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"Comunidad Esperanza" (Community of Hope), a day-care created by the catholic church in 2003, is located in the deprived district of "El Esfuerzo I". Altogether, 150 children and adolescents from three surrounding rim quarters participate in the project; however not all of them come in regularly each day. The well-organized project divides itself into five areas:
The school: In Guatemala there is an annual school fee of 8 -10 euros for each student. Many parents cannot afford this fee and therefore their children are forced to work instead of attending school.
In the project’s school, the children get a free and, thanks to the helpers’ strong commitment, better education than in a public school. For the coming school year (beginning in January), a 9th-grade class will be added to the middle school now consisted of 7th and 8th grades.
The children are trained by teachers and other volunteers, for example, by us. The school activities are naturally not limited to acquiring knowledge but also foster the development of social behaviour and creativity and offer occupational training.
The Agriculture Project: There is a field, 10 minutes away by foot, on which vegetables that are native to the region are cultivated. The children’s parents help the project manager cultivate and maintain the field and finally, of course, harvest the vegetables. The crops are either used for self-consumption or are sold at the market - the profit goes in part to the families and in part to the project. The goal of maintaining the field is for parents to be integrated into the project and to learn how to obtain higher yield through more efficient agriculture.
Paitiently waiting for Atol
The Nourishing Program: About 50 of the 150 children participate in the nourishment program. Each morning, there’s a typical breakfast (of beans, eggs and tortillas) and each noon, a nutritious meal based on soy products. Many children suffer from malnutrition and the meals, which they get in the project, are often the only proper meals of the day. So the project even contributes significantly to the children’s health through good nutrition. The lunch is prepared by the children’s mothers, who work in a 4-week rotation and are, therefore, also integrated in the project.
The Hospital Station: A nurse and a paediatrician, who come in once a week, are responsible for the children’s health. Many parents, however, also come in to see the health professionals with injuries, minor diseases, or for inoculations, in order to receive the project’s free service. However, the health care provided is much less than adequate and the small hospital station cannot cover the medical need of the area.
The "Basurero" (City Garbage Dump): At the beginning of the year, the project started a literacy program. At first it was hard to convince the parents how important their children’s education is, but gradually people’s confidence in the program grew and in the meantime 25 of about 70 children are attending daily classes.
Twice a week, Thursdays and Saturdays, we go with children from a local church to the Basurero. We cook a nutritious mash called "atoll", and distribute it to all the children and adults, who come in crowds, as soon as the fire is lit. If the weather is good, we go with the children to a nearby football field so that they can forget about their daily work for a while and experience a little of what we know as childhood.
More information on the "Basurero" under Current Situation .
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Comunidad Esperanza 
