The guatemalan dream: A brighter future without leaving the country.
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n Guatemala, inadequate public programs, rising crime levels, drastic climate change resulting in natural disasters and hunger, are all driving forces for the massive surge of Guatemalans choosing to leave for the United States. Friendship Bridge’s Microcredit Plus program (microcredit paired with education and health services) has proven to be an effective solution to improve the lives of thousands of clients, in 2018, the organization served over 28,000 women with credit, education and health services. Friendship Bridge has recently opened a new office in Guatemala City. Guatemala has a population of approximately 17 million people. In 2018, more than 815,000 Guatemalans, equivalent to almost 5% of Guatemala’s population, emigrated to the United States. Friendship Bridge, an NGO specialized in rural women’s empowerment, has unparalleled success in poverty alleviation and provides an alternative solution to emigrating to the US. “Never has our mission been more important than now with the current political environments in the
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Karen Larson, Friendship Bridge’s President & CEO
United States and Guatemala. Friendship Bridge, as the name suggests, bridges the gap by providing programs and services that create opportunities so families can build sustainable futures in their own community.” said Karen Larson, Friendship Bridge CEO. “We create opportunities for women to build better lives in order to keep their families together
A client showing her potato production, part of her commercial activities supported by Friendship Bridge in the Cuchumatanes area.
