Hogar Luz De Maria

Hogar Luz de Maria opened its doors in 2004. It was founded by Mrs. Dinora Palacios, who had already worked in other orphanages, after seeing the limited capacity of the orphanages to serve the many children whose rights were being violated. Dinora was inspired both to dream and to take action. It took eight years to open a place that provides children with a unique and familiar atmosphere, receiving the attention they need. Hogar Luz De Maria began with 15 children less than 1 year old, and we presently serve around 80 children under 10 years of age annually.  After 15 years, we have helped more than 1200 boys and girls. Every year, the violations of human rights for children increases, and so does the need for help. Unfortunately, we are only able to accommodate as many children as the law and our budget allows.  We are a private, non-profit, non-governmental institution that brings shelter and protection to children who are abandoned, orphaned, socially at risk or who suffer from abuse and/or violence. Currently, we have 25 children under 8 years of age. Due to shortage of nannies, we cannot receive more children at the moment.

All children in our facility are given dignity with services that include a home, food monitored by a nutritionist, clothing, medical services, vaccinations, and special therapies as needed.  We have a psychologist who gives timely intervention with the children to promote adaptive behavior and emotional development. This reduces the impact of emotional stress and/or trauma, allowing them to achieve a better quality of life.  We also have a social worker whose function is to raise awareness through education – parenting classes, child development lessons, and the implementation of training programs focused on human rights for children. We hope to empower parents to regain custody of their children with the goal of family reconciliation. Our social worker also trains our staff with tools necessary for providing the best care to our boys and girls.  Each year, more than 5,000 children are abandoned, orphaned, abused and/or victims of violence, most of which starts inside their homes. Children are placed in homes like ours while the legal issues are resolved.  There are situations in which their circumstances are resolved, but when children have been completely abandoned, they are placed with families willing to adopt.  In the meantime, the children remain under our shelter and protection as long as is necessary.

Whenever you give, your support enables us to offer age-appropriate, developmental programs for all the children in our home. We treat all children equally, so that each one has access to our programs. Our goal is to ensure the well-being of all our children. We do not receive any support from the government, so our finances and programs are completely funded through generous givers like you!

Your gracious giving will help us to meet our monthly needs of rent, babysitters (1 for every four children), and social workers. It also helps us to cover the basic needs of our children - food, toiletries, bedding, medical needs, and more! Thank you for supporting us as we seek to meet the needs of children in Guatemala City, Guatemala.