Niños de Guatemala (NDG) was founded in 2006 to play a part in building a better future for Guatemala and its citizens. NDG aims to realize its mission by initiating and supporting small-scale development projects where they are most needed. Local involvement and community development are central to NDG’s projects.
NDG runs by three golden principles:
- Self-sufficiency: NDG’s main mission is for its projects to strive towards self-sufficiency and independence in the long term. Project managers need to be able to organize themselves, setting short-term and long-term goals (and achieving them). Realizing financial health is primordial. Becoming independent and viable will breed confidence in the employees, the children attending the school and all others involved.
- Local community: NDG is a Guatemalan NGO, supported by its Dutch counterpart, NDG NL. The organization is directed and run by Guatemalans, with the help of representatives of NDG NL. With regards to the Nuestro Futuro primary school project, NDG is a Guatemalan organization, and the members of NDG NL will be present only in supporting roles. It is important that people from the community of Ciudad Vieja and the surrounding area can profit from the jobs that the school creates.
- Better future through education: Education is more than teaching people to read and write. NDG feels that social and personal development is as much a part of education as the subjects in the national curriculum. Personal hygiene, nutrition, and social skills are, among other things, part of what NDG offers the children and their families. Besides this, the children will be able to learn practical skills such as carpentry and cooking, equipping them for possible practical jobs in the future. NDG also encourages people to think about their rights and duties, both within their families and their local communities.
“Nuestro Futuro” School Opening: On January 9, 2009, NDG celebrated the opening of the School: “Escuela Urbana Mixta Nuestro Futuro” in Ciudad Vieja; this was a very nice day for Niños de Guatemala! On January 10 their friends in The Netherlands celebrated this event as well. Niños de Guatemala is very happy and proud of starting this year with its new school. It was built by NDG and had 71 pupils its first year. Every year, as the children pass through to the next grade, there is a new intake of children into the school, so by 2013 they hope to have around 200 pupils. Additionally, NDG has plans to build a second floor to the school that shall house a Community Center, a library and four more classrooms.
The Volunteer Center in Antigua: The goal of the Volunteer Center is primarily to recruit volunteers and raise funds to support Nuestro Futuro. To achieve this, the Volunteer Center organizes a broad range of activities. The Center is located at 6a Avenida Norte #45, in Antigua, and is open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon and from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m.
To learn more about this group, please visit their website.
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