for Gladis.

Marta has a small business selling beaded jewelry at a bus stop where tourists stop to take photos of the lake.  When they have a good business then she can make $33 a week, but when there is no business, she makes only $10 US. per week.

When they do not have enough money to buy food their diet consists of herbs that Marta collects from the mountains and sometimes eggs.

Marta studied only until 6th grade.  Juan Fransisco studied only until 2nd grade. Their families were unable to give them the chance to study further. They do not want this to happen to their children but they are finding it very difficult to manage on the money that they have.  

They own the house that they live in.

It is made of cement block.  The roof is cement and the floor is cement.  They have two rooms and one kitchen.

They  have an Onil stove.

They have two beds.

They have a pila.

They have one small closet for all of them.

They have water connected.

They have a water filter.

They have electricity connected and pay $8 US.  a month.

They do not have chickens but would like to have them but have not been able to afford to buy and maintain them.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #362 Maria who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Caruso Family, Thanks!

Maria is 6yrs old. She will be entering kindergarten next year.  She is the youngest sister of #359., #360 and #361. . They live in Santiago on lake Atitlan. She lives with his  mother, Fransisca, 28yrs old and father, Antonio 30yrs old, one brother and three sisters.    The father speaks a little Spanish but the rest of the family only speaks the Mayan dialect, Tzutujil.

They are Diego.   12 yrs old. He is in first grade.

Candelaria 10yrs old. She is in first grade.

Carmen - 8yrs old.  She is in 1st grade.

The youngest brother is not ready for school yet.

Antonio works as a day laborer, which means that he takes whatever work is available.

He does not have a fixed job. When he does work he earns $2.50 US. a day.  Unfortunately, Antonio is an alcoholic.  So he works sporadically and the money does not always go to help the family.

Fransisca works washing clothes by hand and making tortillas to sell.

She earns $1.35 US.  a day when she has work.

This is the only money that the family has to buy food. The father is not responsible for the family.  Occasionally he will give the mother $1.00 to help buy food.

When the mother does not have money to buy food for her children, they often eat just tortillas with salt.  

They own the house that they live in.  It is has only one room made of cement blocks.

One part of the wall is damaged after the Hurricane Stan two years ago.  It was damaged by a huge boulder but they have not been able to repair it because they do not have the money. The roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement.  

They do not have a kitchen. She cooks behind her house under a piece of thin plastic sheeting.  Fransisca cooks on rocks over an open fire.  

They do not have a bed.

They sleep on the floor on woven mats.

They do not have  pila.

They do not have water connected.  They have to walk a long distance down a steep path to bring water from the lake and they wash their clothes in the lake.

They do not have a closet for their clothes. They have a piece of rope that they hang their clothes on.

They do not have electricity connected. They live by candlelight at night.
 PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #361 Carmen who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Rochibaux Family, Thanks!

  This is their Kitchen.
Carmen is 8 years old. She is the sister of #359 and #360.  She is in 1st grade. These children do not speak much Spanish. They speak only the Mayan dialect Tzutujil. He is in first grade. They live in Santiago on lake Atitlan. She lives with her mother, Fransisca, 28yrs old and father, Antonio 30yrs old, two brothers and two sisters.    The father speaks a little Spanish but the rest of the family only speaks the Mayan dialect, Tzutujil.

The sisters and brothers are Diego - 12yrs old. He is in 1st grade.

Candelaria  10yrs old.  She is in first grade.

Maria - 6yrs old.  She is not in school yet but would like to start next year.  

Antonio works as a day laborer, which means that he takes whatever work is available.

He does not have a fixed job. When he does work he earns $2.50 US. a day.  Unfortunately, Antonio is an alcoholic.  So he works sporadically and the money does not always go to help the family.

Fransisca works washing clothes by hand and making tortillas to sell.

She earns $1.35 US.  a day when she has work.

This is the only money that the family has to buy food. The father is not responsible for the family.  Occasionally he will give the mother $1.00 to help buy food.

When the mother does not have money to buy food for her children, they often eat just tortillas with salt.  

They own the house that they live in.  It is has only one room made of cement blocks.

One part of the wall is damaged after the Hurricane Stan two years ago.  It was damaged by a huge boulder but they have not been able to repair it because they do not have the money. The roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement.  

They do not have a kitchen. She cooks behind her house under a piece of thin plastic sheeting.  Fransisca cooks on rocks over an open fire.  

They do not have a bed.

They sleep on the floor on woven mats.

They do not have  pila.

They do not have water connected.  They have to walk a long distance down a steep path to bring water from the lake and they wash their clothes in the lake.

They do not have a closet for their clothes. They have a piece of rope that they hang their clothes on.

They do not have electricity connected. They live by candlelight at night.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #360 Diego who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Giattino Family, Thanks!

Diego is 12 years old. He is the brother of #359. He is in first grade. They live in Santiago on lake Atitlan. He lives with his  mother, Fransisca, 28yrs old and father, Antonio 30yrs old, one brother and three sisters.    The father speaks a little Spanish but the rest of the family only speaks the Mayan dialect, Tzutujil.

They are Candelaria - 10yrs old. He is in 1st grade.

Carmen - 8yrs old.  She is in 1st grade.

Maria - 6yrs old.  She is not in school yet but would like to start next year.  

Antonio works as a day laborer, which means that he takes whatever work is available.

He does not have a fixed job. When he does work he earns $2.50 US. a day.  Unfortunately, Antonio is an alcoholic.  So he works sporadically and the money does not always go to help the family.

Fransisca works washing clothes by hand and making tortillas to sell.

She earns $1.35 US.  a day when she has work.

This is the only money that the family has to buy food. The father is not responsible for the family.  Occasionally he will give the mother $1.00 to help buy food.

When the mother does not have money to buy food for her children, they often eat just tortillas with salt.  

They own the house that they live in.  It is has only one room made of cement blocks.

One part of the wall is damaged after the Hurricane Stan two years ago.  It was damaged by a huge boulder but they have not been able to repair it because they do not have the money. The roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement.  

They do not have a kitchen. She cooks behind her house under a piece of thin plastic sheeting.  Fransisca cooks on rocks over an open fire.  

They do not have a bed.

They sleep on the floor on woven mats.

They do not have  pila.

They do not have water connected.  They have to walk a long distance down a steep path to bring water from the lake and they wash their clothes in the lake.

They do not have a closet for their clothes. They have a piece of rope that they hang their clothes on.

They do not have electricity connected. They live by candlelight at night.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #359 Candelaria who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Waterman Family, Thanks!

Candelaria is 10yrs old. She lives in Santiago on Lake Atitlan. She is in 1st grade and speaks the Mayan language Tzutujil.

She lives with her mother, Fransisca,28yrs old and father, Antonio 30yrs old, two brothers and two sisters.

They are Diego - 12yrs old. He is in 1st grade.

Carmen - 8yrs old.  She is in 1st grade.

Maria - 6yrs old.  She is not in school yet but would like to start next year.  

Antonio works as a day laborer, which means that he takes whatever work is available.

He does not have a fixed job. When he does work he earns $2.50 US. a day.  Unfortunately, Antonio is an alcoholic.   So he works sporadically and the money does not always go to help the family.

Fransisca works washing clothes by hand and making tortillas to sell.

She earns $1.35 US.  a day when she has work.

This is the only money that the family has to buy food. The father is not responsible for the family.  Occasionally he will give the mother $1.00 to help buy food.

When the mother does not have money to buy food for her children, they often eat just tortillas with salt.  

They own the house that they live in.  It is has only one room made of cement blocks.

One part of the wall is damaged after the Hurricane Stan two years ago.  It was damaged by a huge boulder but they have not been able to repair it because they do not have the money. The roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement.  

They do not have a kitchen. She cooks behind her house under a piece of thin plastic sheeting.  Fransisca cooks on rocks over an open fire.  

They do not have a bed.

They sleep on the floor on woven mats.

They do not have  pila.

They do not have water connected.  They have to walk a long distance down a steep path to bring water from the lake and they wash their clothes in the lake.

They do not have a closet for their clothes. They have a piece of rope that they hang their clothes on.

They do not have electricity connected. They live by candlelight at night.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #358
 

Jose Ricardo is 12 yrs old.   He lives in Panajachel on Lake Atitlan. He is currently in 6th grade and if he receives sponsorship will be able to go to the first year of Jnr. High.

He lives with mother, Ana Luisa 50yrs old and his sister, Gloria 18yrs old.

Gloria is studying 9th grade.   Gloria also works half day babysitting and then goes to school.

She earns $40 US. for the month.  

Their father left the family four years ago. He now lives with another woman an has another family.  He has not supported them financially.

Ana Luisa washes clothes by hand and irons clothes. She does not have a fixed job so she goes from house to house.  She earns $4.00 US. per day .  This is the only money she has to be able to maintain her family.  The money that Gloria earns goes to paying her studies.

They are living in a house that belongs to Ana Luisa's brother.

They have two rooms, one is made of mud brick, one is made of wood planks. The roof is tin, the floor is cement.  They cook outside over a tin barrel. 

They do not have an onil stove.

They have two beds.

They have a pila.

They do not have a water filter.

They do not have a closet to mind their clothes.

They have water connected. They pay 40c US per month .

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #357 Jose Julio who is 8 years old.

Jose Julio is 8yrs old. He is in 2nd grade. He lives in Panajachel with his mother, Sebastiana, 36yrs old. He has 3 sisters and one brother. 

They are Ingrid 16yrs old.  She was only able to go to school until 4th grade. She is now working in a restaurant washing dishes.  She earns $46 US per month. 

Ana Lucrecia 15yrs old. She only went to third grade. She is working in a restaurant washing dishes. She earn $33  per month. 

Aura 12yrs . She only went to 4th grade.  She is not working. She is helping the mother at home.

Abram is 2yrs old. 

Jose's father left home 3 months ago.  He was not supporting the family. He threw the family out of the house. He now lives with another woman and continues to give no financial support for the family. 

Sebastiana makes and sells tortillas from her house. She makes $1.35 US. per day.

This money is not enough to make ends meet. They cannot afford to pay the rent and to be able to buy sufficient food.  Nor does Sebastiana have the money to be able to send Jose Julio to school. 

The two elder girls give their wages to their mother to help pay the rent and buy the food.

They also had to cover the rent when they were living with the father . He did not give the mother money to pay the rent.

When the father forced them out of the house, they could not take their possessions with them such as the closet etc.  They are now keeping their clothes in a cardboard box, 

They do not have a water filter.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They are renting the house that they live in. 

This family is really in need of help.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #356 Blanca Elizabeth who is 15 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Shannon, Thanks!
 

Blanca is 15yrs old. She is in 6th grade. Next year, if she receives help she will be able to go to Jnr. High.  She lives in San Jorge with her father, Valentin  38yrs old and her mother, Irma Linda 35yrs old.  She has two sisters,  Myra who is 14ys old.  She is also in 6th grade.  She has two brother s, Wilmer 9yrs old.   He is in 3rd grade.   Andy is 6yrs old and is in kindergarten.

The youngest is Karin, 3yrs old.  

Blanca really wants to keep studying as does her sister, Myra.  But their father works as a day laborer,. This means he takes whatever work that is available. Working in fields, picking vegetables, working on building sites or carrying heavy loads on his back at the markets. He earns $46 US  a week. This is barely enough to cover the costs of the food for the family.  

Irma Linda in her spare time makes woven wristbands from wool. She makes $2.50 a week.

Blanca has received very good grades this year and she has a strong desire to study. She has said that if she gets the chance to keep studying that she will do everything in her power to get good grades and that she wants to be able to help her parents one day.  

They own their own house, it is made of mud brick. It has a tin roof. The house has two rooms. They have cement floors. The kitchen has a dirt floor.   

They have an Onil stove.

They have two beds.

They have one pila to wash their clothes.

They have one closet for the whole family. The rest of their clothes, they keep in cardboard boxes.

They do not have a water filter.

They have water connected and pay $2.00 US a year.

They have electricity connected and pay $8.40 US. a month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #355 Elida
$ SPONSORED by the Santman Family, Thanks!
Elida with her family.

Elida Noemi with her sisters
October 2007.- Elida and her family receive the gift of clean water, a water filter donated by her sponsors.
 
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #354 Henri
$ SPONSORED by the Santman Family, Thanks!
Henri and his little brother Henri and his family.

October 2007.- Henri and his family receive a water filter donated by his sponsors.


PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #353 Lucinda Maribel who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Hartz Family, Thanks!
 

Lucinda Maribel is 10 yrs old . She is in 2nd grade. She lives in a small village called Xequistel. ( pron Shekistel)  she goes to school in a larger town called Godinez.  

She lives with her mother, Maria 39yrs old.  Lucinda's father died when her mother was pregnant with her.  He died from the result of alcoholism.  Lucinda has one brother, Jose Alfredo is 19yrs old. He did not have the chance to go to school and he does not know how to read or write.   

Maria sells vegetables in the market.  Jose helps her do this. He has been having trouble finding a steady job so he helps his mother with the vegetable stall.  Maria earns $1.50 approx a day.    

This is all the money that they have coming in.  This makes it very difficult to have enough food to be able to eat. It is really difficult for them to cover the costs of Lucinda's schooling. Her mother really wants Lucinda to succeed. She is the only one in the family that can read and write.  

They do not have their own home. They are living as caretakers for a small piece of land.

The house is made of wooden planks, the roof is tin sheeting and it has a dirt floor.

They only have one room.  They cook and sleep in this one room.

They have two beds made out of wooden planks.

They do not have a pila.  They keep their water in a plastic barrel.

They keep their clothes in a cardboard box or hanging on a piece of rope in the room.

They have a wood burning stove . They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a water filter.

They have water connected and pay $2.00 US. per year.

They have electricity connected and paid $3.30 US per month.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #352 Manuel
$ SPONSORED by the Houseknecht/Funkhouser Family, Thanks!

Manuel is the brother of Student #351 and is 6yrs old. He lives in Panimache and will go to school in Las Trampas.  He lives with his father, Diego  45yrs old and his mother, Josefa 30yrs old. He has three brothers.  Manuel 6yrs old.  He was supposed to start school this year but the parents were unable to afford it.  Domingo 3yrs old and Miguel Angel 1yr old.   

Diego sells coal in the street. He earns $3.00 US per day. Josefa stays at home looking after the children, washing by hand etc. 

Panimache where they live is an isolated area and Maria has to go by in the back of a pick up every day back and forth to school. This costs $0.68cents per day for her to have this transportation.  This will be a double cost when Manuel starts school that is going to make it extremely difficult for this family and really, probably impossible to send Manuel to school without assistance.

The father does not have sufficient money to be able to cover all the costs and needs that the family have.  

Manuel and Domingo suffer from a scalp condition that the family has been unable to afford medical treatment.  

They own the house that they live in. It is made of mudbrick, the roof is made of tin sheeting and it has a dirt floor.

It has three rooms and a kitchen. 

They do not have a stove. They cook over an open fire on the ground.

The father made beds for the children out of sticks and planks of wood.

They do not have a pila.  They do not have water connected. They have to bring water from the river.

They do not have a closet. They keep their clothes in cardboard boxes.

They have electricity connected.  They pay $8.00 US. for the electricity each month.

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

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #351 Maria who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Miller Family, Thanks!
       
Maria is 8yrs old. She is in first grade .  She lives in Panimache and goes to school in Las Trampas.  She lives with her father, Diego  45yrs old and her mother, Josefa 30yrs old. She has three brothers.  Manuel 6yrs old.  She was supposed to start school this year but the parents were unable to afford it.  Domingo 3yrs old and Miguel Angel 1yr old.   

Diego sells coal in the street. He earns $3.00 US per day. Josefa stays at home looking after the children, washing by hand etc. 

Panimache where they live is an isolated area and Maria has to go by in the back of a pick up every day back and forth to school. This costs $0.68cents per day for her to have this transportation.  

The father does not have sufficient money to be able to cover all the costs and needs that the family have.  

Manuel and Domingo suffer from a scalp condition that the family has been unable to afford medical treatment.  

They own the house that they live in. It is made of mud brick, the roof is made of tin sheeting and it has a dirt floor.

It has three rooms and a kitchen. 

They do not have a stove. They cook over an open fire on the ground.

The father made beds for the children out of sticks and planks of wood.

They do not have a pila.  They do not have water connected. They have to bring water from the river.

They do not have a closet. They keep their clothes in cardboard boxes.

They have electricity connected.  They pay $8.00 US. for the electricity each month.

They do not have a water filter. They do not have an Onil stove.