Where we work

Guatemala

Our work here focuses on agricultural development, disaster prevention and relief aid, human rights and strengthening the legal system.

Sudan

Among other things, our work here includes mine clearance, protecting the civilian population and relief aid in Darfur.

India

Here we work with fighting hunger and poverty, disaster preparedness, democracy, rights and the caste system.

Angola

Our work here focuses on clearing areas of landmines and unexploded ammunition as well as mine risk education.

Congo (DCR)

Our work here focuses on demining, fighting hunger and helping women who are victims of violence.

Ethiopia

Our work here focuses on disaster risk reduction, equal rights for men and women, strengthening civil society and fighting hunger, HIV and AIDS.

Malawi

Our work here focuses on the prevention of HIV and AIDS, food security and women’s rights.

Uganda

Our work here focuses on agriculture, disaster preparedness, combating HIV and AIDS and supporting a democratic development.

Zambia

Our work here focuses on women’s right to participate, fighting poverty, HIV and AIDS, climate change adaption and democracy.

Bangladesh

Our work here focuses on disaster preparedness, climate changes, democracy, women’s rights and protecting migrants.

Burma/Myanmar

Our work here focuses on empowering civil society, development and education, emergency relief aid and supporting refugees.

Cambodia

Our work here includes, among other things, fighting hunger, HIV/AIDS, supporting women’s rights and climate change adaption.

Nepal

Our work here focuses on democracy and rights, disaster preparedness, disaster risk reduction and safe migration.

Pakistan

Our work here focuses on relief aid, health care, medicine and reconstruction following the floods.

Haiti

Here our work focuses on rebuilding schools and helping the rural poor with income generating activities after the violent earthquake in 2010.

Honduras

Our work here focuses on agricultural development, disaster preparedness, climate change adaption, human rights and democracy.

West Bank/Gaza

Our work here focuses on relief aid, women’s rights and improving the Palestinian population’s living conditions.

Kazakhstan

Our work here focuses on supporting the poor that travel from town to town on foot. We establish self-help groups and influence laws and procedures.

Kyrgyzstan

Our work here focuses on supporting poor immigrant families, education for marginalised children and young people and self-help groups for the elderly.

Lebanon

Our work here focuses on clearing cluster bombs, neutralising mines and enabling the population to manage on their own.

DanChurchAid believes

Henrik Stubkjær, Secretary General

"Hunger is an inevitable consequence of poverty. Hunger is the most grotesque example of inequity in the world. DCA is fighting hunger with all of the means we have, both in the short and longer term."

No easy solutions in Guatemala

The majority of the country’s indigenous population lives in poverty and oppression. The conditions for human rights and a society ruled by law are poor.

Challenges

Even though Guatemala is rich in resources, half of the country’s almost 14 million inhabitants live below the poverty line. The majority of the poor belong to the country’s indigenous Mayan population. Especially in the rural areas, many small children grow up with constant undernourishment and malnutrition.

The peace agreement of 1996 ended a 36 year long bloody conflict. But it has not led to greater social equality or broken with the racism and impunity that is a part of everyday life in Guatemala.

The distribution of the national income is the third most unequal in the world, and Guatemala is the country in Latin American that has the most uneven distribution of land.

What we do in Guatemala

Our work in Guatemala focuses on supporting the poorest and most exposed sections of the population – primarily the Mayan population and small farmers. In the Western part of the country, we support the poor families to improve their farms.

We support organisations that work on a local and national level as advocates trying to change the situation as regards farming and land ownership as well as strengthening the Mayan population’s rights and influence. We work with strengthening the system of justice and human rights.

We focus on:

Support for the Mayan population’s rights, strengthening the system of justice
and human rights Sustainable rural development, emergencies and advocacy

DanChurchAid has been active in Guatemala since the 1990s and has helped build ACT FORO – the regional ACT Alliance partner.

Articles about FKN

18/08/2011 We just dreamed of a little piece of land

15 years after peace agreements put an end to an armed conflict in Guatemala, there hasn’t been any major redistribution of land for the benefit of the poorest people in the country

01/06/2010 Help for Victims of Storm in Central America

The tropical storm Agatha marks the beginning of the hurricane season in Central America. Thousands have fled their homes and more than 100.000 people have been evacuated

02/05/2007 Partners: Food security

DanChurchAid is working with partner organisations on food security issues in Guatemala. At different levels, they are all dedicated to rural development and sustainable agriculture, and in the recent past have begun working more with advocacy.

02/05/2007 Partners: Political space

In Guatemala, DanChurchAid cooperates with organisations working for peace and reconciliation and for improving the respect for human rights – in society at large as well as in the legal system. The Political Space programme in Central America is focusing on access to justice.

30/03/2007 Access to justice

In Guatemala, DanChurchAid is working with the programme ”Access to Justice” which is related to the right to equality before the law and the battle against impunity.

20/06/2006 The right to adequate food

In Guatemala, DanChurchAid works to improve food security by combining advocacy efforts for better rural development policies at the national level with local mobilisation and technical support to small-scale landholders and landless farmers in rural areas.

18/04/2006 Rebuilding after Stan

Six months has passed since heavy rains from Hurricane Stan lashed the whole Central America region, affecting Guatemala, El Salvador, Mexico and Nicaragua, and causing extensive flooding and mudslides.