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Schools in rural Guatemala have been neglected for years by the national Government. Gaping holes in the roofs provide easy access for water to pour on the students' books. Desks need repair after years of use. Children are forced to use stinking, filthy latrines.
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Latrine at Sajcap
elementary school |
Teachers and students need your help.
*Construction of new classrooms
*New roofs over existing classrooms
*Purchase desks, chairs and whiteboards
*Build sanitary bathrooms
*Construction of school kitchens
*Installation of computers in elementary schools
and computer training for teachers
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| Support us through shopping! |
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When you shop you can donate too!
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Visitors ask us "Why Guatemala?" We tell them the story about how we got involved here and a little bit about living here. After 8 years here, I think the bigger question is "Why Stay?"
We stay because our efforts matter. They matter to a baby needing surgery. Or to a young adult who has an opportunity to go to school. Or to a woman who has a new Chapina stove. Our efforts matter to the hundreds of families receiving running water for the first time. Or to the man who can see so he can go back to work after cataract surgery. Or to the 46-year-old women who is cancer free after receiving cervical cancer treatment.
Sometimes an elderly person needs consoling or a child needs school supplies. Hugs and pencils matter.
You matters to us. Your encouragement, friendship and financial support matter. Together we do make a difference.
That's why we stay.
Kind regards,
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| Lois Werner, Founder |
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"We don't have to change the world to improve one life, but in improving one life, we help change the world." Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu
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CHAPINA STOVE #3,000 INSTALLED
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- 3,000 women no longer suffer from upper respiratory infections, eye irritations, head aches, lung cancer, and heart disease
- 7,000 kids do not risk life threatening burns and death from pneumonia
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| Moms and their children spend 5 - 7 hours a day breathing toxic smoke from open fire cook stoves |
Cooking shouldn't kill
, yet hundreds of women in rural Guatemala are exposed to toxic smoke 5 to 7 hours a day cooking for their family over open fires.
New Chapina Stoves empower women to live healthier lives. Smoke is vented outside the kitchen, burns are eliminated, and the Chapina stove uses 69% less wood than open fire stoves.
When you buy a Chapina stove, you create a healthy kitchen for women and children and you do your part to reduce deforestation and global warming.
This Mother's Day help us reach our goal
to assist 1,000 women this year.
The cost of a stove is only $135.
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The Pedina family standing next to their new Chapina stove. Notice the black wall caused by smoke from their old stove.
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OVER 1,000 KINDERGARTEN AND FIRST GRADE STUDENTS ARE LEARNING READING AND MATH SKILLS
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Teachers Helping Teachers began in 2012 with one teacher and 9 students. The curriculum and learning materials were developed by our board member,
Sharon Carlson, Ed.D.
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The first Teachers Helping Teachers class in 2012
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Today there are 57 teachers and over 1,000 kindergarten and first grade students in the program.
Teachers tell us
- "Parents are surprised their child can add and subtract in kindergarten."
- "In the past we struggled with parents to send their children to school but last year they saw the kids could read and do math. Now parents are eager for their kids to come to school."
- "Kids want to come to school because they have learning materials. They have fun and advance at the same time."
Sharon goes to Guatemala each year to train new teachers and provide classroom support. The training includes non-traditional teaching methods for reading and math, how to create classroom materials, and workshops for the teachers.
The national curriculum requires students in kindergarten to learn the vowels and to count to 10. Using the methods Sharon has developed, the students can identify numbers to 100, they know the sounds of all of the vowels and letters, and can add and subtract 2-digit numbers - in kindergarten.
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Juan Pablo, age 5, attends kindergarten.
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Why support our
scholarship program?
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Because young adults are smart, they want a better life, they have dreams...all they need is an opportunity.
The annual cost to attend high school is $500 and the cost to attend college for a year is $1,500. Parents do not have the money to help their kids go to school. Our scholarships assist students with tuition, books, supplies, and transportation.
There are 45 kids in our scholarship program attending junior high or high school. This year we are helping 7 young adults attend college. A college education is a clear path to a brighter future for these worthy students.
Meet Mariana
K
ids made fun of her in the village because she walks with a limp. When she was 5, she suffered a broken hip that was never repaired so one leg is shorter than the other. Her father abandoned the family many years ago and her single mother had no money to pay for Mariana to attend junior high school. Her dreams came crashing down. She applied and was
accepted into our scholarship program and graduated from high school in November, 2015.
Her dream is to one day "design cell phones" but mostly she wants to help handicapped kids. "I know the pain they suffer" said Mariana. She continues in our scholarship program and attends college on weekends.
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Mariana at high school graduation.
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Thank You Caitlin Olson
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Caitlin served as a Peace Corp Volunteer in San Martin for the past 2 years. She translated for our medical teams and was always willing to help where needed. Caitlin returned to the U.S. and will pursue her dream to attend medical school.
We will miss her and wish her all the best.
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Our new health clinic construction is progressing
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Thanks to members of the Naples United Church of Christ in Naples, Florida for their generous contribution to fund the construction of the new clinic. The building is 2,500 square feet and is designed with 4 exam rooms, a dental clinic, and a pharmacy.
The floor and wall tiles are installed, the ceiling is a bright white, and soon doors and windows will be delivered.
The interior lobby is large enough for triage, a reception area, a waiting room and can be converted to a classroom when needed. We anticipate moving in sometime in August.
Antonio and Blanca Roca donated the land for the health clinic. Our gratitude goes to them for this incredible gift.
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"VISIT A VILLAGE"
HEALTH CARE PROGRAM
During the first four months of this year we were fortunate to have several groups volunteer their time and expertise to deliver health care to people living in remote villages.
The combined groups treated over 1,900 men, women, and children.
Harrisburg Area Community College
nursing students led by Professor Marge Gingrich,
conducted school physicals for 165 five and six year old kids at Parvolos Nacional school in San Martin.
Volunteers with
Nursing Heart
constructed a school kitchen in Aguacate and saw 50 students and 30
patients in a primary care clinic.
Shared Beat volunteer health professionals led by Jenny Hartsell visited 3 schools and performed physicals on 396 elementary school students.
LAMP medical volunteers from the Chicago and Milwaukee area conducted primary care clinics for 4 days in 2 rural villages. They saw 280 school kids and 70 adults. Dr. Jack Armstrong joined the group in El Sauce to assist with the primary care clinic.
43 Florida Atlantic University nursing students led by Dr. Rhonda Goodman conducted primary care clinics, student wellness physicals and cervical cancer screenings in 3 remote villages. They treated a total of 757 men, women, and children.
Dr. Don Dian, retired Pediatrician from Ft. Myers, Florida visited us in March. He saw 60 kids and assisted Dr. Alvarado on clinic day.
Dr. Greg Haskins, an Ophthalmologist from Fremont, Nebraska, performed cataract surgeries and treated 170 patients at our clinic in San Martin, Jilotepeque.
Thanks to everyone who traveled to
Guatemala and so
generously
donated their time and talents.
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WE APPRECIATE OUR PARTNER
Thanks to Ron Noecker, Founder of Nursing Heart, Lori, Sara, Blanqui, Andy and Jonathon for your continued support, friendship, and commitment to improving health in Guatemala.
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WE APPRECIATE OUR PARTNER
Rotary International
Thanks to Rotary donations and the hard work of 100s of people in El Sauce, 250 families received running water at their homes for the first time in January.
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WE APPRECIATE OUR PARTNER
Members and friends of St. Luke's United Church of Christ in Independence, Missouri raised $9,150 to purchase 67 Chapina Stoves.
Linda Drown will be with us May 15 to celebrate with the 67 families receiving St. Luke's stoves.
Many thanks to all who participated and helped make St. Luke's first international project such a great success.
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| Linda Drown at St. Luke's kicking off their Guatemala Stove Project |
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| Every contribution makes a difference. 99% of your donation goes directly to help families and entire communities in rural Guatemala. |
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DID YOU KNOW?
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"The emissions from cook stoves and open fires cause millions of premature deaths per year, and women in developing countries are the victims of this preventable tragedy. Clean cook stoves are a simple and effective way to deliver dramatic health and livelihood benefits to women in particular, while also improving energy efficiency, reducing ecosystem damage and contributing to the fight against climate change.''
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