Human Rights - Guatemala
Grandmother volunteers run the Child Protection Hotline for the nonprofit, Plan Guatemala, in the department of Jalapa.
There, sexual abuse of children used to be a taboo subject and beating was considered normal discipline.
Only the grandmothers had the time, patience and compassion to handle Hotline calls, plus the judgment to understand whether victims needed attention from the hospital or the police. For six years, the grandmothers have also taught good parenting. The women describe their lives, work, hopes and dreams in Grandmother Power.
News About Grandmothers in Guatemala
Updates about the grandmother groups in Grandmother Power
In The News:
Website: More information about
Plan’s work in Guatemala
can be found on their website.
Behind the Scenes: These pictures are not in the book: they are of Guatemalan grandchildren, husbands, local people, interpreters, and scenery that caught Paola’s attention while she was interviewing and photographing the grandmothers in Jalapa who operate the Hotline.
About Child Abuse:
Poll: A 2010 Gallup poll documents the amount of unreported child abuse in Latin America.
Article: An article about Paola's work in Guatemala appeared on pages 10 and 11 in the June 2011 issue of Plan Magazine.
