Guatemala

Guatemala is a truly beautiful country and is deep in culture and history. Sadly, much of that history has been tainted by violence at all levels of society. Today, the consequences of 36 years of civil war are still being experienced.  Although the signing of the peace agreement is 24 years old, these consequences are still visible, and even the subtlest forms of violence are still seen as "normal".

In Guatemala violence and coercion is common within families, within communities, and as a tool for obtaining and maintaining power in business, politics and civil society.

Factors that lead youth to violence include exposure to violence and/or crime in the family, early involvement in alcohol, drugs and tobacco, the influence of one’s peers, a lack of opportunity, a lack of respect and empathy and a lack of self-worth. These factors are commonplace within the youth of marginalised communities of Guatemala. Jocotenango is one such community, and this is where Lead-Up Guatemala focuses most of its efforts.

Lead-Up knows that when young people experience violence, whether they are the victims or the perpetrators, that their connections to the community are fragile, complex, and fragmented. The longer young people experience violence, the more likely they are to continue in that cycle, and will most likely escalate to even higher levels of violence.

The needs of Guatemala, and specifically Jocotenango are many and varied; in many cases the only attention given to prevention of youth violence is the use of traditional methodologies that lack specific and alternative proposals to confront the cycles of violence - and their variable expressions - that especially affect adolescents and young people.

To help resolve this, Lead-Up has created an innovative program, for at-risk youth to discover that violence is never the answer. They learn techniques for the assertive management of their emotions, feelings and thoughts, allowing conscious, non-aggressive decision making, leading to the development of peaceful leadership.  

To address the reality of their lives and of the fact that Lead-Up participants will return to face continued adversity and discrimination Lead-Up has developed an innovative and holistic approach to vocational training.

And, thanks to additional funding Lead-Up has helped establish the first Champions Cafe; a cafe and creative arts centre designed and managed by Champions from the Lead-Up Vocational Program.