In the western part of Guatemala there's a beautiful lake called Lago de Atitlan that has had a lot of economical problems due to the poverty of the area as well as all the damage that different hurricanes have caused to the region. San Juan La Laguna is one of the little and charming towns of the area that used to have one of the highest levels of children malnutrition in Guatemala. For that reason, Fundación Quetzal started in 1997 to work in the town to help the children have a better life.
The initial purpose of the Foundation was to create a school to work on children's education, but once there they realized that what the kids really needed was food. So they decided to create a Children Community Kitchen, so all the kids with needs in the town have at least one meal a day. Once they had that covered, they started with other projects, like San Juan's hospital that is now being constructed or giving food to other small towns in the area.
One of the main aims of the foundation is to help but not to give anything for free. The families have to pay a very low fee for every child that goes to the Comedor and they have to work there at least once a week, preparing the children's meal. By doing that they can teach the families some nutritional values while their kids grow healthy.
It might seem something insignificant, but Fundación Quetzal has really changed San Juan in a very positive way, so much that many Guatemaltecans we met during our trip told us that the little village has nothing to do with the village from 15 years ago.
If you want to know more about Fundación Quetzal, its projects and how to contribute to their cause, you can visit their website (in Spanish).
Here you have some pictures of the Children's Community Kitchen. Enjoy!
Nice job, Fundación Quetzal!
ReplyDeleteAwesome Blog! You rock!
ReplyDeleteYour pictures are amazing as always. We can see all the joy those kids are carrying even if they have nothing.
ReplyDelete