La Asociacion Nuestros Ahijados (The GOD'S CHILD Project)

La Asociación Nuestros Ahijados was founded by Patrick Atkinson in 1991 “to break the bitter chains of poverty” in the urban slums and Mayan villages of Guatemala. From humble beginnings—when Atkinson and a few volunteers worked to feed and educate a handful of kids out of an old farmhouse—La Asociación Nuestros Ahijados (or ANA) has grown to encompass four locations in the Antigua area and serves thousands of individuals annually. Today, ANA includes a staff of 92 Guatemalan professionals and between 50 and 200 local and international volunteers, depending on the season. The ANA team works through more than fifteen individual programs to meet the complex needs of local children and families who suffer from poverty, discrimination, and abuse.

ANA’s permanent programs include the Dreamer Center for Elementary Education; the Atkinson Family Clinics; the Parroquia de la Presentación Dental Clinic; the Psychology Clinic; the ANA Mother’s Club; the Scheel International Technical Training Center; a Scholarship Program; the ANA Sponsorship Program; the Social Work Department; the ServiceTeams Department; the Volunteer Department; the Donations Department; the Legal Aid Department; the Casa Jackson Center for Malnourished Infants; the Antigua Santa Madre Homeless Shelter; the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited, and Missing Persons’ Rehabilitation Program; and a scholarship program for students in El Salvador.