About EFTC

Education for the Children Foundation (EFTC) was formed in 2003 to support a Primary school on the brink of collapse in Jocotenango, Guatemala an area of great deprivation. In 2011 we opened our own school, The School of Hope and since then, EFTC has continually grown to support the ever growing demands of this disadvantaged community which suffers severe social problems including extreme poverty, gang crime, domestic violence and alcoholism. We currently give education and vital social support, including nutrition and basic health care, to 600+ of the poorest first-generation learners aged 6–22 years and support them right through to employment. With our forward thinking attitude we were able to be the first NGO in Guatemala to be able to give a fully bilingual Education to our students, with many others now following our lead.

EFTC’s Impact so far:

Close to 900 children, who would otherwise be begging or working, have gained or are gaining an education at the School of Hope, have been empowered to realise their potential through our initiatives.

Over 1,100,000 nutritious meals have been received by malnourished children (to Dec 2014) who are now far healthier thanks to this and regular health care that we provide. At the start of 2014 only 17% of our new starters in our reception class fell into the average weight category for their age group. However, having been with us a while, 86% of them fell into the average weight category for their age.

3,032 people of all ages within the local community have benefited from sustainable sources of safe, clean drinking water at home and in school. Through social support and enterprise initiatives outside of the school, our growing Alumni and the advice we give to other schools in the area, we have been able to make a positive impact on the lives of over 3,800 individuals in Jocotenango.

Why Guatemala?

Guatemala has the lowest literacy rate in Latin America with almost one in three children not completing primary school. It is 4th in the world for child malnutrition with a rate 49.8% of children under 5 suffering from chronic malnutrition (www.wfp.org) Less than 30% of indigenous girls attend school (global education fund 2015) 7 out of 10 children have experienced some form of mistreatment, 85% occurring in the home (National Statistics Institute) and 2900 women were killed in 2008-2011 through domestic violence (www.lab.org). An amazing 50% of the 14 million population live in extreme poverty with 13% living on less than $1 per day. The country now has the second highest rate of child murder in the world - only El Salvador is worse. In the first two months of 2015, 848 children alone have gone missing. These statistics look more like they come from Sub Saharan Africa yet, more often than not, Guatemala is overlooked when it comes to overseas aid and support.