During my last travel I was fortunate enough to visit Casa Guatemla - a school for underprivileged children located on Dulche River funded only by public donations and run completely by volunteers. It was a wonderful and humbling experience. The school accommodates children at different ages between 3-18 who are not orphans but come from families in remote villages, so pour that their parents can only provide them with one to two meals a day.

The school itself was not fancy and equipt only with the basics but you could tell that the children there were pleased with what was provided for them. They gave as a quick tour around the buildings and you could see that everything in there was run with love and lots of efforts by the volunteering teachers and the kids. There were toys made of scratch and paintings on the walls drown by the children. It was a happy place for them.

The one thing that really caught my attention was the condition of their bathrooms. You could see that the children try heard to keep them clean and make them look pretty, with all sorts of decorations, but the bathrooms were simply too old and crying for an upgrade. They weren't bathrooms where small children should have to shower. Their beds, pillows and linen were also very basic.

On top of that, whiles given the tour, the teachers explained to us how the school is run. I was heartbroken to find out that the kids normally get 3 meals a day, mainly bread or rice and beans with some simple souses and added vitamin supplements as opposed to natural vitamins. They could only get fruits and juices for them approximately once a week trough small donations from local markets which they mix in as much as possible. In addition, they are in need of books and school materials.

The kids have found a creative way to raise donations by making jewelries from coconut shells and wood but as you can imagine the donations from that are not enormous.

I felt somehow responsible to do something help their situation. I felt like they deserve better. So my appeal is - lets raise £2000 to give them the much needed upgrade for their bathrooms, some school materials and whatever is left will be contributed towards more nutritious food.

They are such energetic, innocent little creatures. They deserve better than what they have been given.

If you wish to find out more about the school or the charity that runs it please visit http://www.casa-guatemala.org/ where you can also sponsor a child for longer or volunteer your time.

All donations will be hugely appreciated. Thank you!