Since the start of January 2014, a Christian group in Guatemala has begun meeting the practical needs of some of the young abused girls from Guatemala’s streets and introducing them to Jesus at the same time.
For a long time, the Oasis centre had received calls from Guatemala’s Child Protection Agency, as well as organisations like International Justice Mission, asking if they could provide help for girls as young as ten, who had suffered from systematic sexual abuse and were pregnant.
La Arquilla
The Oasis is a campus of residential homes for Guatemalan girls. The Kids Alive Guatemalan staff work with government authorities to provide a safe haven for girls who have been forced into child labour, or experienced physical or sexual abuse (often all three), and have either been abandoned or have fled for their safety and lives. They come to the Oasis with the scars of exploitation.
The new project at the Oasis is called La Arquilla (The Ark) and, as far as is possible, will see the young girls integrated into everything else that happens at the centre. They will be educated – many for the first time – onsite during their pregnancy, and will live in a family unit with tías (house parents) specifically trained to deal with high-risk pregnancies and young mothers. The girls will receive all the counselling and support necessary to work through their traumatic experiences and start moving forward. They also receive legal support. They will make informed decisions as to whether to keep the baby or put him/her up for adoption.
The girls are safe, have a chance to sleep peacefully at night and, most importantly, are loved. At the Oasis they can heal from rejection and abuse and can be little girls again.
Central to their home at the Oasis is the knowledge that they are loved and protected. Most important, they are introduced to the transforming love of Jesus, the source of the true healing they need and seek.
