Guatemalan Child Sponsorships Needed for 2009 School Year
Once upon a time, I was the American Director for a school in Guatemala. I left knowing I'd continue to be involved with education and helping the Mayans around Lake Atitlan. Globally Minded Works, Inc. was created to help support education through sponsorships of students, teachers and schools. It is my hope that we can raise enough money to support several impoverished schools and families in the Highlands in Guatemala.
The school year in Guatemala is from January to October and young children go to elementary school in the afternoon and older students attend middle school in the afternoon. During November and December, many Mayan children help their parents harvest coffee beans for export. Many Guatemalan Mayans are very poor and struggle greatly to send their older children to middle school as they are responsible for paying tuition and books. Elementary school is compulsory and free, though most schools are in dire need of everything, including school supplies and an adequate building.
Schools around Lake Atitlan are in varying degree of need. Yet, most, if not all, are in need of ongoing support as the communities are poor and the schools don't get enough help (if at all) from the government. Teacher salaries are always in jeopardy and it not uncommon for salaries to be withheld for several months at a time! Globally Minded Works seeks to partner with communities in Guatemala, one child, one teacher, one school at a time.
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The Question of Guatemalan Adoptions
In 2007, nearly 5,000 Guatemalan babies were adopted by Americans. In recent months, however, Guatemalan adoptions have come under enormous scrutiny due to allegations of child-trafficking. As a result, Guatemala signed the Hague Convention on January 1, 2008, in order to "clean up" their adoption procedures and protect the rights of children and their parents. The Hague Convention on Intercountry Adoption (HCICA) was launched in the Netherlands in 1993, as part of an initiative to standardize adoption laws amongst participating nations. On April 1, 2008, the US will sign the Hague Convention and, if Guatemala has not reformed their adoption system by then, the US will no longer approve of Guatemalan adoptions.
Child adoptions have become a major business in Guatemala, averaging $30,000 for each adoption. In addition, it is highly unregulated, thus the concern for child-trafficking and allegations of child abductions and selling.
According to an editorial in the LA Times, The Adoption Quandry by Elizabeth Larsen, there is much concern over the ethics of Guatemalan adoptions:
The larger ethical issue has been the role of buscadoras, recruiters hired by Guatemalan adoption lawyers to search for pregnant women willing to relinquish babies, in some cases offering them money. As the demand for babies has grown, so has the power of the buscadoras; to connect a lawyer to a pregnant mother, they demand up to $8,000. Meanwhile, Guatemalan children who have no living parents, who aren't infants or who have special needs constitute only a tiny fraction of completed adoptions.
Guatemalan adoptions have come under question with these types of corruption and activities in mind. In order to protect the rights of children and their parents, the Hague Convention stipulates that child adoption abide by the following processes:
- Family preservation - It is considered best for the child to remain with their own family.
- Extended family adoptions - Every attempt should be made to keep the children within the extended family, if staying with biological family is impossible.
- Adoption within Guatemala - Inter-country adoption is the next preferred step in the adoption process.
- International adoption - Foreign adoptions are considered a last resort.
One of the primary goals of Globally Minded Works, is to provide sponsorships for children so they can go to school, providing economic support to families so their child(ren) can go to school. We believe that Guatemalan children should remain with their families as well, and not be given to adoption, unless absolutely imperative and necessary for the welfare of the child. We hope that our sponsorship program will help to keep families intact, while empowering children through learning.
What do you think?
Support Development in Guatemala
Education is fundamental to empowering the poor in Guatemala, as well as other countries around this small globe. In time, we will post stories and information about the villages and schools we support on our website, through the kind and generous donations of people like you. Once we obtain our tax exemption status, we will seek donors and invite them to get to know their sponsored student, teacher and community in Guatemala. We won't twist arms about it, as we know people are busy, but at least the option and opportunity is available for donors to get more involved.
Clean drinking water and fuel efficient stoves are two other initiatives we seek to provide for the Mayan families around Lake Atitlan. We are looking for partners to make this a reality, including donors and in-kind donations. Clean water is a necessity for all people yet many around these communities can't afford clean water. Many have to walk long distances to get bottled water, if they can afford it, while many continue to drink water that is polluted and toxic. As a result, many have intestinal and stomach problems. Fuel efficient stoves are warranted as the traditional open fires cause serious respiratory problems as well as require a large amount of wood. Please consider helping us with these initiatives and projects.
We have trusted partners and volunteers on the ground to help us support schools and communities. In addition, we work with the local leaders to support our initiatives, knowing that their buy-in is critical to our success in each community.
We incorporated Globally Minded Works in April 2007 and are waiting for our official 501c3 tax exemption approval from the IRS. Meanwhile, will you consider placing our banner on your website and promoting our work on your blog or website? Tell you friends, colleagues, and church about Globally Minded Works and consider joining us as we impact the lives of children and communities in Guatemala.