By Christine Garrison | Project Leader
We’re celebrating 20 YEARS of early education and care at the Acorn Childcare Center!
In the early 2000’s, our founder, Rachael, spent a year working in a women’s shelter in Guatemala. When visiting one of the families that had moved on from the shelter, she found a 9 year old girl at home looking after her 5 year old sister, 2 year old brother, and an infant. The 9 year old was not equipped to provide adequate care for such young children and she too was missing out something very important: the opportunity to go to school.
Our founder knew this was not an unusual situation for many working mothers in Guatemala — extreme poverty means that women do not have good options for where they live or with whom they leave their children, making them vulnerable to domestic violence and neglect. Seeing it first hand, however, impressed on her the urgent need for good child care in Guatemala, where societal difficulties stem back to a thirty-year-long civil war where US foreign policy and investments created climates of extreme poverty and distress that continues today. The foundations Rachael created in both the UK and in the US are completely run by volunteers and thus 100% of each donation goes directly to the Acorn Childcare Center which opened its doors to families in need in 2005.
The Acorn Childcare Center provides a safe and caring environment for young children while allowing older siblings to attend primary school and parents to earn a living wage. Students are given breakfast, healthy snacks and a main meal each day in an environment that nurtures trusting relationships with adults and other children and inspires and supports active learning. When children have a safe space to learn and play with good nutrition, caring adults and a connection to their community, they grow into adults who are healthier, resilient, and can better face adversity. Our alumni embody the powerful impact of this experience and over the past 20 years, your generosity has allowed us to reach hundreds of children and their families!
As we look ahead to uncertain times, we are counting on your continued support to give even more children a better start in life. Thank you!
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