Plan Guatemala: what we do

Plan Guatemala works to help children, families and communities living in poverty through the following core areas:

• survival and development of children and adolescents
• healthy lifestyles and HIV prevention
• water and sanitation, environment and risk management
• learning for life
• child and youth participation
• protection for children and adolescents.

Over the past 3 years, Plan has agreed with the Ministry of Health to expand the coverage of health services to more communities and for it to gradually assume funding in the areas previously covered by Plan.

This year Plan’s focus is on working with communities to monitor and ensure they receive a quality health service – particularly for pregnant women and children under 5 years.

Læs resten her!

Plan Guatemala

Plan started working in Guatemala in 1978. 38,720 children in 640communities are now affiliated to Plan. They and their families - in total some 500,000 people - are benefiting from a sustainable approach to community development.

Plan has 6 programme units in 4 departaments: Alta and Baja Verapaz, Jalapa and Izabal, and works with groups ranging from people of Mayan origin, to sections of the mestizo population.

Plan's programmes, based on the Child Rights Convention, take an integral approach to the needs of children while acknowledging their changing requirements as they grown up.

Læs mere her!

Angelina Jolie meets Mayra a Guatemalan Youth Ambassador

Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations in London

It’s not every day you get to meet Angelina Jolie.

But for Mayra, a girl from Guatemala, she didn’t just ask for an autograph. Representing Guatemala in London at the Global Summit to End Sexual Violence in Conflict Situations in London,  Mayra shared her life experience as an indigenous girl in Guatemala, a country that suffered a 36-year civil war.

Læs mere her!

Case study: Drinking water arrives in remote Guatemala villages

Since 2007, Plan has built more than 2,400 water tanks for families in remote areas of Guatemala.

In the past, villagers had to walk for hours to fetch water from springs and rivers. Thanks to Plan, families now have a simple but innovative system that collects and filters rain water in their villages.

In Alta Verapaz, the project was so successful that the local government has decided to invest US$8,000,000 over 5 years to replicate the tanks throughout the region.

Watch the video to see how the system works.

Malnutrition in Guatemala

A beautiful country known for its Mayan pyramids and rich coffee, Guatemala also has one of the highest malnutrition rates in the world. Nearly half of all children under five are affected, and that number increases in the rural areas where Plan works, especially among girls, who are three times as likely as their brothers to be malnourished.

Often, it isn’t that children don’t get enough to eat, it’s that they don’t get the right foods with micronutrients, like iron and vitamin A. For mothers who are poor and living in remote areas, providing a nutritious, varied diet is a daily challenge. And without an education and frequently malnourished themselves, many women simply don’t know how to avoid malnutrition in their children.

Læs mere her!

600,000 children affected by Guatemala earthquake

Plan is providing specialist psychosocial teams to help children affected by a powerful earthquake that shook cities in four areas on Guatemala's southwest Pacific coast. It is estimated that more than 600,000 children have been affected by this earthquake.

The earthquake, measuring 7.2 on the Richter Scale (IX on the Modified Mercalli Scale) has affected 1.2 million people, killed more than 50 and damaged over 2,200 homes and seven schools according to early assessments.

Læs mere her!

Voldsomt jordskælv i Guatemala

Et kraftigt jordskælv, målt til 7,2 på richterskalaen, har ramt 1,2 millioner børn og deres familier i det sydvestlige Guatemala. Det kraftigste skælv i årtier har dræbt 52 mennesker og ødelagt mere end 2.200 huse.

Plan er til stede og samarbejder med lokale specialister i nødhjælp for at finde ud af, hvilke behov de berørte børn og voksne har. Indtil videre er vi i fuld gang med at støtte centre til husly, så de, der har mistet deres hjem og ejendele, kan få tag over hovedet. På centrene fokuserer vi især på børnebeskyttelse, så børnene kan komme bedst muligt igennem naturkatastrofen bl.a. med hjælp fra psykologer.