Newsflash Guatemala:
Aldea Infantil — a Symbol of Hope

Today’s head­lines rarely revolve around Guatemala. Yet, when we first learned about the living condi­tions there, the coun­try and its people touched our hearts. We regu­lar­ly receive reports on the Aldea Infan­til project we support there – and with them also news about the local situ­a­tion. It is most­ly the conflict between support­ers and oppo­nents of newly-elect­ed Pres­i­dent Aréva­lo that are current­ly bring­ing about turmoil and added danger. So insti­tu­tions like Aldea Infan­til gain even more impor­tance: as a safe haven – and a symbol for hope for a better world.

The Back­ground

On 25 June 2023, Guatemala held parl­la­ment and pres­i­den­tial elec­tions; a pres­i­den­tial run-off elec­tion followed on 20 August. Based on votes, Bernar­do Aréva­lo of social-demo­c­ra­t­ic party Movimien­to Semi­l­la won. Sandra Torres, his rival candi­date, had initial­ly held progres­sive posi­tions as well. After the first round of elec­tions, howev­er, she allied with right-wing cconser­v­a­tive and evan­gel­i­cal forces who are now making every effort to dispute the election’s outcome, with support from the ruling right-wing cconser­v­a­tive govern­ment under Pres­i­dent Alejan­dro Giammat­tei. With the help of the Attor­ney-Gener­al, they are attempt­ing to declare the winning party ille­gal and the peace­ful protests in their support criminal.

Support – Right Here, Right Now!

From a Euro­pean point of view, life in Guatemala appears incred­i­bly diffi­cult even under regu­lar circum­stances. Most chil­dren grow up in a world of pover­ty, violence, and with­out any perspec­tive. Current polit­i­cal conflicts are further fuelling these factors.

In the midst of all this disrup­tion and turmoil, the persis­tent work of the foun­da­tion proves that making a differ­ence is possi­ble. It instils hope in people to see how the chil­dren at Aldea Infan­til children’s village grow up in safe­ty with the chance to live their own fulfilled lives. This is also what moti­vates us here at Valdivia to never falter in our support. For even if our help is only good for a few – we believe it is worth it!

So, even with all the media reports on all the other conflicts in the world, let’s not forget about Guatemala. Every single person counts, and there is no future with­out chil­dren. We invite you today to join us in our support for Aldea Infan­til: Giving just one child a perspec­tive is a huge gain for both sides.

What is Need­ed Right Now – Actu­al, Hands-on Support:

For Aldea Infantil
Safe­ty cloth­ing for the students in the work­shops: 650.00 €

Fabrics and parts for sewing machines (tailor­ing): 675.00 €

Paint, spare parts (carpen­try): 700.00 €

Elec­tric culti­va­tor (farm­ing): 1,855.00 €

Pillows and blan­kets / comforters: 2,350.00 €

Text­books: 3,700.00 €

Weath­er-proof green­house: 4,100.00 €

La Esper­an­za Site

Wall paint for class­room: 385.00 €

Furni­ture for pre-school: 475.00 €

Freez­er:  585.00 €

Monrovia Site

Water tank for sani­tary facil­i­ties: 690.00 €

Teach­ing mate­ri­als for train­ings: 900.00 €

Audio-visu­al media for train­ings: 1,040.00 €

Back­board (basket­ball) and goals (foot­ball / soccer): 1,775.00 €

Stiftung Kinderzukun­ft (The Children’s Future Foundation)

Rabenaus­traße 1a, D‑63584 Grün­dau, Germany

Hans-Georg Bayer

Manag­ing Director

Fon +49 60 51 48 18 14

Fax +49 60 51 48 18 10

Email: hans-georg.bayer@kinderzukunft.de

Web: www.kinderzukunft.de 

Please kind­ly direct dona­tions to:

Commerzbank Hanau

IBAN: DE79 5064 0015 0222 2222 00

BIC: COBADEFFXXX

Please quote ”Valdivia Zukun­ft — Kinder­dorf Guatemala“ as a reference.

(Image sources: istock­pho­tos, Stiftung Kinderzukunft)