Giving the gift of EDUCATION
#1
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Giving the gift of EDUCATION
Hi, all -
I posted this earlier but decided to repost without the Guatemala tag so others might read far enough to consider helping.
As most of your know, I travel to Latin America every summer to study Spanish and my favorite town south of the border is San Pedro La Laguna on Lake Atitlán in the mountains of Guatemala; I have some very dear friends there, locals who run a Spanish school and invest heavily in the community. Kids there get free education through 6th grade but can only attend the equivalent of middle school and high school if they pay, which many of the locals can't do. My husband and I looked into the cost ($400/year for the first 3 years and $600/year for the next 3 years for a total of about $3000) and decided to sponsor a student a year at a time, continuing through high school and possibly beyond if they continue to be successful.
I asked my friends in San Pedro to help find a bright, hard working, deserving student without the resources to continue in school without sponsorship. They were ecstatic to be asked and took the job very seriously, interviewing families and requesting school records and recommendations. They picked 4 finalists, interviewed them, and sent us the photos, interview notes, and school records and asked us to choose.
These are wonderful, deserving kids but Mike and I can only commit to sponsoring one at this time. It' s heart breaking to see photos and school records of students whose lives would be changed with the offer of continued schooling and say no to any of them. I know there are other individuals, families, or groups out there who would be interested if we can get the word out. If you - or someone you know - is willing to consider a long term commitment to educate a deserving student, please let me know. I have photos and information I can email anyone who has an interest. Happy trails!
I posted this earlier but decided to repost without the Guatemala tag so others might read far enough to consider helping.
As most of your know, I travel to Latin America every summer to study Spanish and my favorite town south of the border is San Pedro La Laguna on Lake Atitlán in the mountains of Guatemala; I have some very dear friends there, locals who run a Spanish school and invest heavily in the community. Kids there get free education through 6th grade but can only attend the equivalent of middle school and high school if they pay, which many of the locals can't do. My husband and I looked into the cost ($400/year for the first 3 years and $600/year for the next 3 years for a total of about $3000) and decided to sponsor a student a year at a time, continuing through high school and possibly beyond if they continue to be successful.
I asked my friends in San Pedro to help find a bright, hard working, deserving student without the resources to continue in school without sponsorship. They were ecstatic to be asked and took the job very seriously, interviewing families and requesting school records and recommendations. They picked 4 finalists, interviewed them, and sent us the photos, interview notes, and school records and asked us to choose.
These are wonderful, deserving kids but Mike and I can only commit to sponsoring one at this time. It' s heart breaking to see photos and school records of students whose lives would be changed with the offer of continued schooling and say no to any of them. I know there are other individuals, families, or groups out there who would be interested if we can get the word out. If you - or someone you know - is willing to consider a long term commitment to educate a deserving student, please let me know. I have photos and information I can email anyone who has an interest. Happy trails!
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You might eventually be able to start a 501 3c which will get you more bang for your bucks and really get something going. I work with a program in Mexico and we now have support for over 600 kids though school due to the generosity of people like you.
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Hello...you gave me some good advice on my post today re Belize and Guatemala travel. Your comment on Nebaj being an unusual choice ties in to this post of yours. My daughter is working for a Guatemalan NGO called Limitless Horizons Ixil She lives in Nebaj and takes a bus to LHI's offices in Chajul everyday...unless she sleeps over at the office when things are crazy-busy. LHI is a 401 C 3 organization whose main program is to provide scholarships to poor indigenous Mayan Ixil kids to go to middle school. They too look for individuals or groups to sponsor deserving students and are in the process of finding new sponsors now for the school year which resumes in Feb. My Book Club decided last night to be a sponsor. You might want to think of ways existing groups could do something like this. We also decided to stop brining each other hostess gifts and make a monetary contribution to LHI (a mere $5 a head) from each meeting. The sponsorships for the kids in Chajul range from $160 to $250 a year depending on the grade level....so little when you think about it. Anyone interested should check out limitlesshorizonsixil.org
I hope you're having a great experience with the student you are sponsoring in San Pedro
I hope you're having a great experience with the student you are sponsoring in San Pedro
#5
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Really interesting - thanks for sharing! It's surprising how much it takes (much less than many North Americans spend on coffee in a month!) to provide a change for a student to become educated and leave the cycle of marginalized living they've known. Have a wonderful trip and be sure to post a travelogue for us. And tell your daughter thanks for doing what she does!!
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