The Jeremiah Project-Refugio Jeremías is a nonprofit striving to give hope to children in extreme poverty who live in and around Antigua, Guatemala. Refugio Jeremías provides lunch Monday through Friday for under-educated children (children who have never been to school or have had to drop out for various reasons). The lunch program not only provides a daily need, but also creates something consis
tent and solid that the children can count on. This consistency also requires the children to develop skills such as discipline, respect, and responsibility. After lunch each day we also have activities for the children, providing the opportunity to get to know each child as an individual and to begin building trust with him/her. The classes include educational activities in reading, writing, and arithmetic, as well as Biblical teaching. The children also learn about hygiene and are required to wash their hands and brush their teeth each day. Many of our scholarship students also use our shower facilities to bathe before heading off to school as they have no such facilities, or no running water, in their own home. When a child is enrolled in our lunch and activities program, the objective is to get to get to know them and their family, befriend them and mentor them—to let them know that someone cares. Refugio Jeremías strives to create a strong network of schools that we work with and, through our scholarship program, help the children plug into the school that best fits their needs. The project also runs various other programs such as our before-or-after school tutoring program, a once a month food bag program, parental workshops, and home repair projects, as well as working with other organizations, such as medical providers, to give every child the best opportunity to stay in school and reach their dreams. Our goal with every child who walks through our doors to show them that God does have a hope and a future for each of them and He loves them.