This site is designed to inform our donors of what we have been able to accomplish through their generosity. If you just happened upon this site and would like to help the girls at Casa Hogar, Los Pinos, Jalapa, Guatemala, send me a message at senorskipper@hotmail.com.  To all those who have supported this cause in the past, thanks so much - Muchas Gracias.

Please don't forget to look at the older posts and other pages to get more of the story.

This is a shot of the main building at Casa Hogar, a home for girls located outside Jalapa, Guatemala. The name Casa Hogar translates to House of Refuge and is used extensively throughout Latin America. We often refer to it as an orphanage, but not all the girls are orphans. Some are abandoned; some have been abused physically, sexually and mentally; some come either with babies or in the late stages of pregnancy, very often a result of abuse by a family member. I have travelled to Guatemala many times over the past 7 years, and, with a lot of support from friends, have helped to provide the basic necessities of life - food, clothing, and education. Thankfully, others from many places around the world also help; and now we concentrate mainly on trying to ensure all the girls have an opportunity to get an education. The home is run by an order of Catholic nuns called La Congregacion de Marta y Maria.

In March 2005, just as the new building was nearing completion, the younger girls were staying in a rundown house in Jalapa. This shot is in the open courtyard. The girl highest up the steps is still at the home and never ceases to amuse all visitors.

This is one of two bedrooms in that house which accomodated about 35 girls.

This is the other bedroom. Note the three level bunks in order to fit everyone in.

This is the kitchen where all the meals were prepared.

Another shot of the kitchen. All the dishwashing was done at the "sink" in the open courtyard. There wasn't much in the way of kitchen utensils, plates, silverware, etc, but they got by somehow. Even then, with the girls living in what we would consider abysmal conditions, they always seemed happy.