Impact Guatemala supports the people of La Pinada through a partnership with the Senderos de Luz (Path of Light) ministry. Much of the activity of Impact Guatemala centres around the newly-built community centre in La Pinada, which is used for social programs, including a vocational school that provides sewing classes for mothers, carpentry classes for maturing boys, art classes for children and young adults, and cooking classes for mothers that teach basic nutrition on a low income. The vocational school provides adequate training of life skills for individuals so they can find employment or sell their crafts, as well as providing nutritional education to improve overall quality of life. The program also includes a twice-weekly feeding program for local children living in poverty.
The programming was launched with local leader Hilmar Aroldo Avila Castellanos in the squatter community of La Pinada. iTeams partnered with Senderos de Luz in 2011 and have continued to work with them since to further develop programming and improve lives in this community.
This is one of the newest programs that International Teams has partnered with. As an intern, I will be monitoring the programming and gathering more information on what programs are happening, future goals and vision, and listening to stories of how lives have been transformed!