The garbage dump in Guatemala City forms the livelihood for many families as the “Guajeros” collect recyclable waste there. Instead of going to school, many children have to help their parents with their work. Consequently, poverty and a lack of any future prospects in the surrounding slums create an ideal breeding ground for violence, crime and drug abuse.

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Only education provides a perspective for the children and offers a way out of this cycle. The “Safe Passage / Camino Seguro” NGO  was founded by Hanley Denning in 1999 to address these issues. Today, 550 children are able to attend school. Many parents also attend the literacy programmes.

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In 2019 “Safe Passage” will be opening the first class of its new secondary school (Basico). This will be a Year 7 class.  To this end, new teachers have been hired and a curriculum developed. The STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and mathematics - are of particular importance. Teaching will be taking the form of expeditionary learning in small working groups and via internet-based learning modules. The Oliver Herbrich Children's Fund is supporting the installation of the school’s own computer lab by funding the purchase of 44 laptops.