Striking Out Poverty
Donation protected
I am a 17-year old kid from Guatemala and I am creating this initiative because I believe this world suffers from extreme poverty and severe lack of education. I want to start a non-profit organization with the name "Striking Out Poverty" to help kids who can’t go to school, as they have to help their parents in order to make a living and I also want to help the families who don’t have a safe house to live in, or who can’t make enough to feed their children and themselves. I chose this name because two of the things that make me happy the most are baseball and helping people in need and I think that's a good way of putting them together.
I want to start this project in Guatemala and hopefully in the future, be able to help all around the world. Guatemala is a small country (about 108,889 sq. km.) located in Central America. Its population is about 16.5 million people and according to a research by the World Bank, 59.3% of the population lives below the line of poverty and 23 percent live in extreme poverty. This adds up to more than 80% of the population living in poverty. The indigenous people in Guatemala are the ones who are mostly affected. In fact, 79% of them live in poverty and 40% live in extreme poverty. 8 out of 10 indigenous children suffer from chronic malnutrition, which is a condition that weakens their immune system and prevents them from fully developing. Due to the extreme poverty most children are forced to drop out of school in order to help their parents or because they can’t afford their uniforms, school supplies or transportation. According to The Global Education, there are more than 2 million children who don’t attend school, as only 40% of children in the population are enrolled in schools all over the country.
What do they come home to when they come home?
Their houses are made of mud and tin sheeting. Those in extreme poverty have dirt floors and some who are more fortunate have cement floors.
They often lack of clean water sanitation facilities and furniture, and they even have to altogether (up to 6 people) in the same room.
But even though many of them live under very hard circumstances… They still find time to be happy.
I want to start this project in Guatemala and hopefully in the future, be able to help all around the world. Guatemala is a small country (about 108,889 sq. km.) located in Central America. Its population is about 16.5 million people and according to a research by the World Bank, 59.3% of the population lives below the line of poverty and 23 percent live in extreme poverty. This adds up to more than 80% of the population living in poverty. The indigenous people in Guatemala are the ones who are mostly affected. In fact, 79% of them live in poverty and 40% live in extreme poverty. 8 out of 10 indigenous children suffer from chronic malnutrition, which is a condition that weakens their immune system and prevents them from fully developing. Due to the extreme poverty most children are forced to drop out of school in order to help their parents or because they can’t afford their uniforms, school supplies or transportation. According to The Global Education, there are more than 2 million children who don’t attend school, as only 40% of children in the population are enrolled in schools all over the country.
What do they come home to when they come home?
Their houses are made of mud and tin sheeting. Those in extreme poverty have dirt floors and some who are more fortunate have cement floors.
They often lack of clean water sanitation facilities and furniture, and they even have to altogether (up to 6 people) in the same room.
But even though many of them live under very hard circumstances… They still find time to be happy.
Organizer and beneficiary
Andrés Lou
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA
C. J.
Beneficiary
