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Youth in Guatemala is live!

Youth in Guatemala experience many hardships but the programs and goals in place give many the tools and resources necessary to succeed. Youth in Guatemala includes individuals between the ages of 15 and 24 years old. A high illiteracy rate is common not only among the Guatemalan population, but especially among youth. The male youth literacy rate tends to be higher than the female youth literacy rate. There is not full participation in education among youth. There is less than 100% participation in primary education and high school enrollment is around 17%.

The structural barriers in place, such as poverty and inequality greatly affect a youth's access to healthcare. Females especially feel the lack of equality when it comes to access to health care, especially during pregnancy, and education. The lack of adequate nutrition and health care in Guatemala has adverse effects on a youth's overall health.One example being stunted growth which about half of Guatemalan youth experience. The Millennium Development Goals works to address these inequalities and barriers.

The presence and allure of gangs fosters a possibly dangerous environment for youth in Guatemala. A program called Open Schools is used to combat the forces that push youth into dangerous situations .Open Schools works to overcome barriers that Guatemalan youth face.

Migration is also a lure for youth but many feel discouraged by the lack of capital experienced after migration.

Education
Education in Guatemala has less than full participation. Primary schools do not achieve 100% enrollment and from there, enrollment continuously drops until it reaches about 17% at the high school level. Females are even less represented. This contributes to a higher participation in the informal market.

In Guatemala, the only public university is USAC, Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala. There is little emphasis on research. "From every 100 graduate students enrolled in San Carlos of Guatemala University only 13 successfully completed their programs". Those who do successfully complete their program often obtain a degree in the social sciences. Another survey indicated that the medical field, as well as Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields, should be a top priority but is not a focus of higher education. Those who do possess a degree are not utilized efficiently and are often outcompeted by their counterparts with a foreign degree. Master or doctoral degrees then become inefficient and insufficient, dissuading many from furthering their education. There is a stigma that those who have a degree are overqualified and would not be willing to work lower level jobs which excludes youth from the job market altogether ."Public institutions discriminate those who have obtained postgraduate degrees abroad". Those who do obtain a degree are not utilized and are competing with those with a foreign degree. Those who have a foreign degree are discriminated against. Overall, there is a stigma and assumption that those who have successfully completed higher education are overqualified and would not be willing to work many jobs. Another stigma surrounding education in Guatemala is that it is regarded as less important than social connections and ties. Many view nepotism as more important than education.

Teachers in Guatemala often deal with youth who were left behind by their parents who migrated elsewhere. They often dissuaded their students to migrate. One reason for this is the loss of human capital experienced during migration.

A program called Open Schools, which was launched in 2008, helps prevent violence and protect youth by providing them opportunity to constructively use their free time. While Open Schools is not a formal educational environment, it aims to help youth, especially those who are disadvantaged, through culture, art, sports, and technology. Open Schools program is available to students on the weekends where youth can socialize and participate in constructive activities. Child Aid is another program that helps youth's educational experience.

Employment
140,000 Guatemalan youth enter the labor market each year. Only about 25,000 of those youth gain access to formal employment, often classified as training for the job and social security. It is estimated that jobs in the informal market have reached about 5.1 million. Guatemalans do not participate in a knowledge economy, meaning there is not a well-prepared or knowledgable workforce. Those who do obtain a degree are not properly utilized in the formal job market.

Within the public sector, many are discouraged from participation in the workforce because of poor salaries and disincentives .The participation, then, in the informal job sector is prevalent. Youth often enter into the informal market at a young age, sometimes dropping out of school to support themselves or their families. Informal jobs provide youth with income but it does always steady, often jobs that are untaxed or unmonitored by the state, such as farmers or domestic workers. These jobs do not provide youth or other individuals with government protections, like insurance. A program called PILAR, which stands for Promoting Informal Labor Rights, works to provide more protection for those in the informal sector.

Open Schools provides leadership training and job training to both youth and adults to help ensure steady income and employment.

Poverty
Poverty affects half of the Guatemalan population with 13.5% of the population earning less than $1.25 per day and living in extreme poverty .Most Guatemalans affected by poverty live in rural areas.

The monitoring of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) indicates that in spite of the efforts made, Guatemala still needs to address certain structural challenges before it can meet the targets for poverty, chronic undernutrition, maternal mortality, HIV prevention" . The structural challenges that need to be overcome are inequality, not only in regards to income, but also health care, education, and technology . Each of these structural factors accounts for the discrepancies of development in Guatemala.

The Millennium Development Goals are in place to reduce extreme poverty. The MDGs targets causes of poverty such as gender inequality, education, and environmental stability. "Education and training in business administration and large-scale marketing operations are essential for the youth to join the economic life of the country" .To prevent youth from staying in poverty or entering into poverty in the first place, it is important to focus on preventing youth from falling into poverty traps and utilizing the Millennium Development Goals. The MDGs are essential in reducing the number of youths living in poverty.

Poverty is a great barrier that prevents access loans and other means to escape poverty. Microcredit and Microfinance, also known as micro loans, are anti-poverty solutions. They are small interest-free loans. The average micro loan is $300. One use of the loans is for education. Investment in education is a long-term investment that will prevent youth success and participation in the formal job sector.

Health
There is an unequal access to health care in Guatemala. There is a health expenditure per capita of $467 according to the World Health Organization. Health expenditure per capita is simply the total spent (public and private) on health as a ratio of the population. While there has been an increase in spending regarding health care, the system relies on private expenditure. Private expenditure is out-of-pocket spending, private insurance, and direct payments by private corporations. A majority of Guatemalans pay for their health costs out-of-pocket. Thus, creating the unequal access to services. "Guatemala has the highest level of private expenditure as a proportion of total health expenditure of any Latin American country". Many Guatemalans live in poverty and are unable to pay for health costs out-of-pocket, often excluding many from getting proper medical treatment.

Guatemala is classified as a middle-income country, making it difficult to sustain itself and limiting funding form other countries and the United Nations. Guatemala, in other words, sits in the middle. There is not enough money to sustain and support citizens (especially regarding health care) but the country has too much money to qualify for aid from the U.N.

Emelin, a 13 year old female, spoke at the United Nations in March of 2015. She emphasized the need for health care in her community. She said, "The biggest problems we face as adolescents in my community are early pregnancy, [child]birth, sexual violation and lack of education and health care". According to UNICEF, about 20% of female adolescents and 24% of male adolescents have a comprehensive knowledge of HIV.

In Guatemala, there is little contraception awareness and use. Guatemala has the highest fertility rate in Latin America even with half it its' population under the age of 19.

A mission called Continuing Promise works to provide health care and community assistance to Latin American countries.

Crime
Crime in Guatemala is one issue facing youth. Guatemala has one of the highest homicide rates in the world. Guatemala lies within one of the most dangerous regions of the hemisphere - Central America. Violence most often emerges in the presence of gangs and drug trafficking, promoting crimes such as theft and kidnapping. "Gang youth are widely perceived to be the single most important contributors to violence and insecurity in Central American cites". Guatemalan youth often struggle with transitions out of a gang to a more stable environment. One way youth exit gang life is through religion. The Evangelical-Pentecostal provides hope to many Guatemalan youth. Guatemalan youth in gangs can exit through conversion. The Evangelical Church believes in salvation for all of its' members. It is fitting then, that Guatemalan youth who participate in gang activity turn to the Evangelical church.

In Guatemala, the Evangelical-Protestant Church receives funding from United States Agency for International Development to help at-risk youth. The funding is also used to help correct and structural factors that push delinquent youth into gang participation. The ties within the Church provide youth with social capital and connections that may aid in seeking employment.

There is still a great risk of death for transitioning out of a Guatemalan gang. Many religious organizations believe that the root causes of gang participation are "poverty, weak schools, and unemployment".

1996 marked the end of armed-conflict in Guatemala. While political violence has significantly decreased, social and economic violence have increased. Youth participation in violence has become normalized. While reliable data regarding crime does not exist, there are widespread fears of crime facing Guatemalan citizens. "Maras [gangs] are generally associated with low-income urban areas, due to high levels of inequality and the lack of social, economic and cultural alternatives available in this context", making Guatemala City one of the most dangerous areas - leaving many fearful to engage in any public space. Gangs dominate public space, often limiting areas where others can enter. While reliable data is difficult to find, there is an estimated 53-330 gangs in Guatemala City alone. "The most common cause of death among 15–24-year-old Guatemalans in 1997 was firearms".

While gangs are typically perceived to be detrimental, they provide youth with a sense of identity. Youths also gain a large amount of Social capital in their participation in gangs. Gangs then become attractive and luring for youth who lack resources. However, Youth male gang members who are often the perpetrators of violence also fear for their own safety within the gang. Young men in gangs are threatened by members of their affiliated gang and sometimes victims of violence within the gang.

Open Schools works to help at risk youth by providing alternatives to participation in gangs.

Migration
A youth's parents may leave home and migrate elsewhere, sometimes to coastal areas where education and health services are inadequate, to support their family. They also migrate to the United States, Mexico, and Canada in search of economic opportunity. Political and corruption and violence are also factors that cause a parent to leave their child or children with other caretakers. Youth left behind feel guilt for their parents' sacrifice and often leave school to find work. A survey found that, "9% of children living in migrant households receiving remittances dropped out of school". There are numerous adverse effects of parents migrating, some of which include: insecurity, drug use, sexual promiscuity, anxiety, and loneliness.

Youth whose parents migrated to the United States often defended them, saying, "they are not criminals, because they are going to search for a better life for their family members", normalizing their experience. Although Guatemalan youth see the allure of moving to various other areas as economic incentives, the threats of violence and deportation as well as loss of social capital deter many youth from migrating.