Like an emperor in the morning ...

a proper breakfast? For a lot of children in Guatemala this would be at a good start

“To have had enough food? I didn’t know that. Like many others I have been living in the streets and ate what we found in the garbage. It was never enough and we became sick. Through the breakfast project of the foundation Kinderzukunft (future for children) I came into the children's village. There I was able to attend school. Today I study medicine in Guatemala City. When I will be a doctor I will come back and help the children here.” Alvaro, 19 years. Alvaro was one of countless children who live in the highlands of Guatemala – malnourished and without any chances of education. Their expectation of life is limited. Through the breakfast projects of the foundation, in the children village as well as decentralized in the Quetzaltenango Department, hundreds were able to gain strength for a life without hardship. The foundation Kinderzukunft offers children food, a safe housing, and education and vocational training.

Background

A report of the World Food Program of the United Nations described the difficult situation in the highlands of Guatemala as following: rural poverty is concentrated in the highlands. Three forth of the rural population live below the poverty line. Poverty frequently correlates with geographic isolation and ethnic exclusion (WFP, 2005). People often suffer from the long-term consequences of malnourishment (WFP, 2005). One reason why improved and proper concepts of nourishment cannot be established is the uncertainty of the land rights. More than 40 percent of the economically active rural population do not own land, which exacerbates the bad basis for proper nourishment. The nutrition situation for children is accordingly catastrophically. With a deficiency syndrome they have difficulties to concentrate in school and their perspectives for a better future deteriorate. For all these children the foundation Kinderzukunft has built a children’s village 23 years ago near the city of Quetzaltenango. The children have a safe housing, healthy nourishment and medical treatment. Later they can attend school here as well as vocational training. Kitchen and health care center of the children’s village are even open for children of the poorest families in the whole area. In addition the foundation is implementing projects in especially needs villages to at least offer one proper meal a day for those children.

The good deed

The breakfast projects as well as other measures of long-term nourishment for the children are a first step of the comprehensive concept of help to self-help. With “frijoles” (local, especially nutrient-rich beans), egg, fruits, vegetables and rice milk the children will become healthy and strong for everything that follows after: The next steps are education, followed by vocational training for jobs where you can earn a living in Guatemala. Therewith they get the chance to finally escape poverty. The foundation Kinderzukunft is offering all that in Guatemala, in its own children’s village as well as in decentralized projects, where help is most needed. The nourishment is the condition that children can follow this way out of poverty.

Challenge

The children love coming to us, they come numerous because they know that they can come without any fears. The barrier is extremely low. A challenge is the sadness that we have to send so many children away because we do not have more to distribute. Only in the close neighborhood we could integrate many hundreds of children in our breakfast project just by tomorrow – if we only had the resources.