Through a mandate from the Guatemalan government declared on March 14, all school programs in the country were suspended to stop the spread of COVID-19. This, unfortunately, includes our programming at Safe Passage/Camino Seguro. The Guatemala City garbage dump has also been closed. For many of our families, this is their only source of income.
Our staff and faculty have been working tirelessly in the last couple of weeks to find creative ways to support our students and families from a safe distance and within government restrictions.
We are very pleased to share that last week, we were able to distribute food and supply bags to our community. Over the course of two days, we distributed 400 bags from our temporarily opened Colegio facility.
Our staff, social workers and security staff volunteered to distribute food/supply bags in individual Colegio classrooms for limited hours each day.
They also gave out vouchers to local bodegas and markets where families can purchase their own food and supplies (these vouchers will be valid for the week of Semana Santa/Holy Week so that folks do not experience food insecurity during those days).
Lastly, thanks to the hard work of our teaching staff, we will also include homework packets along with these supplies.
In line with government protocols, we ensured the safety of our staff members and families while distributing items. Our staff was trained and equipped for the task, having received facemasks and alcohol/gel sanitizer on arrival.
We asked families to stay one meter apart and allow no more than 10 individuals, with only one family representative, at a time to receive their parcels. Before entering the facility, each individual had their temperature checked.
Thanks to the hard work of our staff, faculty, and security team, we were able to distribute every food and supply bag, vouchers, and homework bags.
And thanks to the help of supporters like you, our families will not face food insecurity nor a lack of educational resources.
How can you help? Visit our donation page and select “COVID-19” relief to give a gift that will help ensure we can continue to provide these necessary items to our families.