Sponsor a Child Today

Angel makes his home with his mother. Running errands is his household duty. His mother is sometimes employed as a laborer.

Soccer, art and bicycling are Angel's favorite activities. In kindergarten his performance is average and he also regularly attends Bible class.

Please remember Angel in your prayers. Your love and support will help him to receive the assistance he needs to grow and develop.

Angel lives on the plains of Aldea El Rosario, home to approximately 2,200 residents. Typical houses are constructed of dirt floors, mud walls and corrugated iron roofs. The most commonly spoken language is Spanish.

The regional diet consists of maize and beans. Common health problems in this area include parasites, malnutrition and vision problems. Most adults in Aldea El Rosario work as day laborers and earn the equivalent of $105 per month. This community has water and electricity but needs vocational training centers.

Your sponsorship allows the staff of Nueva Visión Student Center to provide Angel with Bible teaching, recreational activities, social events, academic support and nutritious lunches. The center staff will also provide meetings and educational workshops for the parents or guardians of Angel.

Dotted with Mayan ruins, lakes and volcanoes, Guatemala is one of the most beautiful places in Central America. Mountains and rugged highlands dominate its landscape in the west. The Pacific plain is a narrow belt between mountains and ocean. In the southern highlands, the most populous region is Guatemala City and to the north is jungle. The country is slightly smaller than the state of Tennessee.

Approximately half the country's 13 million people are Amerindian or Mayan, including 21 indigenous groups. Most of the people still live in small farming villages growing corn, coffee, sugar and beans as their ancestors did. They are world-famous for their intricate handmade textiles of brilliant colors in red, yellow, blue and purple. It is estimated that more than two-thirds of the country's children live in poverty. The country's official language is Spanish but more than 20 languages are spoken by various indigenous communities. Guatemalans are predominantly Catholic; about 40 percent are Protestants and a small percentage follow traditional Mayan religions. Compassion works within nearly every department in the country.

Much like many of its neighbors in Central America, Guatemala has a history riddled with warfare, coups and economic struggles. Two thousand years before Christ until the early 1500s, the great Mayan empire flourished throughout much of Guatemala. The Spanish conquered the area in 1524, but in 1821, the country gained independence from Spain. Since then, Guatemala's politics have been marked by rivalries and insurgencies. After a series of coups, short-lived rulers and ever-increasing protest and repression, civil war erupted in the 1960s. Several attempts have been made to end the decades-old disputes, the most recent of which was the 1996 signing of peace accords by the government, leftist guerrillas and other factions. Despite Guatemala's troubled history, the country enjoys freedom of speech and religion and continues to have a Constitutional Democratic Republic.