Guatemala Profile

Volunteer playing with a child in Guatemala

In Guatemala, your campus club will work together on a community-led initiative in one of the world's most diverse and historically-rich nations. Your club can support at-risk children from large families who live in under-resourced areas such as the Guatemala City dump, or help to provide care, companionship, and a better quality of life for elderly members of the community.

Guatemala City, Guatemala

Location: Central America, bordering Mexico, Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador
Population: 2.5 million
Interesting Fact: Largest and most diverse city in Central America
# CCS Volunteers to Date: Over 1400 since 2003

Though known primarily for its Mayan roots and vibrant culture, Guatemala has many layers and represents many cultures. Guatemala City is the economic, governmental, and cultural capital of the nation. Its population includes a wide spectrum of people, from Mayan descent (Indígena) to European descent (Ladino). There is a marked socio-economic divide between the larger, often poverty-stricken, Mayan community and the smaller, middle-class Ladino community.

The city has seen increased migration from the countryside over the past 30 years, due to earthquakes causing families to relocate from smaller villages and the country’s 36-year civil war, which forced families to leave devastated rural communities. In addition to the city’s 2.5 million residents, there are many daily travelers commuting from faraway towns for work, resources, and social services that can’t be found in more rural areas.

Why Volunteer in Guatemala City

Though Guatemala’s civil war ended in 1995, the violence and devastation had many long-lasting effects from which the country is still recovering. Progress has been limited by high illiteracy rates, low school enrollment, insufficient health services, and access to clean water. Government support, infrastructure, and urban planning has not been able to keep up with high birth rates and the continuous influx of people into the city, so many residents go without access to critical social services, including education. In many cases, both young children and elderly people do not receive the individual attention and care they need.

Since 2003, CCS staff and volunteers have provided ongoing support to community-led organizations and schools striving to provide critical services to the population. Your campus club can join these efforts by:

• Providing Elder Care  
  Create a better quality of life for marginalized elderly people in the community who may have been neglected because their families could not care for them.
• Promoting Childhood Development  
  Help to provide the one-on-one attention and positive role models children need to have a successful start.

Learn more about volunteering in Guatemala City with CCS.