She was revered in Guatemala where she was known as "El Angel del Basuero." the Angel of the Dump. Hanley was a native of Yarmouth. Maine. and a Bowdoin College graduate. with a masters degree in early childhood education from Wheelock College. After college. she helped children affected by AIDS in Roxbury. Massachusetts. and then taught impoverished children at a Head Start program in North Carolina. Because so many children were from migrant families and spoke little or no English. Hanley decided to go to Guatemala to learn to speak their language. While in Guatemala City in 1999. the Portland Press Herald reported. a friend suggested she visit the garbage dump.