WHERE WE WORK

 

 

Currently, SaludosNiños! works exclusively in Panyebar located an hour’s drive above Lake Atitlán in the western highlands of Guatemala.  The lake was formed approximately 85,000 years ago when the volcanos now surrounding erupted. The largest lake in Central America, Lake Atitlán is 1,000 feet deep, 65 kilometers long by 45 kilometers across and ringed by dormant volcanoes, Toliman, San Pedro and Atitlán.

 

Although SaludosNiños! is now limiting its work to Panyebar. The Board hopes to extend the program to other nearby communities where most families earn a meager living from farming. The average worker makes less than $5 per day. Panyebar was specifically chosen from the other centers closed by Infantiles SOS because it had a determined and dedicated staff, a rent free facility, 55 healthy children who were thriving and eager to return to school and, most of all, because it was highly valued and had the full support of the local community.