Ceracaif Orphanage: Casa Hogar mi Pequeno Refugio (Home of Refuge)
Late in 2009, Orphan Outreach began partnering with Ceracaif, a privately run orphanage located thirty-minutes outside of Xela, Guatemala’s second-largest city. Ceracaif is the fruit of sacrifice—the result of one couple from Mexico, Ciro and Maria Teresa Murguia, and their willingness to die to their own comfort and security for the sake of children who needed a home.

After retirement the couple sold their possessions and moved to Guatemala’s western highlands, a coffee-growing region. They bought land, built a building, and took in abandoned children who had nowhere else to go. Today the couple’s two daughters, Lourdes and Teresa carry on the work of caring for 60 to 70 children, ages 3 and up. Serving Christ in countless acts of service, the two women are model multi-taskers. In addition to providing a loving home for all of the children, the orphanage property houses a school for all the children.

In 2010, mission teams to CERECAIF ministered to the children, taught bread making, helped with daily chores, completed a chicken coup and much needed painting. Orphan Outreach is working to provide funding for additional teachers, computers and school supplies. Ongoing needs include food staples, vitamins, and clothing. “We are looking for churches or individuals who want to come alongside and serve these children with us,” adds Mike Douris, President of Orphan Outreach.

Ministry Opportunities
• Mission trips to provide sports camps, VBS, medical/dental, teacher training, and remodeling projects.
• Financial support for large projects including school remodeling and a playground.
• Financial commitment for operations of the school.
• Prayer that the Lord will provide for the orphanage and school.

You Can Get Involved
Travel on a Mission Trip
Your commitment to travel with Orphan Outreach allows the children we serve to know they are not forgotten. In ministering to these children you become the hands and feet of Christ and profoundly impact their lives as well as your own.
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San Jose Orphanage, La Paz Ministry Trip, Honduras
10/19/2013 to 10/26/2013
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My Special Treasure Ministry Trip, Guatemala
11/20/2013 to 11/27/2013
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Guatemala Christmas Trip, Guatemala
12/7/2013 to 12/13/2013
Support This Ministry
Your financial gifts to Orphan Outreach will help meet the physical, spiritual, and educational needs of children living in orphanages and substandard situations around the world.
Click here to support the ministry
of Orphan Outreach.

Facts About Guatemala
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 Population: 12,728,111 (July 2007)
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 Birth Rate: 29.09 births/1,000 population
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 Death Rate: 5.27 deaths/1,000 population
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 Infant Mortality Rate total:
29.77 deaths/1,000 live births
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 Population below poverty line: 56.2% (2004)
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 Est. # people living with HIV/AIDS:
61,000; 0.9% adult (15-49) prevalence rate (2005)
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 Unemployment rate: 3.2% (2005)
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 Literacy Rate (age 15 + can read & write):
69.1% total population
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 Estimated 370,000 children (0-17)
orphaned (2005)
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 Type of Government: Representative democracy
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Language(s): Spanish (60%); Amerindian languages (40%)
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Religion: Roman Catholic, Protestant, and indigenous Mayan beliefs
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 Guatemala is located in Central America, bordering the North Pacific Ocean, between El Salvador and Mexico, and bordering the Caribbean Sea between Honduras and Belize.
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 UNICEF estimates that there are more than 370,000 orphans in Guatemala and at least 5,000 children live on the streets of the capital, abandoned by mothers who are too poor to keep them.
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 Only 24 percent of the population attends Secondary school (1996-2005).
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 Only 58 percent of municipalities have a secondary school.
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 Five out of 10 students who enter primary school in urban areas complete primary school, as opposed to only two out of 10 in rural areas.
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 Some 67 percent of indigenous children suffer from chronic malnutrition.
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 27 percent of all children under 5 are underweight.
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 The distribution of income remains highly unequal with about 56% of the population below the poverty line.
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 The indigenous population, the Maya, make up about half of the population. Mayan languages are spoken alongside Spanish, the official tongue. Many Guatemalans are of mixed Amerindian-Hispanic origin.
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Guatemalans live in one of the most inequitable societies in the region. Poverty is particularly widespread in the countryside and among indigenous communities. Illiteracy, infant mortality and malnutrition are among the highest in the region, life expectancy is among the lowest and, in common with many of its neighbors, the country is plagued by organized crime and violent street gangs.


Orphan Outreach is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization
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