British volunteers will work on violence prevention projects in Guatemala
A group of 12 young volunteers from the UK visited the British Ambassador at her residence prior to starting their 10 week stay in Guatemala where they will be working on several projects to help eradicate the culture of violence.
British Volunteers in Guatemala
The volunteers were selected under the guidelines of the Department for International Development’s (DFID) International Citizen Service (ICS). The programme is a global volunteering experience which supports young people make a real difference to some of the world’s poorest people.
The British youngsters will be joined by 12 Guatemalan volunteers to work on the project “Changing the Game”, implemented in country by the Guatemalan Association of Young Christians (ACJ) and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA); and financed by Comic Relief (a UK charity).
The project will contribute towards reducing youngsters’ vulnerability to violence using sports and art as tools for development. They will also share mechanisms for solving conflicts peacefully, will strengthen their knowledge of basic rights; and develop plans to build safer public spaces for sports and leisure. The volunteers will work with communities in both Guatemala City and San Cristobal Verapaz.
The British Embassy has been supportive of several projects to eradicate the culture of violence in Guatemala, working closely with organisations such as YMCA and local governments to promote sports in Retalhuleu, and most recently in Alta Verapaz.