March Newsletter

“A Night for Nicaragua”
As most of you know, Proyecto Laguna is hosting our first annual fundraiser on March 20th at the Kiss Café (2400 Boston St) in Baltimore, Maryland. Tickets are $45 in advance and $50 at the door. Ticket price includes Latin cuisine, beer and wine, mojitos, and entertainment. There will also be a silent auction featuring Nicaraguan crafts as well as many local donations. Tickets can be purchased online from our website, clicking on “donate now”. Even if you can’t make it, all donations are welcome and appreciated. We are looking forward to seeing many of you at this great event!
To buy tickets or make donation click here - http://www.proyectolaguna.com/

Living Earth Institute
We are making progress toward our goal of installing rain gutters and a back-up water tank at the Ruiz Castillo School. This is a goal the parents and school administration set in March of 2007 and it has been wonderful to see the pride and empowerment they have felt as this project has taken steps forward. Two engineers, Robin Kirschbaum and Pam Elardo, visited from the United States in February. Robin and Pam are from the Living Earth Institute (www.livingearth.org) and worked with Proyecto Laguna to earn a grant from Pangea (www.pangeagiving.org.)The engineers visited the Ruiz Castillo School and met with school personnel, our parent group, and a local contractor. They are currently working on their final technical designs. We hope to start construction in April.

School Gardens and Health Education
We continue to work with the Ministry of Education on the school garden project. In the month of February a Ministry of Education representative gave a seminar to Proyecto Laguna and school personnel on nutrition and how best to utilize a school garden.We are also in the process of coordinating with the Ministry of Health to set up health and hygiene classes for the schools. We hope to start these classes in the next few weeks

Thank you
Thank you to everyone who made donations this month. We depend on your donations to make a difference in the lives of the people of Diria. A special thanks to the Robeson family who, after reading our previous newsletter, decided to sponsor to the Guadamuz family. Thanks to the Robeson’s generosity, the Guadamuz children will be able to attend school this year.

Photographer
Photos in this update are courtesy of Kristine Ambrose. To see a selection of the photographs of our project taken by visiting photographer Kristine Ambrose please link to her website: http://www.kristineambrose.com/events.asp

How You Can Make a Difference Today
To make a donation now connect to our website: http://www.proyectolaguna.com/
For questions or comments feel free to contact us at news@proyectolaguna.com

Website and Blog Updates
You can find complete details and read current and past blog updates on our web site:
Proyecto Laguna Website - http://proyectolaguna.cmail4.com/l/355704/8i4irlyi/www.proyectolaguna.com
Pass It On! Please Share This Newsletter With Others

February Newsletter

School is in Session
The first day of the new school year in Nicaragua was on February 4th. The weeks leading up to this day were busy for us!
Proyecto Laguna distributed over 500 backpacks filled with school supplies to children registered in our program at the three schools we work in. We were also able to supply a backpack to each of the teachers filled with notebooks, markers, pencils, pens, glue, scissors, and more. Each school also received supplies of blank paper, art materials, and office supplies.
Children and their parents renewed their contracts with Proyecto Laguna agreeing to be responsible, attend school, and complete their school work. Over 100 new children registered with us and will receive school supplies starting in July.
The children and teachers were happy to have their new backpacks and the community gifted Proyecto Laguna with oranges, toasted corn, kisses on the cheek, and blessings as a way of showing thanks. Parents thanked us for giving their children an opportunity to attend school.
We were thankful to have two of our board members, Kathy and Buzz Belcher, as well as three volunteers, Hazel Alemanza, Raul Planas, and Christy Myers, to help us distribute backpacks. We couldn’t have done it without their help.
The cobblers have finished the first batch of shoes and they did a great job. The shoes are well made in high quality leather. The cobblers should be finishing up our initial order in the next week.
There are still children who will not receive shoes this year, as we receive more donations we hope to continue providing more shoes to more children.

Special Cases
In the last month Proyecto Laguna was approached and asked to help two families in great need.
The Guadamuz family was recommended by the vice principal of the Ruiz Castillo school. He reported that this family was extremely poor, the children had not attended school the previous year as the mother could not afford shoes, uniforms, and school supplies. In this family there are 4 generations living in a one room house. The grandmother and mother take in washing but the money earned from this barely pays for food.
The vice principal helped the mother register the children for school but he knew the children would not attend school without shoes or uniforms and would be unable to do their school work without paper and pencils.

The Leyva family lives in a small community called El Arroyo, about 30 minutes down a rough dirt road. We do not normally work in this community but were touched by the story of this family. Five months ago a mother of 5 was tragically killed in this poor farming community. The 5 children were taken in by their great-grandmother, Berta. Berta is an old woman and is unable to do any physical labor. She has no source of income and now lives with her 5 grandchildren in her one room house made from sticks tied together. The whole community has tried to help support this family by providing them with food but due the crops loss and prices increases no one has much to spare. The director of these children’s school had heard of our program and approached us to ask if we could help.
We visited both of these families and explained how Proyecto Laguna works; we would provide them with the necessary school supplies and in return they would be responsible for attending school regularly and completing their school work. Both families registered with us.
Upon hearing about the Leyva family Christy Myers agreed to sponsor all 5 children. The Leyva’s are very grateful. Due to Christy’s help we are able to make a difference in the lives of these children.
We do not yet have a specific sponsor for the Guadamuz family. Please contact us if you can help out with this family.

Penny Wars
We would like to thank The St. Vincent de Paul High School of Petaluma, California for choosing Proyecto Laguna to benefit from their Penny War fundraiser. As one of the charities benefiting from this fundraiser we have received a $1500 donation. This money will make a big difference in the lives of the children of Diria.
Penny Wars are a fun and effective way of raising money in a school, dorm, church or office setting. If you are interested in raising money for Proyecto Laguna please contact us and we will provide you with the information you need.

The American Nicaraguan Foundation
The American Nicaraguan Foundation has accepted applications from Proyecto Laguna’s schools. This means that our three school with benefit by receiving a shipment of teaching supplies twice a year. This will greatly benefit the schools and supplement the supplies that Proyecto Laguna is already supplying. We look forward to working further with the American Nicaraguan Foundation.

Sofia Kelly sets a great example
Sofia Kelly, a recent kindergarten graduate from the US, decided that she wanted to raise money to help Freddi, the boy her family sponsors. Along with a friend, she set up a lemonade stand and raised over ten dollars. Sofia mailed her earnings to us along with personal letters to Freddi wishing him well. We were impressed by Sofia’s caring and her willingness to work hard to try and help out a little boy who lives so far from her. If a young girl can raise $10, imagine what you could do.

Photogragher
To see a selection of the photographs of our project taken by visiting photographer Kristine Ambrose please link to her website: http://www.kristineambrose.com/events.asp

February
February is shaping up to be an exciting month for Proyecto Laguna. Mid month the engineers from Living Earth Institute will be visiting and completing their technical designs for the water/sanitation project at Ruiz Castillo. The school’s staff are very excited about this project and we look forward to it as well.
We also will be kicking off the school gardens project this month, working in conjunction with the Ministry of Education. We hope to have working gardens at our schools that will help to provide nutrition to the students as well as providing a hands-on natural science laboratory.
Proyecto Laguna will also start working with the Health Ministry to provide a variety of workshops for the students at our schools.
We hope that this year we continue to grow and flourish. We thank you all for your support in our first year and hope for your continued support.


Thank You
Thank to everyone who made a donation in the month of January. We depend on donations from persons such as you. We would like to say a special thank you to Karen Ameloot, Rebecca Parr and Natalie Christensen who donated several personal hygiene kits to Proyecto Laguna.

January Newsletter

Non-Profit Status

Proyecto Laguna received a wonderful holiday gift this year, non-profit status! Proyecto Laguna is now officially a 501c3 Certified Non-Profit Public Charity in the United States. We are very excited for the opportunities this brings us and the benefits it brings to you, our donors. All donations are now tax deductible, and having governmental recognition opens a lot of doors for us.As a result of our non-profit status, all donations made in 2007 are tax deductible. We will be sending out receipts to all of our donors in the last year to use for tax purposes. If you don’t receive your receipt by the end of January please contact us at info@proyectolaguna.com.



Sanitation Project

In other good news, the Living Earth Institute has been awarded a grant from the Pangea Foundation to come to the Ruiz Castillo school and install two water tanks, rain gutters, and repair/replace the latrines. Our parent group is very proud of themselves as they helped solicit this grant, and the teachers and parents are all very much looking forward to the benefits the children will receive as a result of this project. The engineers from Living Earth plan on visiting in February to work on their plans. They are working in conjunction with Proyecto Laguna. We will be responsible for doing the community organizing and educating that is necessary to make this project a success.



Packing Day
In December teachers and parents from Diria came into Granada and helped us pack the backpacks that will be distributed to the children later this month. About 15 people showed up and helped us pack 700 backpacks with notebooks, pencils, erasers, dictionaries, pencil sharpeners, crayons, etc. Next week we will be distributing these bags to all of the children enrolled in our sponsorship program. Your efforts have made this happen and will make an incredible impact in the lives of these children.



Making Shoes
Proyecto Laguna is working with shoemakers in Diria to make pairs of shoes. Yes, there really are still cobblers! As we didn’t have enough money to make shoes for all the children, we asked the teachers to help us pick out the children who were most in need. The ones who are most in need are those who wouldn’t be attending school next year because they had no shoes. The teachers helped us gather shoe sizes for hundreds of children.Proyecto Laguna is working with local shoemakers because we believe it is important to keep investment within the community. By employing local workers, the money we pay to make shoes will go right back into Diria. If we were to buy shoes in the marketplace our money would go to shoes made in China. We have also found that by employing locals we get much higher quality goods, people take pride in making goods for their own community.As we receive more donations we hope to continue making more shoes for the other children registered with us. We need your help in this matter as there are children who need shoes who will not receive them at this time.



Photographer
At the end of December we had a visit from Kristine Ambrose, a professional photographer from Los Angeles. Kristine visited several of our families and took some truly amazing pictures. She plans on displaying her photos and donating a portion of the money she makes to Proyecto Laguna. We are also able to use her photos for our website and other advertisements. All the photos in this newsletter were taken by Kristine.
You can visit her website at: http://www.kristineambrose.com/



Thank you
We would like to send out a special thank you to Turf Valley Country Club located in Ellicot City, Maryland. They collected over $600 and donations of medicine. Thank you for your generosity.
We would also like to thank everyone who sponsored a child and those who donated money this month. Thank you for supporting the work we are doing and helping the children in Diria succeed in school and in life.



This newsletter will be sent out monthly and will keep you informed of our news and the projects we are currently working on. Your help is greatly appreciated.

December Newsletter

The Christmas shopping season is in full swing and that means many people are searching for ways to give meaningful gifts to others.
If you want to give gifts this year that have true meaning, and can actually make a small difference in the world, consider giving donations to Proyecto Laguna as Christmas gifts.
Donations of any size can make a big difference in the lives of the children in Diriá. Here are some examples of what your gift donation could do:

$10-enough clean water for the 250 students at Anne Frank School for a week -They currently have no local water source.

$25-Printing costs for school exams which children now have to pay and often cannot afford.

$50- Shoes, uniform, backpack, and school supplies for one student

$100-Sponsorship of one child for a year-including school supplies, medical care, and supporting their school

$200-Shovels, hoes, seeds, and all the other supplies needed to start a school garden that will help add fruits and vegetables to the children’s diet

$500-650 pounds of rice and 330 pounds of beans to provide a school lunch

$720-one year salary for the school nurse

$1000- four month supply of prescription and non-prescription medication for students in all three schools

$5000-construction of a school kitchen to assist in the preparation of school meals

When you make a gift donation you will be provided with a letter addressed to the gift recipient describing our project and showing that you made a donation in their name.
We hope that you will consider giving charitable donations to Proyecto Laguna as Christmas gifts this year.


A Special Thank You
We would like to thank Stephanie Lerner, who asked people to donate to us for her birthday this year. Due to Stephanie’s generosity we received a $5000 donation! This is our single largest donation to date and we are very appreciative. As a result of this donation we are well on our way to providing shoes to the children of Diriá and are also hoping to be able to repair and improve the kindergarten classroom at the Anne Frank school. Thank you Stephanie, you have made a difference in the lives of many in Diriá.

Graduation
The school year in Nicaragua has now ended and the children are on vacation until the start of February.
In the past week we have attended the graduations for the kindergarteners and the 6th graders at the three schools we work in.
The Ruiz Castillo school dedicated their graduation to Proyecto Laguna, which was quite an honor. Tracy Finch (co-founder) and Jennifer Schwinn (Director of Community Development) were invited to sit on stage during the graduation ceremony. As each child graduated they shook hands with Tracy and Jennifer before they left the stage. It was a wonderful experience to watch the children, standing with their parents, proudly receive their diplomas.
The director of Ruiz Castillo told us that they dedicated the graduation to Proyecto Laguna to show their appreciation of all of the work we are doing to help their school. This, once again, is a reminder that even though we feel there is so much left to do, what we have already done is greatly appreciated.
We would also like to thank everyone who sponsored a child and those who donated money this month. Thank you for supporting the work we are doing. Your donations make a difference.

Year in Review
As the end of the year nears we have been reflecting on our accomplishments. It has been a year of learning and challenges, also of joy and accomplishment. We have been able to establish many positive relationships in the community of Diriá and have been able to make a small difference in the lives of the children. We have been greatly impressed with this community; their warmth, their friendship, and their willingness to work hard to improve the lives of their children.
We would like to thank all of you for your support this, our first, year. Thank you for your donations of money, goods, and services. Thank you for spreading the word about our project. We have high hopes for next year and many years into the future. We hope to continue to work with all of you.

Thank you

We would like to thank everyone who sponsored a child and those who donated money this month. Thank you for supporting the work we are doing and helping the children in Diria succeed in school and in life.How you can helpTo make a donation now connect to our website http://www.proyectolaguna.com/For questions or comments feel free to contact us at mailto:contact@proyectolaguna.comctolaguna.comThis newsletter will be sent out monthly and keep you informed of our news and the projects we are currently working on.

November Newsletter

Update

The last few months in Nicaragua have been difficult. Hurricane Felix wiped out the north part of the Atlantic coast and recent rains have caused major flood damage in the north. Many people have died; many more are sick, homeless, and/or dealing with a variety of issues caused by these disasters.
Though our area has had record rain this year we have been spared any major physical damages. Due to the heavy rains most farmers nationwide have lost the crops they sowed just before the rains hit. As a result, prices are going up and many poor families cannot even afford to buy beans. Many of the families Proyecto Laguna works with live off of subsistence farming. These families will struggle this year with providing their families adequate nutrition.
The Nicaraguan school year ends on November 23rd and the schools are busy giving finals and preparing for graduation celebrations. Proyecto Laguna is helping the schools pay for part of the graduation festivities. Proud kindergarteners, sixth graders, and high school students will soon be receiving their diplomas.
This is a time of a lot of work for us. We are gearing up for the start of the new school year in February. It is our goal to provide backpacks, school supplies, uniforms, and shoes to over 600 students whose families cannot afford these things. We have already had the backpacks made by local seamstresses and we are able to buy the school supplies. We don’t have enough funding for the shoes and uniforms. Shoes are of the utmost importance as children will not attend school if they don’t have shoes. If they have to, a child can wear a uniform that is stained and patched, a little too small, or a little too big, but when a pair of shoes is worn through a new pair is necessary. A pair of sturdy shoes made a local cobbler costs $6. Your donation of $100 will buy 16 pairs of shoes and provide a job for a cobbler. Please take the time to make a donation now and help these children go to school next year.

To make a donation click here-http://www.proyectolaguna.com/donate/index.htm

Give Child Sponsorships for the Holidays
Charitable donations make wonderful holiday gifts. This year, give the people on your list something that will make a difference. We will provide you with information on the child, a picture of the child and letter from them for you to provide to the recipient. If you want to make a monetary donation in another person’s name we can provide you with a letter from us thanking them for the donation and explaining our project and what their donation will do to help the children of Diria.
Last year, Tracy, our co-founder, gave her grandmother a child sponsorship for her 94th birthday. Tracy’s grandmother says that she has the child’s picture on her refrigerator and she is happy every time she looks into his smiling face. She likes knowing that she is helping him go to school.
Every year we worry about buying people gifts and often give people things they don’t really need. This year give the people on your list something that can help a child succeed in school and in life.

To make a donation click here-http://www.proyectolaguna.com/donate/index.htm

Water Projects
Proyecto Laguna is working with the Living Earth Institute (livingearth.org). The mission of Living Earth Institute is to empower communities to protect their health and environment through the sustainable use of water resources.
Living Earth and Proyecto Laguna are working together to build/repair latrines at our three schools and to put in roof gutters that will collect rainwater and provide a source of water in the rainy season.
Two of our schools, Anne Frank and La Nicarao, have no local water source. Collecting rainwater will help them during the rainy season. Our other school, Ruiz Castillo, has water from the municipal source but this source is often turned off. We plan on installing a tank to store municipal water for use when this source is turned off. Also, we hope to put in a rainwater collection system at this school as a back-up water source.
Currently Living Earth and Proyecto Laguna are working together searching for funding for these projects. In the coming months we hope to have an engineer from Living Earth visit us to assess the needs at the three schools and finalize technical designs. We hope to be constructing at all three schools next year.
Proyecto Laguna is also working with the American Nicaraguan Foundation in the hopes that wells can be drilled at both Anne Frank and La Nicaroa. The vision of the American Nicaraguan foundation is to foster increased opportunity, self sufficiency and dignity for the poor in Nicaragua. Proyecto Laguna is currently working with them to complete an application for funding for these wells.
Due to the depth of groundwater in the areas of these two schools, estimated to be between 650 to 750 feet, the cost of well drilling is very high. It is our hope that if we are able to assist 2 or three large organizations, such as the American Nicaraguan Foundation, in working together they will be more able to serve these communities.

To make a donation click here-http://www.proyectolaguna.com/donate/index.htm


School Gardens
Proyecto Laguna, working in concert with the Ministry of Education, is going to help Ruiz Castillo start a school garden. The Ministry of Education has a school garden program which teams up with local foundations to help schools improve education and nutrition through the implementation of school gardens. The Ministry of Education is responsible for training, Proyecto Laguna is responsible for providing the day to day support needed to keep the project going, and the school staff, students, and parents are responsible for keeping the garden healthy and productive. The goal is for the garden to not only increase the nutritional value of the school lunch by adding in needed fresh vegetables, but also for the children to learn about responsibility and natural sciences. We look forward to working on this project.

To make a donation click here-http://www.proyectolaguna.com/donate/index.htm

Thank you
We would like to thank everyone who sponsored a child and those who donated money this month. Thank you for supporting the work we are doing and helping the children in Diria succeed in school and in life.

How you can help
To make a donation now connect to our website http://www.proyectolaguna.com/
For questions or comments feel free to contact us at contact@proyectolaguna.com
This newsletter will be sent out monthly and keep you informed of our news and the projects we are currently working on.

July/August Newsletter

Update
We are in need of sponsorships and donations in order to provide children with school supplies, uniforms, and shoes for the next school year. Please help us ensure that every child in Diria has the opportunity to attend school next year. The children in this picture are unsponsored and are writing letters to thier future sponsors.
In the last two months we have been working on several things. Our seamstresses and tailors have been busily making backpacks for the next school year, we had a second movie night, we handed out packets of school supplies to over 600 children, and more.
We are enjoying our work in Diria and are developing warm, positive relationships with the community. We hope you can help us continue doing this work by making a donation or sponsoring a child. Remember, 100% of donations go directly to our programs; nothing is taken out for overhead.
You can make a donation by linking to our website at -http://proyectolaguna.com/donate/index.htm

We need your help!
We have had a nice response from a few people who are now sponsoring children. Unfortunately, there are still over 600 children who don’t have sponsors. The new school year in Nicaragua starts in January, and though that seems far away, we need to start working now to get uniforms and shoes made. It will cost $18 per child just to provide them with a backpack, a skirt or pants, two shirts, and a pair of shoes. This doesn’t include the cost of notebooks, pencils, etc.
As it is currently, unless we are able to raise a significant amount of money, we will be unable to provide uniforms and shoes to the children next year.
Please take the time to sponsor a child. For $100 a year your child will receive shoes, a uniform, backpack, and school supplies at the start of the year, a suplemental packet of school supplies mid year, as well as year round basic medical care. The child’s school will also receive support for classroom and office supplies as well as larger project such as installing water tanks or repairing buildings.

If you do not wish to sponsor a child but want to make a donation toward providing uniforms and supplies for next year, that is also welcome.
We also would like to invite people to challenge their work, school, church, or other organization to raise money for these children. We are able to provide information including brochures, a slide shows, and ideas on how to structure a challenge.
You can make a donation by linking to our website at -http://proyectolaguna.com/donate/index.htm

For more information on how to fundraise or create a challenge you can contact us at jen@proyectolaguna.com

Seamstresses
Our group of seamstresses has been working overtime to make 700 backpacks that will be distributed to the children in January. We started early to give them time to make the uniforms also.

The seamstresses assisted us purchasing the correct materials and then divided it amongst themselves. Since then they have been hard at work sewing when electicity is available, some of them even using old fashioned foot pedal machines when the electricity is off.

We look forward to receiving the bags and hope to have enough donations and sponsorships to get started to on the uniform shirts in the next few weeks.

How Two Teenagers Made a Difference
We would like to send out a special thank you to Stephanie Huddleston and Jordan Willis in Woodinville, WA. Stephanie and Jordan are both 13 years olds, who together did odd jobs around their neighborhood during their summer vacation. They chose to use the money they earned to sponsor a child. Stephanie and Jordan are good examples of people with good hearts who are willing to work hard to help others. We are impressed by their example and hope they are proud of themselves. Hopefully they will enjoy their sponsorship of 8 year old Escarleth.

You can make a donation by linking to our website at -http://proyectolaguna.com/donate/index.htm

Supply Distribution
In early July we distributed packets of school supplies to over 600 students at our 3 schools. Each child received 4 notebooks with paper, 3 pencils, 2 pens, a pencil sharpener, an eraser, crayons or colored pencils, a coloring book for the younger children, and a set of geometry tools for the older children. The children were very happy with their new supplies. We were also able to provide every teacher with paper, pens, pencils, glue, whiteboard markers, scissors and masking tape.

Second Movie Night
Our second movie night was a roaring success. Standing room only with many chairs supporting two children. The parent group raised close to $100 they hope to use to help build new latrines and a water tank at their school.
The children are constantly asking when the next movie night will be and our other two schools are starting to plan a movie night to fundraise for themselves.

In the News
The word about Proyecto Laguna is getting out! The media came to movie night and interviewed us about our project. To link to the article in Nuevo Diario click here- http://www.elnuevodiario.com.ni/2007/08/28/departamentales/57398
We are very excited that we are getting local recognition.

Thank You
We would like to thank Brianna Robeson and her class at the Charyl Stockwell Academy in Hartland, Michigan. This 1st and 2nd grade class collected school supplies and sent them down to us. They are going to do a fall collection of school supplies also. The children and teachers of Diria were delighted with the supplies. What a great example Brianna and her class are.

We would also like to thank Carol Caldwell and the women of Gray’s Lake, Illinois Jazzercise studio. They donated medical supplies which Carol Caldwell brought down in her recent visit to Nicaragua. Our school nurse appreciated the supplies and the children will also.

We would also like to thank everyone who sponsored a child and those who donated money this month. Thank you for supporting the work we are doing and helping the children in Diria succeed in school and in life.

You can make a donation by linking to our website at -http://proyectolaguna.com/donate/index.htm


How you can help
To make a donation now connect to our website http://www.proyectolaguna.com/For questions or comments feel free to contact us at contact@proyectolaguna.com
This newsletter will be sent out monthly and keep you informed of our news and the projects we are currently working on.
If you wish to stop receiving this newsletter send an e-mail to: contact@proyectolaguna.com

June Newsletter

Update
These last couple months have been busy, as usual. We have been working to get sponsors for all of the children registered with us. We have had a wonderful response and we are very thankful, but we still have over 500 children in need of sponsors. Please take the time to sponsor a child today. $100 will supply your child with school supplies, medical care, and support their school for a year.
Sponsor a child now-http://www.proyectolaguna.com/sponsorachild/index.html
We are gearing up to give a mid year packet of school supplies to all of our registered children. The school year in Nicaragua is from January to December and July is the mid year point. We have been assembling packets of school supplies so that each registered child will receive pencils, pens, crayons or colored pencils, notebooks, pencil sharpeners, erasers, and for the older children a packet of supplies for studying geometry.

We have been meeting with a group of tailors and seamstresses who are going to make school bags and uniforms for all of our registered kids. We are getting started now, budgeting, buying fabric, etc. so that we are ready when the new school year begins in January. We are working with people in the community so that the money we spend to help the children stays within the community.

Diria celebrated "Children's Day" with big parties in the schools. The teachers put on performances for the kids, there were pinatas and a lot of food to eat.

It has been a full month and we have really enjoyed it.

Surprise Party
June 19th was Tracy Finch’s (co-founder of Proyecto Laguna) birthday. In celebration Ruiz Castillo school threw her a surprise birthday party. As Tracy entered the school for a fictional meeting she found all of the morning children (about 300) lined up in the plaza singing her happy birthday. They had two piñatas, which the children enjoyed immensely, and served a delicious lunch to us and all the teachers. Each child presented Tracy with a birthday card and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Each birthday card had a special note to Tracy thanking her for providing shoes and school supplies to them and their school, thanking her for her big heart, and wishing her many more birthdays in the future.
It was a touching gesture by the school which made us realize that though we feel we are just getting started, what we have already done is very much appreciated by the community.

Child Sponorship-Berta's Story
Please take the time today to help a child in Diria succeed in school and in life.
This month we would like to feature Berta. Berta is 11 years old and has two brothers and one sister. She is a very smart girl and gets good grades, but may not pass the 6th grade because she has so many absences. Berta’s mother, Margarita, is a single mother who takes in washing and struggles to make enough money to feed her family. So, to help support her family, Berta works a few days a week in Granada selling ceramic whistles to tourists. Though school is important, and Berta realizes this, she has to make the choice between getting an education for her future and eating today. It is no mystery why she chooses to miss school in order to work and make money.
Berta reports that her mother hopes someday to buy them a mattress so that they won’t have to keep sleeping on the floor with just rice sacks for cushion and warmth. A thin foam mattress costs $11. For Margarita, who makes about $40 a month, that is a fortune.
Sponsoring Berta would take the stress off her family for buying her school supplies and paying for her medical care.
We hope that as our funds grow we will have enough to hire women such as Margarita to work cooking school lunch or cleaning the school and pay them a fair wage so that their children are free to attend school.
There are over 500 children with stories similar to Berta’s who need to be sponsored.
Please take the time today to sponsor a child in Diria. Help us empower the community through education.

Sponsor a child now-http://www.proyectolaguna.com/sponsorachild/index.html

Movie Night
On June 15th we had our first movie night at the Ruiz Castillo School. We have been working to help the parents learn how to raise money so that they can take an active and empowered roll in helping their children’s school. So, we decided to have a movie night. Proyecto Laguna provided the movie and the projector, the school provided the place, and the parents brought snacks and drinks to sell and helped to set everything up.
Movie night was a great success. One Hundred and seventy people came and watched Madagascar (in Spanish of course) on the big screen. The kids loved it. They were laughing and clapping and cheering. None of the kids had ever been to a movie theater so this was their first time seeing a movie on a big screen. We don’t have a final figure but the parents raised about $100 and are excited to do it again sometime soon.
The parents group, on their own, have opened a bank account and are in charge of all the money they raise. They have chosen a president, treasurer, secretary, etc. Through raffles and the movie night they have raised over $200 in 3 months. For a place were most people make under $100 a month that is a lot of money. They are very happy about their success and hope to continue making money so they can help pay to build latrines in their school.

Thank you
We would like to thank Nicholls State University, school of nursing, for donating $500 dollars to pay for two girls, Dayanira and Elizabeth, to receive medical care for seizure disorders. With this money Dayanira and Elizabeth will be able to get long overdue brain scans and we will be able to pay for a few months of the mediations they need to manage their disorders. Thank you Nicholls State University!
We would also like to thank everyone who sponsored a child and those who donated money this month. We have received more donations this month than any previous month! Thank you for supporting the work we are doing and helping the children in Diria succeed in school and in life.

How you can help

To make a donation now connect to our website http://www.proyectolaguna.com/For questions or comments feel free to contact us at contact@proyectolaguna.com

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