Iniciativa Guatemala trabajó junto a varias organizaciones aliadas entre 2014 y 2017 para implementar programas de desarrollo juvenil en la Ciudad de Guatemala, incluyendo educación, mentoría para jóvenes, consejería familiar y servicios de cuidado infantil.

To better focus its resources, GYI conducted a needs assessment in 2017 to identify gaps in youth development services and prioritize unmet needs. Adolescent pregnancy emerged as the most pressing challenge facing young people in vulnerable communities. During the assessment, some of our scholarship recipients also experienced unplanned adolescent pregnancies, reinforcing the urgent need for comprehensive support and prevention efforts.

One of them, Karol, spoke about the urgent need for young people to have access to comprehensive sexuality education and contraceptive services. In marginalized communities near the Guatemala City landfill, more than half of adolescents become parents during their teenage years. Access to sexual education, contraception, and maternal health services is extremely limited in these communities.

In 2018, Iniciativa Guatemala opened its own youth center near the Guatemala City landfill to help reduce unplanned adolescent pregnancies and support young mothers through early childhood development programs.

The organization takes a comprehensive approach that includes Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE), youth leadership development, access to contraception, and maternal education.

In 2019, GYI partnered with more than a dozen schools to provide Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) to 1,200 students. Our clinic delivered more than 500 consultations on short-acting contraceptive methods and sexual and reproductive health. The maternal education program supported more than 50 young women through parenting workshops, support groups, and early stimulation classes.

In 2020, GYI expanded its contraceptive services by partnering with the Women’s International Network for Guatemalan Solutions (WINGS) to operate its clinic, providing free access to both short-acting and long-acting reversible contraceptive methods. Between 2021 and 2023, the organization expanded its services to two additional communities near the Guatemala City landfill, where approximately 160,000 people live in underserved neighborhoods. Today, GYI’s programs reach approximately 2,000 young people each year.