CEPA Foundation gives back: helping families and children in Guatemala
Situated in the heart of Sacatepéquez County, the Mayan village Vuelta Grande is located a few miles away from the town of Antigua, which is an hour away from Guatemala City. The indigenous population of Vuelta Grande is extremely impoverished, and the living standards fall far short of those in more developed areas. Through our cooperation with local volunteers, we strive to increase the basic standard of living for this community, which is made up of 300 large families.
Over 70% of the children in Vuelta Grande suffer from malnutrition, and every third child will remain illiterate throughout his or her life. By the age of ten, most children are expected to contribute towards sustaining the family, which results in a chronic lack of education. The combination of these unfortunate factors leads to lifelong negative health implications and places further limitations on the opportunities available to younger generations.
By providing opportunities for education, our goal is to enable the families and children of Vuelta Grande to develop a self-sustaining community. Through both early-childhood education as well as vocational and continuing education for adults, we are working to foster a culture of learning. To this end, the CEPA Foundation is working in cooperation with a local non-profit foundation, Corazones Libres (Free Hearts Foundation), whose founder has been active in advocating for the Mayan community for over 20 years.
Our Long-term Goals
Helping people to help themselves is the key to success. This goal can be achieved by providing education to children and vocational training to young adults. To this end, we work together with Corazones Libres on the following initiatives:
- Introduce a love of learning to children from the preschool years and onwards through various school activities and educational projects
- Send young people to secondary schools and to enable them to receive vocational training
- Fight hunger by providing meals at school and thus keep children from having to learn on an empty stomach
- Improve housing by building simple, functional houses
- Procure energy-efficient, low-smoke cooking stoves for every family
- Eliminate unhealthy hygienic conditions by installing dry toilets
- Operate a small infirmary with reliable medical care 1-2 times a week
- Provide a reliable and safe water supply through the construction of wells and pipes
- Raise awareness about health and nutrition
- Provide vocational training for women