One of the projects that Street Kids Direct has supported for over 10 years is the Go Guatemala ministry in Guatemala City. The dedicated team of volunteers work in the notorious zone 18, which is infamous for its gang membership, kidnappings, extortions and gang warfare.
Pastors Alex and Evelyn, together with their children and a huge team of volunteers reach out to around 120 at-risk children and youth and provide them with a support structure that helps them thrive, stay in education and make good decisions about not going into the gang.
Street Kids Direct are committed to helping Go Guatemala and will continue to provide funding that will cover the rent of the building they are using for their outreach. Thanks to funds raised on Radio Christmas we have been able to make this possible.
This year Go Guatemala will be extending their work thanks to being given a licence from the Guatemalan government to establish a school on their premises. The school will offer two shifts for local children, a morning shift for fee-paying children and an afternoon shift for children in their programme who won´t need to pay.
Alex is adamant that the children get the very best education and get the support they need to cope with the trauma they live with on a daily basis. “So many of the children see family members go into gangs and die at an early age”, Alex explained. “We talk to the children about what is happening in their lives and how to cope with abuse, violence and the daily threat of the gang” he added.
We are hopeful that we can help raise further funds to convert part of the building Go Guatemala are using into school rooms. Street Kids Direct are excited to partner with this innovative project and we hope that this year we will see the establishment of its specialist school for at-risk children in zone 18.