Portales de la Esperanza
Portals of Hope
About Us
Our mission to provide hope and opportunity to children and families living in poverty in Guatemala is encompassed by the following five specific objectives:
Portales de Esperanza was created to meet the needs of indigenous children in poor communities. Major needs in the communities we serve are related to family instability, poor nutrition for children under five, high numbers of students dropping out of school, and low quality education in public schools that further discourages school attendance.
- Help families achieve a safe and stable environment for their children.
- Ensure the ongoing health of children in our program.
- Provide the opportunity to attend better schools.
- Provide support for improved academic success.
- Provide directed social interaction that leads children to become caring and supportive individuals.
Poverty
Guatemalans have experienced centuries of conflict related to government repression and control of land ownership. More recently, a 36-year civil war resulted in additional infringement on land ownership, violence, and displacement that further inhibited positive social and economic change. The Peace Accords of 1996 have thus far failed to provide significant social, political, and economic change. Consequently, ongoing inequality and further infringement on land ownership continues the cycle of extreme poverty in most areas of the country.
Within the communities we serve, families and children are so absorbed in the day-to-day problems of living that they do not have the time or ability to worry about the future. In Guatemala as a whole, 70% of the population lives on less than US$2 per day and roughly 30% live on less than US$1 per day. In cities, housing is rented, substandard, and often 6 or more children and adults share one small room. Dirt floors, leaky roofs, and absence of running water and sewage are not uncommon. One or more parent is often illiterate, if parents are present at all. Although parents work long hours and generally in the informal sector, work for reasonable pay is intermittent.