Let Me Shine Guatemala

We are a 501 (c) 3 non profit organization registered in Maryland, in the U.S. working with indigenous and street children in Santa Catarina, Guatemala to provide a safe environment for them to be children. We all know that sometimes poverty can take away their privileges of being children. The mission of our group is to restore those lost privileges and fight against any type of violence against children and youth by providing them education, scholarship program, healthy food, and any kind of additional help they may need. We also believe that raising healthy children is a community effort. Healthy children grow up in a healthy family in a healthy community, which is why our effort doesn't just stop with children, but we extend our effort to supporting struggling families and the entire indigenous community in Santa Catarina. The detailed activities include: • To provide educational support at the community center, such as reading and writing, basic math, basic English, computer, music, dance, physical education, art, and other classes, to the unprivileged children and youth in Guatemala in order to provide an opportunity to become a productive citizen in Guatemala and in the international community. At times, the group may provide scholarships to some individuals after thorough investigation for each case by the board. • To provide basic health supply and nutrition support to the unprivileged children and youth in Guatemala by offering vitamins, supplements, over-the-counter medication, and nutritious food at the community center. • To educate the local community in Guatemala to prevent child labor and child abuse as well as any kind of violence against children and youth. • To educate parents about child labor, importance of education, effects of malnutrition (54% of indigenous children suffer from this according to CIA factbook), and how to prevent it. • To support parents who live under poverty line, especially single mothers, by supplying food for the family and scholarships for their children. • To provide temporary shelter, basic medical treatment, and food at the community center under the circumstances of natural disaster due to the fact that earthquakes and hurricanes are common occurrences in Guatemala. • To educate general public in the United States by giving presentations about our activities in libraries, schools, and other public venues as well as utilizing social media channels and the corporation’s website (www.lmsguate.org) to raise awareness on an issue of child labor, child abuse, any type of violence against children and youth, as well as raising funds.

P.O. Box 6812, Columbia, MD 21045