Benjamin Sywulka

COUNTRY: Guatemala

PROGRAM: Casa del Alfarero (Potter’s House)

LOCATION: Guatemala City

SPONSORSHIP OF PROGRAM:
Guatemalan and International Donors

HISTORY OF PROGRAM:          
Founded in 1986 by two Guatemalan women.  The organization provides education, food, health care, family and community development to “scavengers” in Guatemala City’s Dump.

APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF CHILDREN SERVED:  200/yr.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHILDREN SERVED:
0-18 yrs. on average; usually children who live in and off of the City Dump.

HOW CHILDREN ARE RECRUITED/SELECTED:
Visitation to homes, public school, children already in the program.

PROGRAM SERVICES:
1. Education: Family education for parents, High School classes for teens, tutoring for kids.
2. Basic Needs: Health clinic, meals, clothing.
3. Personal Development: helping kids pursue long term education, helping adults with their education and income generation.

FINANCIAL BASIS OF PROGRAM:
Funding from Guatemalan and International donors, including individuals businesses and churches.

PHILOSOPHY OR APPROACH:
Seeks to offer Opportunities for Scavengers to achieve their maximum potential as human beings, through personal, family and community development, providing basic humanitarian needs and providing resources and tools for them, so that by this process, the scavengers can solve their problems.

They believe that Scavengers suffer from 8 types of poverty: spiritual, intellectual, affection, will, physical, solidarity, civic involvement and economic.

SPECIAL FEATURES:
Tries to get people living in and off of the City Dump to abandon their “scavenger” lifestyle and develop to their full potential.  Works with adults, teens and kids, providing education specific to their needs, health care, tools and resources for moving on from a garbage dependent lifestyle and occasionally material goods, meals.  Specifically for kids, it provides lunches, school uniform, shoes, school materials, tutoring and tries to work with the parents to improve the children’s home situation.  Provides micro-enterprise loans, and tries to foster community development.  Provides relief in emergencies (i.e. dump fires).

WEBSITE:  http://www.e-pottershouse.org