Sunday, March 30, 2008

Another delivery and More to Come!


On Wednesday of this past week, we finished delivering packages to all the afternoon students. FYI: the packages consist of 6 notebooks, 2 pens, 1 pencil, an eraser, and a sharpener. Then on Thursday, we went to visit the morning students and bring them their packages. It became apparent that many students who were in need of school supplies, did not receive anything. So we got the teachers to write out all the names of the students who didn't receive a package and promised to return the next week to finish off the delivery. The next day (Friday) we bought all the supplies for all the students in the morning classes and on Wednesday of this week, we will be finishing off our delivery of school supplies. It is satisfying knowing that all the students will soon have all the proper school supplies to properly take advantage of their education.



Another exciting update is that we have ordered and payed for 6 large white boards (pizarras)for the classrooms. They will be ready for us on Tuesday and we will be able to bring the teachers brand new white boards for their classrooms, as well as new dry eraser markers. This donation is not only going to make the lives of the teachers easier but going to improve the learning process of the students.

It is because of all your kind donations that we have been able to make all this possible for the school and the students that attend. It is our hope that we can continue to make improvements to the school as well as the neighbourhood of El Pantanal.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

What we have done so far and what is to come!!

2 weeks ago- we made our first delivery.
We rented a "camioneta" (pick-up truck) and packed it with a fresh supply of specially made packages for each individual child. Kathryn, Andres, and Juan Carlos lead the team with the help of some teachers and staff from Casa Xalteva Spanish school (Greisy, Maria Amanda, and Manuel GRACIAS!!) Not to mention we had some Casa Xalteva Spanish students come along to help out. We distributed packages to the kids in the afternoon that day. However, our wise friend Juan Carlos noticed that there were new faces in the classrooms that we hadn't met before. We then, decided that we needed to make new packages for these students as well.

This week we will be making another delivery to all the morning students and those afternoon students who are still in need of supplies.

Once this week of hard work is over, I will update the blog again with more exciting news, updates, and plans!!

Friday, March 21, 2008

Our Plan

Through the generosity of donations we hope to...................

1) Supply the children who attend Jose De La Cruz Mena with school supplies which include notebooks, pencils and pens, backpacks, uniforms, shoes, pencil sharpeners, erasers (all the necessities to learn effectively). This is an important need since about half the students go without these school supplies.

2) To improve the conditions of the school
a) The school grounds are desert like, thus we would like to plant as many trees as possible to provide a better school playground.
b) The school has no library, thus we would like to purchase or build library shelves to store about 300 books that currently "live" on the floor in boxes.
c)Teachers have limited materials, thus we would like to provide them with functional replacement tools like blackboards and working lights.
d) The director of the school has also requested that we build them a covered basketball court

3) Help the neighborhood with hygienic products like soap, deodorant, shampoo, toothpaste, and toothbrushes. Food and used or new clothing donations are needed.

4) Build a new additional bathroom for another school affiliated with Jose De La Cruz Mena school that only has one toilet facility for 900 students. The toilet does not work well and requires that a teacher clean it out after each visit.

Why El Pantanal?

Casa Xalteva has a connection with El Pantanal because our good friend Jose Andres, who is originally from the area and whose family is still living there, has been living at Casa Xalteva since he was 9 years old. Andres was apart of Casa Xalteva's educational shelter program which was founded by Dr.Ken Carpenter and Dr.Gregory Calvert in 1995. Before the age of 9, Andres worked daily collecting garbage with his older brother (without shoes) until he had the opportunity to come and live at Casa Xalteva.

El Pantanal is located outside of Granada and is considered by most as the garbage dump or "chureca". 80% of the people in El Pantanal work 12 hour days looking for plastic, metal, and copper in the garbage dump. For one pound of Copper or Iron collected it is possible to earn 7 cordobas. Plastic and other types of metal are usually about 1 cordoba per pound. For your information... the exchange rate between the cordoba and the american dollar is 19 for one american dollar. Both Andres' step father and brother continue to work in this field daily, and continue to suffer economically.

Andres is currently 22 and his education continues being sponsored by Casa Xalteva. He also works as Casa Xalteva's "Tour Guide" for student afternoon excursions . He does a great job taking students to spots off the beaten path and always has them laughing out loud. He is currently finishing his last year of school before he enters university.
It is both Andres' hope and our desire that we can help the children of El Pantanal. We hope that our efforts can enable the children to maintain a meaningful education.





Our Story

Si Quieres, Pueden Reir (If you want, they can laugh) is a project afiliated with a larger and well established organization called Casa Xalteva. Casa Xalteva is a non profit spanish school and educational center in the heart of Granada, Nicaragua which raises funds to help care for children that come from harsh economic conditions. "Si Quieres, Pueden Reir" is a project inspired by the philosophy of Casa Xalteva which is to help others that are in need without religious or personal biases.

Our project was founded by three people from Casa Xalteva. Our organization consists of one student from Canada (Kathryn Moncur) and two local Nicaraguans who are important staff members at Casa Xalteva (Jose Andres Martinez Barahona and Juan Carlos Roblero.) Through our work and the help of other generous staff members and students, we are devoted to help the school "Jose De La Cruz Mena" by raising funds, collecting materials, and creating excursions to the school and town. Another goal is to educate students about the reality of poverty and the possible solutions that create hope.