Youth in Guatemala

Youth includes individuals between the ages of 15 and 24[1] Over half of the population is under 19 years old in 2011,[1] the highest proportion of young people of any country in Latin America.

[2] The health, education, and work opportunities for young people differ by ethnicity (ladino or indigenous) and social class.

Vulnerable youths who are at-risk for joining a gang are males between the ages of living in marginalized urban areas and have limited access to education.

[8] Open Schools, a program launched in 2008, helps prevent violence and protect youth by providing them opportunity to constructively use their free time.

[7][9] Open Schools is not a formal educational environment but it aims to help youth who are disadvantaged through culture, art, sports, and technology.

Informal jobs provide youth with income but are untaxed and unmonitored by the state, examples being farmers or domestic workers.

[13] "Education and training in business administration and large-scale marketing operations are essential for the youth to join the economic life of the country".

[14] MDG's purpose is to prevent youth from entering into poverty by providing educational and economic stability.Emelin, a 13-year-old female, spoke at the United Nations in March 2015 and emphasized the need for health care in her community.

[4] 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".

[15] A mission called Continuing Promise works to provide health care and community assistance to Latin American youth.

"Gang youth are widely perceived to be the single most important contributors to violence and insecurity in Central American cities".

[17] In Guatemala, the Evangelical-Protestant Church receives funding from United States Agency for International Development to help at-risk youth.

[7] A youth's parents may leave home and migrate to coastal areas or other countries where education and health services are more comprehensive.

[8] Parents also migrate to the United States, Mexico, and Canada to support their family and search of economic opportunity.

[8] Adverse effects on youth of parents migrating include: insecurity, drug use, sexual promiscuity, anxiety, and loneliness.

[8] Youth whose parents migrated to the United States often defend them, saying, "they are not criminals, because they are going to search for a better life for their family members",[8] normalizing their experience.