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An insider view of Escuintla

Escuintla | Guatemala

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ESCUINTLA WEATHER

Highlights

Guatemala Update with Corbey Dukes

Guatemala Update with Corbey Dukes We hosted a virtual “family meeting” on June 10 with Country Director Corbey Dukes and …

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Kids Alive COVID-19 response for our residential homes

RESIDENTIAL HOMES Kids Alive is responding to the COVID-19 pandemic by doing all we can to keep our residential kids …

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Did You Know?

The marimba is the national instrument and its music is heard widely in the country

Fuego, one of four active volcanoes in the country, erupted in 2018, killing nearly 200 people

The 2nd half of the 20th century was marked by civil war in Guatemala, ending in 1996

Over 90% of the population speaks Spanish, but there are more than 20 Mayan/indigenous languages spoken, mostly in rural areas

Much of the local cuisine is based on traditional Mayan foods, but street food, “antojitos,” are also popular, with ingredients such as tamales, fried plantains, and black beans


God is working in
Escuintla!

Please pray for...

Healing for survivors and healthy family restoration

Wisdom as we navigate the legal system in pursuit of justice for abusers

Strength and rest for our dedicated staff

Continued protection and health, knowing that while the threat of COVID-19 will eventually retreat, recovery from its impact will be more long term

Prayer requests updated 6/2020

About Escuintla

victims assisted in one year
abusers being prosecuted
abusers sentenced
%
arrest/conviction rate for the abuser (compared to 7% nationally)

Escuintla "Families Together" Care Center provides comprehensive care to young victims of sexual violence. The girls who come to us for help have been referred to our program by a judge, and we offer them physical, psychological, spiritual, and legal support.

Trauma-informed therapy is critical to helping these girls process what has happened to them and begin the healing process. Our trained staff works in partnership with legal experts to prepare them to face their abusers and seek justice on their behalf. And we provide educational support, knowing that quality academics are a vital component of breaking cycles of poverty and violence.

Our work is yielding tremendous fruit! In one year, 49 victims have been assisted, 50 abusers are being prosecuted and six have been sentenced. We are the only faith-based organization invited to join a group of 17 organizations in the Escuintla department to work on better processes and care for sexual abuse victims.

In the coming months, we hope to provide the necessary therapy and support that will allow for healing and family reunification when it is safely possible. An important element of our work is to make a positive impact on the legal system, recommending best practices that avoid revictimization and promoting children’s rights. The work before us can be exhausting, but our great God is using Escuintla as a Light in some of the darkest corners of Guatemala.

  • All of our girls have endured sexual abuse, often by a relative or other person known to the girl’s family
  • Babies whose mothers leave our program often need long-term care at La Arquilla before adoption takes place
  • There is a desperate need for intensive trauma-focused therapy to allow Guatemalan girls to begin to process and heal from what they have endured
  • Few abusers in this region ever face justice, and our efforts to pursue legal action on behalf of our girls represent a monumental task

Escuintla makes a difference!

Poverty and violence are often intertwined with systematic injustice. Our primary work at Escuintla Care Center is focused on rescuing and restoring young victims of sexual abuse placed in our care by judges. Sexual abuse and exploitation are common here, and the vast majority of perpetrators go unpunished. Not only is Kids Alive committed to helping these precious girls heal from traumatic abuse, but we are also driven to seek justice on their behalf, partnering with the Guatemalan government and International Justice Mission to make systematic improvements so that all children are treated more justly.

Through His work in our staff, God has allowed us to be innovators in foster care, family reintegration, and comprehensive care for victims of sexual violence.

Kids Alive in Guatemala

children in Kids Alive programs
dedicated Kids Alive staff
+
families served in our Families Together program

Guatemala Country Director's Update

Planting a Living Hope in Guatemala!

Once again, we greet you in the name of Jesus from the ministries of Kids Alive in Guatemala!
I want to thank you for being a part of planting hope in Guatemala this year. We rejoice that this is not simply a hope for escaping poverty or abuse or for a better career – you are planting the living hope (1 Pet. 1:3) in their lives which means an eternity with the One who loves them!

It’s been amazing to see God opening doors for the ministry here to influence not just the children we serve but the entire country. They are benefiting from your care in ways that go far beyond their individual cases, and these ripples increase every year.

The prophet Amos wrote that we should “hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice.” It is a privilege for me to lead a team that hates evil. How I love seeing the staff at Oasis, Arquilla, Casa Ester, Source of Hope, and Escuintla Care Center “love what is good” as they lead hurting children to a loving and good Father.

In the coming year, we will implement a pilot program and outfit a dedicated space at Escuintla that will reduce the number of times a sexually abused child must tell her story. Currently 14 different people interview her, causing her trauma to multiply, and our goal is to reduce this to one. We are also working to strengthen the ministry at Casa Ester for young women who, because of special needs, require supervised care beyond the age most ministries can provide.

At Source of Hope School, where heavy rains mixed with volcanic ash from last fall’s eruption of Fuego has made life even more difficult for this community, we continue to plant living hope
in the lives of impoverished children. One of our joys this year is that 67 of
our kids are participating in voluntary after-school discipleship classes,
demonstrating their hunger for the truth of God’s Word.

Because of your support, children and families are being introduced to Jesus each day. He gives them a new identity and we help them learn new ways to respond to the world based on that identity. And we are working hard to turn the courts of Guatemala into “true halls of justice,” helping to make all children here safer.

Thank you for all the ways you help Kids Alive
plant living hope in the lives of children.

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Corbey Dukes
Country Director
Guatemala

Learn About Guatemala
  • Population of over 17 million, with many living in extreme poverty
  • Despite being the largest economy in Central America, Guatemala is one of the poorest countries in Latin America
  • Most indigenous Guatemalans are of Mayan ancestry
  • Among the highest infant mortality rates in Latin America, and too few doctors for the population
  • Our groundbreaking foster family program, in partnership with the government, is providing a way to give many kids a real family

Rejoice with us, and praise God for...

  • The baptism of 17 girls at Oasis and Casa Ester this summer, displaying the redemptive work of God in their lives
  • Recognition by the Guatemalan Supreme Court for Kids Alive’s work in restorative justice, moving children from residential to family care
  • 67 children at Source of Hope School participating in voluntary after-school discipleship classes