Creamos’ Job Inclusion Department has been designed to address what the community itself considers to be its most pressing challenge: lack of access to safe and sustainable employment. With an unwavering belief in their potential as valuable and worthy employees, we carefully molded this department to provide skill-building, networking, and workforce preparation for hardworking community members.

Creamos participants dove into 2021 with a fine tuned adaptability, creativity, and tenacity to dismantle chronic barriers to opportunity. Their unyielding determination is the source of our motivation for making their goals a reality.

We are beyond ecstatic to celebrate the discipline and drive of the Creamos class of 2021. In a community with an average 4th grade education, this is an immense stride for the 37 graduates on their journey towards self-determination.

Creamos women from the community surrounding the Guatemala City Garbage Dump confront a variety of systemic barriers, such as gender inequality, intimate partner violence, and economic and workforce exclusion. Gender inequality is so deeply entrenched in the community that women earn an average of 50% less than men. “Despite the fact that [men] earn more,” explains a Creamos participant, Anabela, “they give us very little…When you don't understand it, you don't realize that this is violence that we are enduring...it is a type of violence, it’s just a little more difficult to identify.”

Creamos’ mission is to create long-term financial, emotional and educational opportunities for the local women and families in the community surrounding the Guatemala City Garbage Dump. Since 2018, Creamos has gradually grown from a community-based initiative, to a legally registered association. This progress would not be possible without taking the time to reflect on past successes, capitalizing on lessons learned, and staying attuned to the community’s ever-shifting challenges.

Since its inception, one of Creamos’ primary organizational goals has been sustainability through community leadership. Despite unimaginable obstacles, several women from the community have emerged as leaders in our organization, defying societal norms and committing to better futures for themselves, their families and colleagues. Creamos recognizes these women as the future leaders and directors of the organization.