Keeping busy at Adopt-A-Child

It has been a busy summer 2023 for the Adopt-A-Child teams – in Guatemala, Albania and in the UK Office in Inverness.  

In Guatemala we have seen our new programme building taking shape in Chulumal in the Quiche mountain area, our 10^th programme in Guatemala. The foundations were laid in the spring and the frame and roof of the building are now in place. We were excited to be able to hold a dedication service there in August when our team gathered together and invited the local community to the site. We have formed a partnership with a local primary school and we were able to give the school a donation to be used to buy uniforms and school supplies for those most in need of help. We hope that many of the children who attend that school will be registered for our programme in the next few months. All being well, we will begin serving food to the children at the start of next year, probably through the school building initially.

In Albania, we had a busy summer of children’s and youth holiday camps taking place in all of our villages and centres – 14 in all. 60 – 100 children attended each of these camps, enjoying coming together for fun, games, food and to learn more about the Christian faith.  Many of those who came to the camps are now coming regularly to our weekly Church children’s and youth meetings, which is so encouraging to see.

In the UK our supporting team was very busy out and about at events, promoting all the work going on in Guatemala and Albania. We had a display stand at all three weeks of the Keswick Convention in England, where we highlighted the work we do among the elderly and vulnerable people in the communities we serve. We had a replica of a Guatemala home made out of sheets of corrugated iron, which was a real talking point – along with pictures and the story of the man who lives in the actual house.

We also, for the first time, had a whole marquee for Adopt-A-Child at the Refuel Christian Family Festival in Fochabers in Scotland in July.  We were able to have a much bigger display than usual – covering absolutely everything we do – plus an area where we had children’s crafts available each day and a special ‘Feeding Programme’ style lunch for children, which gave a real insight into what life is like for youngsters in Guatemala in particular. Parents were able to take in all the displays while their children were busy and many sponsored children and widows as a result.  

We are very grateful for all our faithful sponsors and supporters and we were so pleased to be able to meet up with so many of them over the summer.

If you would like to know more about the work we do in Guatemala and Albania, please visit our website for more information: https://www.livingwateradoptachild.org/uk/.