Guatemala Post #1 - Tabitha House

For the next several days I'm going to TRY to post something about my trip to Guatemala.....

I am going to try my best to explain Tabitha House but I'm having a hard time finding the right words to describe it because before I went there I couldn't understand what it was. A friend of mine, who went there in March tried to explain it to me before I went on the trip but I couldn't understand. I said, "So it's a daycare. I'm going to Guatemala to work in a daycare?"

Tabitha House is far from being a "daycare." A lady named Carol who works for the Guatemala Baptist Convention started Tabitha House 15 years ago. Tabitha House is located in Zone 3 of Guatemala City which is primarily known as the "dump." It's just a few blocks away from where the actual dump is but seriously the entire area surrounding the dump is all really one big dump. The area is truly the filthiest, smelliest place I've ever been.

Tabitha House is a safe place where about 80 children selected by Carol ranging in age from approx. 0-7 go each day where they play with other children, get fed at least one meal, get loved on and learn about Jesus. Pretty much the only other option for these kids would be to roam about the dump/streets during the day while their parents work. Their parents work hard to earn less than $10 a week (probably $7/wk), many of which collect plastic, batteries, aluminum cans, etc. to sell to companies that use these recyclable products.

If not for Tabitha House these kids could starve to death, get raped, murdered, you name it. So basically to sum it up Tabitha is a little piece of heaven for these kids that live right in the middle of hell on earth.

Tabitha House is long and narrow and very dark inside. It's two stories high and the roof is an outdoor playground for the kids. You can see (and certainly smell) the dump from the roof. Some of the women that work in Tabitha House also live in the dump and their kids are at Tabitha with them during the day. They make approximatly $12 a week working there. Carol would like to accept more children into Tabitha but cannot afford to hire anyone else at this time. The ladies there cannot handle anymore children on their own.

 

I spent three days at Tabitha House loving on the children and visiting with the ladies that work there. The ladies at Tabitha House are so sweet and caring and the children are precious!

(Read Danny's write up on Tabitha House)