Issues In Guatemala Essay

Many countries in the world face issues and factors that threaten the wellbeing of its citizens, and the country itself. Guatemala is one of these countries that seems to consistently face these threats and issues. Guatemala is a low to middle income country located in Latin America. Its inhabitants have faced and dealt with a myriad of diseases, poor political figures, economic crises, and a 36 year long civil war. Guatemalans battle with issues surrounding alcoholism, lack of education, specifically sexual education, extreme malnutrition and stunting, rape, HIV/AIDs, extreme poverty, ethnic divides and poor sanitation. It almost seems as if everything wrong that could happen, has for Guatemala. For many years and even today, it feels like an uphill battle for the country and its people. However, there is hope. Organizations around the world like UNICEF, Habitat for Humanity and various NGOs are fighting to change …show more content…
It borders Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras, Belize and the Pacific Ocean. The country itself is completely mountainous except the areas near the coast as well as the famous Mayan ruin city of Petén. Many of the mountains in Guatemala are in fact volcanos, which are very prone to erupt. It is very common to see these volcanos erupt in the early mornings all throughout the country even in the larger cities such as Antigua. However, because these eruptions are so common, they can be the cause of natural disasters and earthquakes. Earthquakes and landslides are among the most common natural disasters Guatemala faces. In 1976, one large earthquake killed over 23,000 people. The result of this earthquake caused extreme economic damage. The exposure to volcanic and other harmful substances has taken away funds for social programs and has given it to disaster relief. Thus, many necessary social programs simply do not exist making life difficult for the large, highly impoverished population of