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The charity Amigos de Santa Cruz aims to help young women like these in Santa Cruz La Laguna, Guatemala
Santa Cruz La Laguna is a small Mayan community on the shores of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala. It has no road access and is surrounded by jagged mountains; the only way to get there is by boat.
This US based charity was founded by a small group of foreign-born residents of Santa Cruz. The main focus is on the education of the residents, both primary and secondary, in order to help develop a literate community who are better educated and able to improve their own lifestyles and future.
The education projects provide books and other supplies for the primary school along with a daily nutritional snack for the 400 children. They also run after-school programmes for children with special needs.
There is a computer education centre which provides access to educational resources and opens up communication with students from other cultures and parts of the world.
The health projects provide the local community with clinical care and an immunization programme for the children.