Building Resilience for Kids of Lake Atitlán

Who We Are

Camino Canicas is a grassroots initiative focused on providing trauma-informed expressive arts education to build resilience in the Indigenous communities of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. We create a safe space for children (3 to 11yrs) from under-resourced families affected by trauma, neglect and addiction.

What We Do

Using psychosomatic and mindfulness practices we create developmentally appropriate activities. The program offers emotional intelligence training, art, stories, ritual and play. Through this program the children develop positive memories, learn to express themselves, self-regulate and become more resilient and well adjusted.

Who We Help

This diverse collective consists of children from the Tzʼutujil and Kaqchikel indigenous communities, many of whom are struggling with loss of a parent or a sibling, physical and emotional violence, poverty, addiction, and natural disasters around Lake Atitlán, Guatemala.

Often serving children leads to holistically serving the family, providing council tools and support for the parents who are also struggling with the dynamics that oppress the children.

Working with diversity and different levels of privilege, the collective builds healthy bridges and social dynamics between the local children and children of travelers & expats, therefore strengthening the collaborative bonds in the community. The group expressive arts therapy sessions provide a safe space for children to integrate their trauma and life stories.

Meet Kanika, Founder

Kanika is a soulcentric educator and mentor and has spent the last 20 years working at the intersection of art, youth, and social change. She was born and raised in New Delhi, India, and pursued her bachelors in Social and Behavioral Sciences at Soka University in California with a post-graduation in Dance Movement Therapy in Spain.

A seasoned shapeshifter and bridge builder, Kanika has a gift for clueing into the needs of a community and responding in culturally sensitive ways. Her experience includes working in India developing Bridge Programs for rural & urban youth, Arts for Social Change programs for adolescents, embodiment and sex education programs for young girls from at-risk neighborhoods. She led integration programs for refugee women in Spain, along with bringing the expressive arts to classrooms in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Kanika has taught embodied leadership courses at the University of Valdivia, Chile, and Psychosomatic Approaches to Peace-building at the UN University for Peace in Costa Rica,

She is currently living in an an indigenous community in Guatemala, working with under-resourced children and families and is dedicated to establishing a safe learning container for the children and families she serves.

Where the Proceeds Go

What you donate allows our collective to provide ongoing support for children and their families by providing a safe and reliable space for sessions, organizing workshops, field trips & birthday celebrations, school & clothing supplies, food, transport, medical expenses, housing, gifts, and other administrative and overhead costs.

Kanika has been working full-time with the children using her own income and small donations to fund this initiative for years. She now has volunteers supporting the collective, and it is looking for financial support to make the project sustainable in the long-term.

Donation Levels

Any amount donated, however small, aids our cause. We are grateful to the community for your support!

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ESPAÑOL:

Quienes Somos

Camino Canicas es una iniciativa de base centrada en brindar educación en artes expresivas informada sobre el trauma para desarrollar resiliencia en las comunidades indígenas del lago Atitlán, Guatemala. Creamos un espacio seguro para niños de familias de bajos recursos afectados por traumas, negligencia y adicción.

Qué Hacemos

Utilizando prácticas psicosomáticas y de atención plena creamos actividades apropiadas para el desarrollo. El programa ofrece entrenamiento en inteligencia emocional, arte, cuentos, rituales y juegos. A través de este programa, los niños desarrollan recuerdos positivos, aprenden a expresarse, a autorregularse y a volverse más resilientes y bien adaptados.

A Quién Ayudamos

Este colectivo diverso está formado por niños de las comunidades indígenas Tzʼutujil y Kaqchikel, muchos de los cuales luchan contra la pérdida de un padre o un hermano, la violencia física y emocional, la pobreza, la adicción y los desastres naturales alrededor del lago Atitlán, Guatemala.

Adónde Van las Ganancias

Lo que usted dona permite a nuestro colectivo brindar apoyo continuo a los niños y sus familias al brindarles un espacio seguro y confiable para sesiones, organizar talleres, excursiones y celebraciones de cumpleaños, suministros escolares y de ropa, alimentos, transporte, gastos médicos, alojamiento, regalos, y otros costos administrativos y generales.