Education Changes Lives

For many vulnerable children in Guatemala, the desire to learn is not the problem. The challenge is having somewhere safe to do it.

A young girl sitting on the side of the street doing her homework is a powerful image of determination, but it also highlights the barriers that many children face every day. The street should never have to become a child’s classroom.

For girls in Guatemala, those barriers can have a lasting impact. According to UNESCO data, only 51.6% of Guatemalan girls of the relevant age completed lower secondary education in 2024. Behind that statistic are thousands of girls with dreams, abilities and potential whose education can be disrupted by poverty, family pressures, unsafe communities and a lack of suitable places to study.

This is why education is such an important part of the preventative work supported by Street Kids Direct.

Our partner mentoring centres provide safe spaces where vulnerable children can study, receive help with their homework, access educational resources and benefit from the encouragement of trusted adults. Teams also work closely with families and schools to help children remain engaged with their education and overcome the challenges that might otherwise lead them to drop out.

For children growing up in high-risk communities, a mentoring centre offers much more than just a desk and a place to complete their homework. It provides stability, encouragement, positive role models and a place where children are continually reminded that their education and their future matter.

Education alone cannot remove every challenge a vulnerable child faces, but it can open doors that poverty and exclusion so often keep firmly closed.

A child willing to sit in the street to complete her homework already has determination.

Our work is to help ensure she also has an opportunity.