Saturday, October 27, 2007
Hello Everyone!
Welcome to the first edition of our Mayan Families Canada newsletter. Our goal is to keep you informed of our activities, both in Canada and in Guatemala.
Ladies Summer Luncheon Last July we held our first-ever Ladies’ Summer Luncheon in Nanoose Bay. Despite the weather it was a great success. We raised over $5000! Thank you to all those who helped make it happen.
The monies raised are earmarked for windows, doors, and walls for a woman’s center in San Jorge. At this stage, the land has been purchased and the building is now in the planning stages.
After our visit to Guatemala next summer, we hope to have more photos and updates for you on this much-needed project.
2007 Trip To Guatemala
An 8-member volunteer team went down for 2 weeks this past August. During this time we visited our 25 sponsored students and their families, handed out food, shoes, blankets, vitamins and hygiene items, visited an orphanage, were honoured at the opening of a new school (partly funded by Mayan Families) and helped assist in a dental clinic. It was a busy, intense, heart-warming trip with several volunteers wanting to return.
School-Wide Fundraising Campaign
Our local school district fundraising campaign is now in full swing. Springwood Middle School (in the Parksville/Qualicum area) has raised over $2600 in one week, an astonishing amount for a small school. They will be sponsoring 12 children to go to school and have raised enough funds for 5 stoves to be installed (see Stove Project for details).
Other schools in the district will also be raising funds and collecting supplies in the next few months. These school children are very concerned about helping other children around the world.
Stove Project
From our visit last summer, we found that many families are still cooking over open-flame stoves. Not only does this cause respiratory problems but it also requires children in the family to take on the job of collecting wood on a daily basis. These children cannot go to school because they must gather wood instead. Mayan Families Canada will be installing 40 fuel-efficient, well-vented stoves next summer.
“Heart Warmer” Fundraiser
Look for our upcoming fundraiser, which will be a “Heart Warmer”, in mid-February. Our hope is to raise enough funds to install 40 stoves. More details will follow in upcoming newsletters.
Thank you again for your ongoing support of Mayan Families.
For further information about any of our projects please contact:
Robin Pawliuk 250-468-7826
