Universal Ministries Group
Non Denomination Non Profit Church Organization
Welcome to the Official Site of Universal Ministries
Mission Statement
Universlal Ministries is a non-denominational, non-profit organization attempts to first feed and tend to the basic needs of some of the poorest children in Guatemala City, we can then instruct them in Christian principles, and also teach them basic living, family, and vocational skills, and this will enable these children to mature into adults that will be better able to take leadership positions in their own communities, thus helping to break the cycle of despair and hopelessness that they are now trapped in.
More than 75,000 children have been identified as severely malnourished in Guatemala. This is as a result of ongoing poverty, which particularly affects children living in rural areas.
Infant mortality rates are among some of the highest in the region at 41 per 1,000 live births, while maternal mortality is 290 per 100,000 live births. Organised crime, violent street gangs and domestic violence are major problem in Guatemala, and sexual abuse and incest affect 30 per cent of girls and 18 per cent of boys.
C
ountry facts
The Republic of Guatemala is the most populous nation in Central America and is bordered by Mexico to the northwest, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize and the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast.
Guatemala won its independence from Spanish rule in 1821, but has since experienced a variety of military and civilian governments, including a 36-year guerrilla war. In 1996, the government signed a peace agreement formally ending the conflict, which had left more than 100,000 people dead and created over a million refugees.
- Population: 13 million
- Capital: Guatemala City
- Major languages: Spanish, Amerindian languages
- Major religions: Christianity (Roman Catholicism)
- Life expectancy: 69 years
Guatemalan street kids struggle to survive....
The thousands of street children who inhabit Guatemala City do what they can to scrape by begging, selling bananas for a few pennies, salvaging what they can from the garbage dump. Some join gangs and turn to crime.
Most of them are homeless, sleeping on sidewalks or by an abandoned train station. To curb their desperation and hunger, many have become inhalant addicts, sniffing industrial solvents that almost certainly cause brain damage.
These children are shunned by society as they are in rags, filthy, infested and smell badly, they are very suspicious of everyone, having known only hard knocks, and cannot believe that anyone can give them unconditional love. They are afraid of the police and give false names if arrested.
Most importantly, the children on the streets remain deprived of their basic needs of food, shelter, clothing and the security of family love and a home. With no adult to care for them, these children have no role model for guidance, surviving and fending for themselves and coping with all the problems of the local community, way before they have developed the physical and emotional maturity this demands.
Trying to provide a better future
The government does not run a single youth shelter in Guatemala. Only Casa Alianza and the small number of other private shelters try to provide a better future for the small number of children they can rescue.
Unfortunately, Casa Alianza, an international organization dedicated to protecting the rights of indigent children and adolescents at risk , who had served 28 years in the country, on January 16, 2009, announced the closure of its operations in Guatemala, because the international financial crisis and the lack of funding.
