Meet Lindi. Lindi is 22 years old and has a 2-year-old daughter. She is a student in the Safe Passage Adult Education program and is in both the 3rd and 4th grade this year, as Adult Education students take two grades in one year. She has one niece and three nephews who are students at Safe Passage and her sister-in-law is also an Adult Education student.
Lindi is originally from Retalhuleu, a city in southwestern Guatemala. She came to Guatemala City with one of her sisters to find work because their mother could not provide for all of Lindi’s 7 siblings on her own after their father passed away.
Lindi never went to school as a child because her mother and her sister could not afford to put her in school. But now that Lindi has the opportunity to learn with Safe Passage, she wants to continue studying since she wants her daughter to have a better future. She doesn’t want her daughter to have the same life she had.
According to Lindi, the most difficult thing about being a mother is not being able to give their children everything they need and the most beautiful thing about being a mother is seeing the children grow and helping them move forward in life. She said, “When you are a mother, your children are everything to you”. She firmly believes that education is very important because it is the only way to have access to a better future and a better life for both her and her daughter.
Instilling the importance of education in our mothers is the first step to ensuring that the children in the garbage dump community break the cycle of poverty. As we see in Lindi’s and countless other mothers’ stories, education in her childhood was not prioritized due to poverty and lack of resources. With Lindi and her Adult Education peers, Safe Passage is emboldening a new generation of mothers to not only achieve education for themselves, but encourage their children to persevere in their schooling.
Beyond Adult Education, Safe Passage mothers have access to health education including weekly “healthy chats” with our on-site nurse and annual physicals provided by Shared Beat, family wellness services including our weekend Family Nurturing program provided by social workers and psychologists, and the Creamos social entrepreneurship program.
Sponsorship of a mother provides all of these important services. When our mothers are supported, their children are supported, and the community is strengthened. When you sponsor a mother like Lindi today, you’re building up the next generation of educated, accomplished, and confident mothers for the future.
Chat with our sponsorship team to find out more about Mother Sponsorships by calling (207) 846-1188 or e-mailing sponsorship@safepassage.org.