The Asociación Escuela de la Calle (EDELAC), or “Street School”, was founded in 1995 by Guadalupe Pos to help child laborers in the central park of Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. The children who come to EDELAC have been living in extreme poverty, working on the streets to make ends meet, and are often the victims of abuse, trafficking and exploitation. They are often malnourished, physically and emotionally ill, and behind in school as they drop out at young ages to try to earn an income. EDELAC provides housing, food, medical and psychological attention, a formal education, and addresses family issues that led children to the street in the first place.
EDELAC partnered with the Hovde Foundation in 2012 to purchase and upgrade a new home to care for the children who have nowhere else to go. A second floor was added and extensive remodeling was completed by April 2013. The home can support up to 26 children and includes accommodations for volunteers. The “Perry Hovde Home” was named in honor of Richard J. Perry, a lifelong advocate for the vulnerable and needy who generously financed the home through a donation to the Hovde Foundation. Together, the EDELAC school and home now support almost 300 boys and girls.
To learn more about EDELAC, please visit http://www.escueladelacalle.org/.
