La Esperanza, Quetzaltenango
La Esperanza http://www.upavim.org/about-us/la-esperanza
Our community, La Esperanza, which means Hope, is a squatter settlement located to the south of Guatemala City in the area of Mezquital. The community of La Esperanza and the nearby communities were established by an invasion of approximately 40,000 people in 1984. These neighborhoods began in the 80′s with the arrival of people displaced from rural areas during Guatemala's 42-year Civil War.Today there are five settlements in our area; Mezquital, Villa Lobos I, Villa Lobos II, El Bucaro and La Jolla. Even though our group is located in La Esperanza, we help people from other nearby communities in our medical clinics and schools. La Esperanza has more than 5000 citizens, and the neighboring communities have tens of thousands more.
Since its creation, La Esperanza has changed from being a squatter settlement with shacks made from scraps of tin, plastic, wood and cardboard, and lacking a sewage system, electricity and potable water, to a viable community with cement block houses, underground sewage pipes and other basic services. These improvements were carried out with support from international organizations such as UNICEF and the active participation of the population. At the same time, new squatter settlements have arisen on the margins of the established communities due to the poverty in the countryside and in the communities themselves.
Without a doubt, La Esperanza continues to suffer from many of the social problems that characterize marginalized populations like delinquent and gang violence, discrimination against women, domestic violence, alcoholism, drug addiction, illiteracy, unemployment, child and adult malnutrition, the lack of health services, child abuse, and the lack of sufficient schools for our children. As a result depression, fear and apathy amongst our population flourishes.
With the extreme poverty that characterizes La Esperanza we find many mothers, including ourselves, whose families have disintegrated and they are sole supporters of their family. Out of necessity, they must leave their younger children alone at home, with neighbors or older relatives, or to wander around by themselves in the streets, in order to make a living. Lacking in financial resources, proper supervision and basic community services impedes the optimal growth as well as mental and physical development of our children. We are working towards improving these problems.
La Esperanza | |
|---|---|
Municipality and town | |
| Country |  Guatemala |
| Department | Quetzaltenango |
| Time zone | UTC+6 (Central Time) |
La Esperanza is a municipality in the Quetzaltenango department of Guatemala. The surface is 32 km2 at 2465 m altitude.
