Child sponsorship changes lives. You can help the people of Sayaxche, Guatemala build a better future.

Location
Sayaxche itself is mostly a vast, swampy plain through which the La Pasion, Salinas and Usumacinta rivers flow. During the rainy season, the downpours can be torrential and there is often flooding. 

Life in Sayaxche
Sayaxche is one of the poorest provinces in all of Guatemala. Almost everyone relies on agriculture to survive – growing mainly corn, rice and beans. But the soil is poor and when the rains stop in August, there is no corn harvest for two months. There are large palm plantations in the area – some families have been forced to sell their land to the companies running them. Without land of their own, many people have sunk deeper into poverty.

Access to education
Education is the vital step towards escaping poverty forever. But around three quarters of the primary schools in this region only have huts with mud floors for classrooms and there are only two secondary schools outside towns in the entire district.

ActionAid's work in Sayaxche
Thanks to your support, we’re tackling these problems. We are building classrooms and providing desks, chairs and other educational equipment. We are also helping families to develop reliable sources of income so that they can afford to send their children to school.

Read the updates below to find out how the community in Sayaxche is benefitting from child sponsorship:

• Nov 2009
• May 2010
• Nov 2011