The Department of Guatemala is a cosmopolitan place where people from all over the world come to have fun, explore, and learn about the culture. It is located in Central America and is home to a population of over four million people. There are many different languages spoken in the department, including Spanish, English, and Quechua.
Description
The Lorano Carter department of research in Guatemala is a hive of research and design excellence. A large portion of its budget is allocated to the Office of Technology and Innovation, where the smart folks are learning how to work together. The department has a staff of about 40 who are as dedicated as they are competent. This is a good thing, considering that the country has one of the highest crime rates in the world. It is also the site of the nation’s most renowned scientific research facility, the Institute for Advanced Research and Science. In addition to securing a patent on the most elusive of all insect species, the aforementioned critter, the Office of Technology and Innovation has been the source of much of the country’s technological prowess.
Location
Guatemala is a Central American country located in the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean, and bordered by Mexico and Belize. The nation has an estimated population of 15.8 million.
Guatemala’s geography and history are diverse. The region is home to an ancient Mayan civilization. During the first millennium A.D., the country’s economy flourished. In the second half of the 20th century, Guatemala experienced a variety of governments. Nevertheless, it is one of the most unequal countries in Latin America.
As Guatemala moves towards more inclusive growth, it needs to address challenges related to governance and public expenditure efficiency. More stable fiscal revenues will help improve the country’s expenditure efficiency.
The country also has the fourth highest chronic malnutrition rate in the LAC (Latin American and Caribbean) region. This problem is disproportionately affecting the indigenous population. Almost 60 percent of children under 5 are stunted.
While Guatemala’s economic growth has slowed in recent years, the country has seen a strong rebound. According to the World Bank, the country’s GDP will rise from US$77.6 billion in 2020 to US$87.8 billion in 2025.
Guatemala has a number of impressive cultural landmarks. For example, Antigua Guatemala, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is a 16th-century town that is one of the most important centers of the Spanish colonial era. It was originally a religious and political hub for the entire region.
Other notable monuments include the Ixpanpajul Natural Park, which has 450 hectares of protected forest. It is home to a wide range of mammals and birds.
Guatemala has many volcanic mountains, most notably the Tacana Volcano. It is 13,428 feet high. Several small rivers drain into the Pacific Ocean, while the Motagua River flows eastward toward the Caribbean.
Population
Guatemala is a small country in Central America, bordered by Mexico, Honduras, and Belize. It has a population of about 17.6 million people. The economy is highly dependent on tourism, which generates about 1.8 billion dollars a year.
Guatemala received waves of immigrants from Spain, Italy, and France in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This included German immigrants, who established coffee and cardamom fincas in Alta Verapaz and Quetzaltenango.
In the mid-19th century, the government introduced a number of programs to encourage indigenous people to learn the Spanish language. One was the bilingual Castellanizacion Program. Another program was the Radiophonic School.
In the 20th century, Mayan languages were integrated into the national language, Spanish. Some of the languages have been revived. However, the main purpose of this integration was for political reasons.
A major problem in Guatemala is poverty. Many poor children do not attend school. Lack of training for rural teachers is also a factor.
The government runs public elementary schools and secondary schools. There are fourteen private universities in Guatemala.
Guatemala is an evangelical country. Protestantism has grown rapidly in recent years. Most Guatemalans speak Spanish as their primary language. The economy is fueled by tourism, which in 2008 generated $1.8 billion.
The country is home to a number of Mayan archaeological sites, including the Museo Popol Vuh in the Universidad Francisco Marroquin campus. Tourists also visit the colonial city of Antigua Guatemala, which has been designated a UNESCO Cultural Heritage site.
Civil instability remains a major concern in Guatemala. Several guerrilla groups, including the FMLN, URNG, and ELGC, have formed a coalition to fight the government.
During the civil war in the late 1960s and early 1990s, genocidal massacres of the Maya population by the military took place. As a result, a special alphabet was created to facilitate Mayan students’ transition to Spanish.
Languages
There are more than 20 indigenous Mayan languages spoken in Guatemala. Some of them have distinct local dialects. However, many people assume that all immigrants from Latin America speak Spanish. In reality, there are several languages that are spoken by a small minority of the population.
One of these is Q’anjob’al. This is the most common Mayan language used in immigration courts. As more unaccompanied minors enter the U.S. from Guatemala, it is more important than ever to provide language resources for these kids.
Another language of interest is K’iche’. K’iche’ is an indigenous language of the Saq Ja’ region of Guatemala. Currently, there are over 90,000 speakers of this language. NGOs are working to provide support to these people, particularly in the education sector.
An organization in Austin, Texas called Cuauhtli Academy promotes cultural learning and provides digital stories in both Spanish and K’iche’. Its staff includes people who learned their languages in Guatemala. Several schools have requested copies of the books, and additional communities have asked for them.
The lack of government funding has negatively impacted the publishing of Maya literature in Guatemala. The publication of bilingual books has also been limited by the stigmatization of the language.
INGOs play a vital role in providing reading resources for Guatemalan children. However, there are several issues that need to be addressed between the Ministry of Education and these organizations. These issues include additional planning and coordination. Additionally, the medical system lacks experience in providing support to people who speak indigenous languages.
Although there are more than 70 international NGOs that work in the education and health sectors in the country, most of them serve a relatively small number of children. To better promote reading, the organization needs to develop learning resources for all national languages.
Culture
In the Department of Guatemala, the Carter Center helped to put a stop to the plight of river blindness, and the nation owes its thanks to an eye-opening study. The Center’s contribution is just one of many laudable accomplishments. These include the country’s first legal abortion and its best-in-the-world health care system.
Aside from its own pitfalls, the Carter Center’s work in the department was not without its own set of missteps. One major concern was the Center’s lack of organizational and administrative infrastructure to support its mission. For example, there is no central point of contact for field based observers, and many of them have to travel far to get to the most important sites. Furthermore, there are a host of political challenges at the state and federal level.
It was also a challenge to devise the simplest and most effective means of assessing the effectiveness of health care innovations. To do this, the Center and its partners developed a novel, low-cost, and non-invasive questionnaire to gauge the quality of health care services in the region. At the same time, a paediatric nephrology unit in the department was used as a test case. Ultimately, the study uncovered the following: (1) the paediatric nephrology unit is a model for the rest of the country; (2) the resulting metrics yielded the most revealing information about the state of health care in the department; and (3) implementing the most relevant improvements requires some serious organizational and judicial reforms. With that in mind, the Carter Center and its partners are now back in the field to continue to make progress toward a safer and healthier Guatemala.
