Our goal with the Estudia Con Amor program in Guatemala is to help child laborers escape a life of suffering. Education gives them an opportunity to get higher-paying jobs, but utilizing their education well often requires some emotional healing to help build hope. We therefore want them to also experience joy in the midst of the trials of life and feel part of a larger community. To achieve this, we like to bring our Estudia con Amor students together as a family to have new and engaging experiences.

One program-wide activity was a trip to the zoo. 74 kids from 3 different communities participated. In addition to seeing the animals, we hired a clown, Limoncito, to entertain them. Limoncito dazzled the kids with fun ice-breaker games, a magic act, face painting, and balloon animals. The kids were beside themselves with excitement!

By the time their lunch of fried chicken was served, children from the different communities were bonding over their commonalities: children who worked in the mines laughed with shoe-shiners, children who sold gum on the street sat with car-washers. While educational scholarships are what brought these kids together, it is experiencing joy side-by-side that keeps them bonded as an Estudia con Amor family.

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