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There's
been lots of things happening down
here in Guatemala with our work.
Our
first Fundraising trip
We are planning our first fundraising trip to
the U.S. The dates are May 10 - 20th in
Boston, New York, Boulder, & Houston.
See updates to times and locations here.
We
are lighting a village!
We
also did the first install of our portable
solar units in the isolated village of Mano de
Leon. This was made possible by some of our
great supporters and of course the GodsChild
Project who helped get us access to this
village. This action also got us our first piece
of
press here in Guatemala.
Now, 8 of the 18
families have light for the first time. See a stunning series
of photos of this
install by photographer Oscar Palencia here.
Inspiring
kids to study!
We just
had a well-known motivational
speaker spend four days with us as part of
our Speaker Series. Andre Norman, who
is from Boston and President of the National
Gang Council came, at no charge, to share
his wisdom on gangs and violence.
In the time he was here he spoke to over
1,200 folks at seven different schools and
non-profit centers here and in Guatemala
City. There are photos here.
New
School Opening!
We collaborate with several organizations
here in Guatemala. One of them is CasaSito
with whom we offer our Leadership
Development Training with a number of
their participating school directors.
One of these schools, Semilla
de Esperanza
in San Mateo, Guatemala
opened
its new
location last month. We
have been meeting
once
per week with the director of this
school and also with her assistants
to help
them navigate
the complexities of running a school that services
over
100 children and
their families in a rural area of Guatemala.
For
photos and video go here.
Zen
and Philosophy
Our
Integral Education program is growing
nicely. Debora is teaching 2 classes now
on philosophy with about 35 kids attending
each week - and they love it!
We are now planning to have Zen Sensei Michael Mugaku
Zimmerman of Salt Lake
City 'Skype' in for a class on Zen!
Stay tuned for more and see photo here.
Celebrity
Endorsement!
Professional actor,
star of Law & Order,
Linus Roche who is also
Managing Director
of EnlightenNext's New York City center
speaks of how Mick and Debora
are using the evolutionary teachings of
spiritual teacher Andrew Cohen to co-
create conscious development in the
developing world. See
video
here.
We
are growing!
In early March, Liz Flinn, of Red Deer, Canada
will be joining us as our first full-time staff
member. She has volunteered here
before and she also has years of experience
working with kids. She will be a great
asset to our sponsorship and education
programs. We are fundraising for her
first year's salary and have reached 25%
of our goal. So, if you would like to contribute
to raising $300 per month, please visit our
donation page that is linked below.
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My name is Eduardo. I am 15 years old. I study philosophy in
Debora & Mick's program and Deb tells me I am one of the
most active students. I am the second oldest of 7 brothers. My
father only comes once a month and not exactly to bring money
to help us. My mom works at the local farmer’s cooperative
and barely earns to survive. I also work, mostly to pay for my
school materials, but also to buy food.
Our youngest brother is
Marvin and he is 1. Right now he has breathing problems that
cannot be taken care of because our mother cannot pay for the
medication. Gustavo picks wood for the fire in the mountains
and we all take turns in taking care of the baby and Eric, the
7 year old, while our mom is working.
Mario Rolando is 13. He
takes care of the youngest of all the brothers while his
mother is working in the mornings. He attends school in the
afternoon and loves it. He is a great help around the house. Your
sponsorship can help ease a little of this pressure
and I can
keep studying. Thank you, Ed.
Make
a One-time Donation
or
Monthly Donation
In Guatemala, a teacher in a public school
earns
$300 per month and a Police Officer, after
thirty
years of service, will earn about $550 per
month.
That's why we ask for a minimum of $35 per
child
per month. As you can see, $35 per month will
go a long way.
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Thank
you so much for being such
an
important part of
the growth
of
this
community and this
family
of
heart-to-heart connections.
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Aaron S, Armin, Beth T, Christian,
Danielle and Family, Dan & Kamie,
Eva & Matt, Elisa, Ellen and Ryan S,
Kyozen Sensei, Elaine, Kamala,
Genpo Merzel, Jeff C, George R,
Gregor, Irene B, Jennifer, Jethro
& Sima, JC, Keith & Karen, Linda S,
Laurel J, Luisa, Kevin & Sam, Pam,
MarySue, Malena, Mikey, Michael
& Michelle, Neil, Osiris & Nina,
Patrick, Kanzeon Sangha, MIS
Technology, Joanna & The
Canberra Integral Study Group,
Paul, Magali, Marsha, Norah,
Jennifer, Jessica, Kay, Kate F,
Stuart, Jade, William,
Holly & Grace, Natalie (and the Worthington cluster),
Matt B, Oscar P, Jim & Cindy, Jacky, Martin, Richard, Sandra P, Sharon, Shelley S, Sean W, Stephanie M, Seamus & Addy,Vegar & Christy,
Ted S & Boston Integral, Gina,
Dianne, Kenneth, and Andre,
Franz, Kristina, Barbara S, Yvonne
K of the Germany Solar Cluster,
and Yee H.
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