There is an estimated 60,000 – 100,000 people living in La Limonada, and urban slum community built into a ravine that runs through Guatemala City. It was established in the late 1950’s by people who fled other areas of the country for various reasons. People settled there and built homes in the ravine because they had nowhere else to live. Many of the families live with no running water or electricity. The geographic location of the community and the sub-culture of extreme poverty have produced a lack of education and job opportunities, spiritual darkness and unsustainable living conditions.
Lemonade International is devoted to being a physical presence of God’s love and the life of Jesus in La Limonada by:
- Providing children with hope for a better future through child sponsorship;
- Equipping and sending international workers for short-term and long-term missions;
- Providing humanitarian relief in situations where food, clothing and shelter are needed to restore people’s lives; and
- Transforming neighborhoods through community development, micro-lending and church planting.
Since 2001, Tita Evertsz, Lemonade International’s Guatemalan Director, along with more than 20 teachers have devoted their lives to the children at two schools in La Limonada. Escuelita Limón was the first school established in La Limonada with a small group of young children. More recently, a building was purchased to begin a second school, Escuelita Mandarina in a neighboring barrio in La Limonada. Both schools have morning and afternoon sessions to accommodate the growing number of children being reached and to create a schedule where they are able to attend formal public schools in Guatemala City.
To learn more about Lemonade International, and how you can help them achieve their goals, please visit their website.
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