Out of a population of 17 million, more than 50% of the residents in Guatemala live below the poverty line. Despite education typically being free, many families often can’t afford school uniforms, supplies, and miscellaneous fees. Moreover, over 70% of secondary schools are private, requiring families to pay tuition. Because of this, many students don’t finish education past grade six.
In response to these needs, in 2010, we became the directors of ChildCARE Plus (CCP) Guatemala, with a total of 182 children under our care. Today, we have over 500 children in our programs in 17 locations spread throughout Guatemala. We work with multiple schools, 15 local churches, and numerous families to continue to provide exceptional educational opportunities to the children while introducing them to Jesus Christ.
We host many short-term mission teams, while engaging in teaching and preaching in churches on the weekends.
I (Ruth) was born in Ecuador, the youngest of nine children. I (Hector) was born in Guatemala, the eldest of eight, and was miraculously saved from a life of drugs and crime. In 1981, we met in Toronto, married, and graduated from Bible college. For the next fourteen years, we pastored and planted Spanish churches in the Kitchener-Cambridge-Waterloo area in Ontario. We then moved to Guatemala in 1997 and have been ministering there ever since. We have three amazing daughters.
