Indigenous Kaqchiquel girls play on the steps of a centuries-old, earthquake-battered church in Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala.  2014
La Limonada (Lemonade) slum.  Guatemala City, which has one of the highest murder rates in the world, Guatemala.  2014   According to USAID, "2.6 million people – or 40% of the urban population – lived in slums. In Guatemala City, “s
"Niño Picapedrero" (child who digs out stones), sits for hours manually shatters rocks into gravel, without protective eyewear, adequate footware or training, to earn money for his family, Retalhuleu Province, Guatemala.  2014
A severely malnourished indigenous child, whose lost much of his hair to malnutrition, is nursed back to health at the health clinic at Nuestra Ahijados Assoc. in Antigua.  2014 The first 1,000 days of development, from the moment of concepti
Vulnerable targets for forced gang recruitment: Young men sell sweets, cigarettes, etc. on a street corner in the center of Guatemala City.  Urban crime is one of the primary factors for children migrating to the United States and Guatemala Cit
Help comes too late for one teenaged victim of a high-speed motorcycle accident while "bomberos voluntarios" paramedics attend to the other rider who is fighting for her life.  Bomberos suspected that drugs or alcohol contributed to the acciden
A glass of water has been set on the pavement beside the body of a 23 year old motorcyclist who, police alleged, was killed after he and a pistol-wielding accomplice robbed a car on a Guatemala City highway in broad daylight.  During their atte
Four generations of the Mendez Izaguirre family prepare lunch of corn tortillas and a stew made from a small rodent, possibly a "tuza" (pocket gopher) caught in a trap in their corn field.  The family consists of 18 members, living in several h
This small rodent, possibly a "tuza" (pocket gopher) caught in a trap in their corn field will be the sole supply of protein for this indigenous Kaqchiquel family of 18 members' midday meal.  Santa Maria de Jesus, Guatemala.  2014
Childhood, particularly for girls, in rural Guatemala means hard work to keep the family going.  This indigenous Kaqchiquel girl holds an infant sibling while her mother does laundry by hand at a village structure for open air clothes washing.
When the sun goes down, the streets in Guatemala City empty almost immediately because it has one of the highest murder rates in the world.  2014 Guatemala City is one of the most dangerous cities in the world with a 2013 murder rate of 68.4 ho
Night clerk mesmerized by his calculator in a shop open to the street, but protected by iron bars, in central Guatemala City, Guatemala.  2014  After dark, in Guatemala City people recede behind bars and locked doors, because it has o
Concrete barriers were erected by police in 2011 to prevent vehicles from entering or leaving Barrio El Gallito for security reasons.  In fact, El Gallito is considered a "red zone", a no-go zone where fire and ambulance crews will still not en
Emaciated Guatemalan homeless woman with a substance abuse problem patrols her block where she earns money be helping drivers park their cars.  Drug addiction is a big problem in Guatemala city, where illegal drugs and sniffing glue or solvent
An entire city block is covered with placards of the "desaparecidos", the missing from the 36-year civil war in Guatemala City.  Guatemala.  2014  After almost two decades since the war ended, it is still very much on the minds of Gua
The Idyll: Storm clouds forming over the volcanoes of Lago de Atitlan, Guatemala.  On my first trip to Guatemala in 1986, I was told that the far, south side of the lake was dangerous and to be avoided if possible, which I found puzzling becaus
"Niño Picapedrero" (child who digs out stones) working with his father sifting the Panajachel River bed for gravel and sand for the construction industry.  The worker crews dig from sun up to sundown, earning just 40 Quetzals/ cubic meter (US$5
Junk food (mostly from the US) have pushed out healthier food choices in corner bodega markets throughout Guatemala, further contributing to the malnutrition crisis.   Guatemala once was self-sufficient in corn production, the country's staple
A prime, vulnerable target for forced gang recruitment: A young Guatemalan boy tells his story on a Guatemala City - Antigua bus, a refurbished American school bus, before proceeding down the aisle to collect change.  These so-called, "chicken
A teenaged indigenous Kaqchiquel girl sells sweets to foreign tourists in Antigua.  Often such vendors live in the mountain villages surrounding Antigua, where they have farms that do not produce enough produce to meet their families' needs. &n
A Guatemalan girl prepares to cross the Rio Suchiate with family from Guatemala to the Mexican side of the river without a passport or any other documents, which is typical along the porous Guatemala-Mexico border.  2014     The
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