Can one person make a difference? A school in a dump!

Guatemala is a country slightly smaller in size than Tennessee, but with a population of 13.5 million people. It is home to the Maya people, the western hemisphere's greatest ancient civilization. Guatemala gained its independence from Spain in 1821, which brought prosperity to Spanish citizens, but worsened the situation for the indigenous Maya, who, although legally free, were enslaved by debt to land-owners. Most of the nation was left in poverty after a succession of military and civilian dictator governments, as well as a 36-year guerilla civil war over land ownership. In 1996, the Guatemalan government signed a peace agreement with the rebels, formally ending the conflict that had led to the deaths of more than 200,000 people and created one million refugees, most of whom are of Mayan descent.

Many of these refugees found their way to the Guatemala City garbage dump, where today over 1,000 children and their families scavenge for food and recyclables. In the dump, children live in constant exposure to pollution, the elements, and careless garbage trucks that roll through the spaces between the hand-made homes of their families day and night. Fumes from the trash rise and hover over the area, polluting the air the people here have breathed since birth. Vultures circle above, looking for scraps of refuse that dump residents have left behind. They don’t find much, as almost everything brought here is somehow made useful, from scrap metal gathered and sold in the street to newspapers used as insulation for homes.

Children are the most helpless victims of the dump’s harmful cycle. Sickness spreads quickly here, and the little ones who are born into this situation grow up illiterate and undernourished. At first glance, there seems to be little hope of escape from the dump. Many young
people turn to crime for survival, or sniff glue to dull their feelings of despair. Mi Refugio is a light shining in the darkness for these children – their refuge and strength in Christ. Here they receive not only a Christian education, but nutritious meals, individual attention, and the compassion from their teachers.

Mi Refugio was formed in 1987 by missionary Kari Engen to address the great need she saw of families living in the dump. Originally from Maryland, Kari first went on the mission field in 1978 on a short-term mission trip to Mexico. In 1984 she returned to Mexico fulltime, migrating to Guatemala the following year to found Mi Refugio. The school began with 50 students in a rented building next to the dump, where children formerly had no access to any kind of education, not even public schooling as most schools require a fee to cover the cost of a uniform, something their families are unable to afford.

Mi Refugio offers a safe place for students attending pre-school through high school, some of whom eventually receive scholarships from the school to continue their education. Mi Refugio has had its challenges. Over the years Kari has struggled to keep the school running. At one point she was forced to shut the school down for an entire year because she had run out of money to pay rent on the school building. Kari put her faith in God to provide for what she feels He had called her to do.

In 1995, Mi Refugio came alive again. Kari was able to purchase a beautiful 12-acre property outside the city with the help of donors. The school is now located 15 miles from the dump in the village of San Pedro. For the first time, these students were able to experience God's creation in its pure form and breathe fresh, unpolluted air. With the extra space, Mi Refugio was able to begin serving children from the surrounding Maya villages as well as their current students, and now has the capacity to serve 400 children.

This little school in the hills outside of the city is making a big impact. Mi Refugio continues to expand its influence as funds become available. God has truly blessed the efforts of Kari and the indigenous Mi Refugio staff.

The WCS Building Hope Worldwide program, in which homes are built in North America and the profits from the sale of each home are donated to a Christian school in a developing country, is helping fund the ministries of Mi Refugio. This will allow more children to find their refuge and strength in Christ each year as they learn to read, write, and change the path of their futures for the glory of God.

For more information on this project, contact Steve Geurink at sgeurink@wwcs.org or (800) 886-9000.