Maine woman starts program in Guatemala for children living in dump

Published: 2004-08-05

GUATEMALA CITY (CNS) -- At Guatemala City's garbage dump, 10-year-old Gustavo picks through refuse for recyclables like plastic, copper, aluminum and cardboard. Gustavo says he does not know his last name, but he can tell you he has been at the dump for three years and expects to remain there for a long time. For many Guatemalans who come to the city without job skills or education, life in the garbage dump becomes a career by default. For many such families, children are moneymakers, extra hands to comb the refuse. Fernando Gonzales Salazar, 34, and his wife, Wendy, 33, have six children. In an average day the couple can earn about $4. Because of a program begun in 1999 by a Catholic woman from Yarmouth, Maine, instead of working at the dump, the four oldest Gonzales children attend school daily. The two youngest, twins, are in a day-care center. Hanley Denning, 34, founded the Safe Passage program after being invited by a nun to visit the garbage dump. Denning said she was shocked by the plight of the thousands of people who scavenge through the dump daily and who live in the surrounding slums.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .