Covenant House | Guatemala (La Alianza)
Magdalena Milpas Altas Sacatepéquez, GUATEMALAHelping Homeless Kids in Guatemala
Guatemala is a hotbed for human trafficking. As the 2009 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report aptly states, "Guatemala is a source, transit, and destination country for Guatemalans and Central Americans trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor." Covenant House's 27 years of experience in Guatemala corroborates this claim, with many hundreds of cases of children and young people flowing through our doors seeking protection, legal support, rehabilitation and other services. As the recent crack-down on international adoptions demonstrated - a charge that was led, in large part, by Covenant House - human trafficking in Guatemala affects the most marginalized and voiceless populations.
Utilizing the breadth of its experience, Covenant House in its re-entry stage has designed a four-pronged approach to combating trafficking in persons in Guatemala. Through public education, public policy advocacy, a residential program for child victims of trafficking, and legal advocacy on behalf of individual victims, Covenant House aims to develop a comprehensive anti-trafficking program that will last well beyond the scope of this project. By training public servants, NGOs, and communities in effective strategies for combating trafficking, by launching a collective public policy advocacy campaign with others by its side into the public limelight, by serving 12 to 18 year old victims of this crime, and by advocating on behalf of child victims in a court of law, Covenant House leverages its broad and deep organizational wisdom, from within Guatemala and beyond, to create an approach that aims to effectively combat child trafficking from many fronts so as to involve the NGO community, the State, the Guatemalan community at large, and the victims themselves in this effort.
Covenant House in Guatemala (known locally as "La Alianza", or "The Covenant") will open its newest residential program in December of 2010. The residence will initially house 12 child victims of human trafficking, and will expand over time to serve many more victims of family violence, physical and sexual abuse, and children living and working on the streets. At present, the community outreach program is working to reach the most vulnerable populations in Guatemala to teach them about trafficking and how to protect themselves from falling victim. In May of this year alone, Covenant House Guatemala trained nearly 1,200 young people and at-risk workers of on the dangers of human trafficking, providing them with knowledge and material to share with their families, as well.