Help build a school in Guatemala
Noted on November 10, 2008 by Natanya in
From Kenny Short (previous IE3 Global Internships intern to Long Way Home in Guatemala):
Hello all, I realize this may not be the best time to be asking for donations to build a school in a foreign country. But this vocational school building project was born during my time in Comalapa, Guatemala just over a year ago and I am simply trying to do my part to see this good project through to its successful achievement.
The children in this school who will benefit are children I know personally, I have taught them, played soccer with them. These kids are bright and can achieve, but they are poor and the school is in the same shape. However, the education at Tecnico Maya school does not suffer the same problem even with a lack of resources and a decent building. Despite this the curriculum is competitive and unique because it teaches in both Spanish and Kak'chikel, the local indigenous dialect. But with the new school, we will add shops for technical training in needed skills such as carpentry, mechanics, and computer training. Comalapa is a good, safe and growing town in Guatemala, it has energy and potential right now and what it needs are people with skills and motivation. With this new school we hope to provide the town with a few more business people and leaders who are committed to local success.
The people building the school will be the founder and director of Long Way Home, Mateo Paneitz, his on-site volunteer staff, local Guatemala payed-workers and volunteers, and interns like myself. And, if any of you would like the opportunity to go and put in some volunteer building time, we can easily arrange that. But this is just to say, this is a grassroots organization with very little wasted money.
Right now, Long Way Home is running a capital campaign for the land and construction materials costs. Down below is the forwarded message from Cat Brandon, one of Long Way Home's full-time staff, about the GlobalGiving website. There is a NOVEMBER 21ST deadline and a 75 PERSON quota to gain membership to this charity development clearinghouse site, so if you can give small and soon thats really ideal.
I hope this letter finds everyone well, please feel free to write back if you have questions about the project or myself. I can send a formal write up of project details and budget as well. Below are the links to my blog of my internship there and Long Way Home's website which have lots of information about the organization itself. Do your homework, but you can trust me I hope. Thanks for your consideration in helping a good cause, take care. Kenny
http://www.kshortinca.blogspot.com/
IE3 Long Way Home internship information
Greetings from Comalapa!
Hopefully this finds you well. As you may already know, Long Way Home (the non-profit I work for) recently purchased a piece of land to build a new school for some local children who have very poor educational opportunities. School construction is scheduled to begin in January!
We just won a potential spot on the GlobalGiving website to help raise the money to build the new school. GlobalGiving is an organization that connects donors with projects that need funding. (See our listing at www.globalgiving.com/2402 .) They guarantee that projects listed on their site have been thoroughly researched so donors know it's legit. Landing a spot on their website will give us credibility and greater visibility among a large group of potential donors, hopefully paying for the construction of the whole school!
Here's what you can do to help...
In order to land a permanent spot on the GlobalGiving website, we have to meet the "Project Challenge" goal: Get a total of $3,000 in donations from at least 75 different people before the November 21 deadline. We've already got a couple hundred dollars toward the $3,000 goal, but the great part is that even if you can only donate $10 or $20, you're still making a huge difference by helping us reach the 75 donors part of the goal.
Please make at least a small donation to Long Way Home through the GlobalGiving website before November 21, and encourage your friends and family to do the same. Go here www.globalgiving.com/2402 to make your donation.
If you are concerned about the legitimacy of donating through GlobalGiving, please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Thank you for helping out! Cat