THANK YOU!

Dear supporter of Guatemala Children’s Project. I would like to personally thank you for your generous contributions over this past year. Much good has been done and the lives of the children that have been abandoned in the orphanage have been changed forever. It is truly something to feel good about.

Guillermo and Mandy are currently managing, directing and running the orphanage 100% on their own. If you would like to contact them for any reason their contact information is. Info.gozo@gmail.com Niños de Guatemala hogar 03 avenida 05-68 zona 1 Quintas los Aposentos Chimaltenango, Guatemala 7839-2060.

We have transitioned away from the day to day involvement with the orphanage, still I am confident that the children are being cared for and are certainly much better off than so many others that are much less fortunate.

Also, we have been asked to help another organization with a most urgent need. Semillas de amour is a new orphanage under construction in the mountains near lake Atitlan. They have purchased property and erected a perimeter wall and the main building has been constructed with others in progress. They expect to have authorization to begin receiving children soon. We have already donated bunk beds, furniture and much needed supplies. We anticipate helping with future construction projects there. They have also initiated a community outreach program to help new mothers and infants who are unable to nurse, mostly because of malnutrition. When these mothers can’t produce breast milk the infants will die because of the lack of availability of formula.

We have been asked to help provide the necessary formula and have begun to do so. We would like to be able to continue to make a difference in this impoverished community. They are also currently providing lunch at the local school twice per week as most of the children do not live close and subsequently go without. It would be great to be able to help provide lunch every school day.

Now with our ability to help various organizations, when you help with donations I would like to ask you to please let us know where you would like your donation to go specifically. We feel a great responsibility to use your money to benefit the children of Guatemala exactly how you would like to. You can indicate which of the three projects you’d like to support.

Niños de Guatemala Hogar orphanage.
Semillas de amor orphanage.
Malnutrition community outreach program.
If you would like for us to determine where it is most needed you can indicate that or simply not specify and that is what we will do.

Again, thank you so much for your financial support. You are making a difference on the front lines where it is needed most.



Ken Mangum

GUATEMALA CHILDRENS PROJECT

THIS IS AN INTERESTING ARTICLE ON WHAT THESE CHILDREN FACE ON A DAILY BASIS;
Click on the image below or paste the link below in your browser.



http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/charity-news/guatemalachildrenfoodcrisis.htm

Update

UPDATE: Guatemala Children's Project is expanding our reach. In an effort to help more children in Guatemala we are working with orphanages, schools and organizations that are in need of assistance. We are in the process of relocating our volunteer house to better serve the children we are helping. Because of this our "Volunteer Program" has been put on hold until further notice. We hope to have it going again sometime early 2010. Check back here for the latest news. If you are interested in volunteering in the future you may contact Debbie Clark (click on her name to send an email) for more details.

Volunteer Program posted by Debbie Clark

Guatemala Children's Project is proud to announce the introduction of the “Volunteer Program” for the first time this year. We currently have three young women from CANADA.....Gina Primivera, Emily Schnoor and Becky Smith, who have selfishly given up their summer to come and volunteer their time to the children of “Niños De Guatemala”. All three girls arrived May 14, along with Kevin Callahan, President of the Board. We were so fortunate to have Mike and Ken Mangum (Board members) arrive a few days earlier and worked to get the Volunteer House clean and ready for the girl’s arrival. We are so fortunate to have these men on the Board.

I arrived Sunday, May 17th. I was there to train and teach the girls their “daily” responsibilities. Volunteering is a very hard job to do at times. You have to get up early everyday, be prepared with projects, games, etc...for the children. All at the same time teaching them to brush their teeth, clean their rooms and do chores. Oh...and give one on one attention...the kids LOVE attention. Even the babies demand your attention. Most days the volunteers are exhausted when it is time to leave. I can tell you while I was there seeing the girls in action, the joy, love and attention they gave non-stop, was amazing. They had to learn quickly and even do things that they have never done before. Oh...did I mention the girls are also responsible to keep the Volunteer House clean at all times. They cook their own meals, shop for food, wash their own clothes and keep track of all donations that are being taken up to the orphanage house. They have had to learn a lot of things in such a short period of time. The children oh my goodness....LOVE the girls...they don't like it if the girls are not there...the girls do get a day off once a week...to do site seeing, shop for souvenirs or if they want...just SLEEP all day.

Through the remainder of the summer we will have two other volunteers join the first three girls... Jamie Robinson from St. George, Utah and Rebecca Hainey from Washington, DC. Their journey will just begin...but, I have three girls who can teach them the ropes. As I left to go home to my family, Monday, June 1st…I felt like a mother who didn't have to walk her children to school anymore....they were ready to be on their own. We have been so blessed to have these three girls in our program. THANK YOU girls.

Baby update

We are missing Joséctio since he went home, the orphanage is not the same without him. It was so much fun how much he was starting to talk and walk. But being home is what´s best for him.

Alejandra is learning to talk a little. She can say mama and papa and si and no. She is so much fun to play with and she laughs a lot.

Levi is starting to learn how to crawl and he can sit up all by himself now. He looks different with all his top teeth in. His mom came today and told us that she wants to keep him here until he is 18 years old. She says he has been raised here his whole life and he will have a better life here, where we will be able to take good care of
him and provide him with an education.

José is still as wild as ever. He is also going through this phase where he likes to take off his shoes and socks and walk around barefoot. Every chance he gets he takes them off. Also he has turned into an eating machine. As soon as he wakes up the first
thing he asks for is food. Whenever someone has food, even if José isn´t around, as soon as they open the package José magically appears asking for some. He is always eating.

Brandon is still doing great and still loves his music and singing. He is getting along well with the other kids and he loves having his sister here.

We took them all to the swimming pool the other day. It was a blast. José and Brandon had a ton of fun on the slides and swimming around. I took Alejandra into the water and she hated it. She cried and cried until I took her out. She spent most of the day playing in the shade. Levi loved the water. I swam around with him for hours and he never got tired of it. It was a lot of fun.

New update from Mandy

Here is the latest update for you on the babies. This one is going to
have to be a bit quick...

Josécito went home to his family yesterday. It was really sad to see him go but I can tell his dad has changed and they all seemed really happy. I am glad for him and I hope he has a better life.

Alejandra is doing great and we are starting to teach her how to walk.

Levi is starting to sit up on his own. All of his top teeth have come in.

José is starting to talk more and more. He is learning to say the names of animals. I have a hard time getting him to pronounce things properly. I can tell he understands what I´m saying when I talk to him but he isn´t able to form the words. I am
going to have to start working with him a little more to get him talking.

Brandon is still a ton of fun. His family came to visit the other day and that was nice.

Baby update

This an update from Mandy of the babies at the orphanage.

Josécito has learned some more words and the other day we taught him how to wave. Now when someone leaves the room we tell him goodbye and he waves to us. Also this week Aury and I were walking with him and he took his first steps by himself. It was pretty exciting. He will be walking soon.

Alejandra is starting to talk a little as well, she can say mama and papa. Lately she has started to scrunch her nose when she smiles and it is the most adorable thing ever. She has the cutest laugh.

Levi is pretty content. I am trying to teach him to sit up on his own. I have been noticing that whenever we play with him and stand him up it is hard to get him to bend his legs to sit down. He keeps them straight.

José loves trouble. But he is so affectionate and loves to give hugs. I taught him how to give butterfly kisses the other day and he loves it. Yesterday I put the radio on in the kitchen while I was cleaning and when José heard it he came running in and we danced around the kitchen. It was really cute.

Brandon is doing great, he is always happy and cheerful. We have a lot of fun with him. He loves it when we put on his music, Vicente Fernandez. He says it reminds him of his dad. He is always asking us to play it for him. The teacher took him swimming the other day and he had a blast.

There haven´t been any updates on the adoption laws. It is really too bad, because I know that there are good families that want to adopt the kids we have who will never go home.

Fun Kids- Post by Mandy

Wednesday, February 18, 2009

This last week has been crazy...

The other day one of Guillermo´s kids, Mangy, drew ALL over Brandon´s and Jose´s faces and bodies with a permanent marker, then drew all over herself. It took me hours to scrub them all clean. At first I was mad, but Brandon and Jose thought it was so funny that I had to laugh too.

Last week someone in the ward here who sells diapers for his job gave us a call and told us that he would donate however many diapers we want or need every month. He also wanted to have a little party for all the kids in the orphanage with a piñata and cake and everything. So on Monday morning we were rushing to get all 15 kids and 6 babies and all the things we needed to bring ready, which was slightly stressful. Well, right as we were ready to leave (a little bit late), Brandon came up to me with a huge wad of gum in his hair. So it took us about another half an hour to get all the gum out and in the end we ended up having to cut all his hair off, poor kid.

Yesterday, we all made ice cream out of coconut and put them in little plastic bags to freeze. When they were done we gave one to each of the kids. Jose ate all of his ice cream...and he also ate the plastic bag.

The house is a little stressful sometimes with so many kids... but they are fun!

Monte Ricco- Post by Mandy

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Yesterday we took all the kids in the orphanage to the beach, Monte Ricco. It was so much fun. The kids loved the the waves. I even took a couple of the babies into the water and they loved it. Levi didn´t have too much fun, it was pretty hot for him and he got sand in his diaper, but I gave him some watermelon and he was pretty content. I spent most of the time in the water with Jose, he loved the waves and he would stand there and hold my hands and wait for the waves, then he would scream and laugh when the wave came in. We gave Alejandra ice cream for the first time, and she loved it. By the time we went home she was covered in ice cream and sand. After we had played in the water for awhile, we all had a big game of soccer and by the end of the day the kids were all so tired that they fell asleep in the back of the car on the way home.

Christmas- Post by Mandy

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Christmas was so much fun! I had such a good time with the kids. It was cool to spend Christmas with them. We had a big supper and we invited a family that was reunited a little while ago, the two children, Anita and Geovany, were two of the first children in the orphanage. It was so good to see them again. After supper we had a piñata and we hung it out in the street and broke it with all the neighbour kids and did fireworks. After that, at midnight, we went up to the Christmas Tree and opened presents. The kids were so excited to see their gifts. I missed my family a lot, and it was hard to be away from them, but was a good Christmas.

THANK YOU!!!!

We are extremely grateful to Cody and Debbie Clark for funding the costs it took to fix little Jose's 4 teeth. They were infected and desperately needed to be pulled, and has since had them pulled and capped. He is now a much happier boy and cries less because his pain has subsided. We are so glad there are kind people willing to fix a little boy's mouth to improve his quality of life.
THANK YOU!!!!!