Rockin' for the Cause

On Saturday October 24th 2009, we had a very wonderful party for my Dad's 60th birthday. All our friends, family, and loved ones showed up to pay respect and have some fun! We also had a donation jar for the project: Nicaragua School Project Society. I am happy to report that we raised 2200 dollars for the project. Thank you so much for your generosity!! What an amazing night... Not to mention, my Uncle's band rocked the show!

Also, I have had some people ask me about whether or not I could give receipts in the future for donations. I am working on that right now! I will let you know and hopefully by 2010 (or sooner) I can make that charitable status possible.

Our website is being build as we speak.. I will definetely post an update to let our followers know how to check it out.

thanks!! Kathryn & the Nicaragua School Project Crew

Also I would like to thank: Deborah, Jim, Katie, & Tara for agreeing to be on the board of directors for this society.

We are incorporated!

I am happy to report that this project Si Quieres, Pueden Reir is now incorporated under the Society Act of BC. We have incorporated it under the name : NICARAGUA SCHOOL PROJECT SOCIETY. Unfortunately, we were unable to use the spanish name which remains very important since Juan Carlos came up with it. I like to think that the project now has a joint name, kind of like what happens in an epic union of marriage. Si Quieres, Pueden Reir-Nicaragua School Project Society.

We continue to grow, and I promise more exciting endeavours in the future!

lots of Si Quieres Action!!

Although I haven't written in a while, there is lots of movement happening with this project.

Juan Carlos is currently finishing up delivering and supplying all the children in El Pantanal with their second shipment of school supplies for 2009. HOORAY! I should have some pictures available for viewing soon.

In a month or two, we will be launching our official website. Don't worry the blog will still be up and running for regular updates. This is pretty exciting. I am working with my friend Jacquie Troy on this endeavour. She is an up and coming webdesigner and fashionista. I have no doubt that her creative flare will light up our website.

And even more exciting... I hope that we will become a NON-PROFIT sooner than later. The government documents have been signed, sealed, and will be delivered soon!!

Keep In Touch and To be continued...

Kathryn

Just a quick message to say we are still alive!!

felicidades Andres!!

My partner in crime, Andres.. welcomed his second child into the world the other day. A little baby girl. Im so happy for him and his wife. He said he wanted a little girl, so he got his wish.

this is what school supplies are made of..

COLD HARD CASH-> Sent from Canada to Nicaragua!! I used Western Union to wire down about 1000 canadian dollars (which is kind of a rip off, unfortunately.) I took it upon myself to make a $64.00 contribution to the project by paying for the Western Union charge of sending the money internationally myself. Within seconds, Juan Carlos was able to pick up the money. He already had 200.00 US in Nicaragua (long story...) but, he currently has about 1100US plus some left over supplies from February 2009 to make the project a success this August 2009.

I really wish I was there to help. If there is anyone in Nicaragua or Casa Xalteva that reads this blog, please feel free to help with the purchase, creation of packages, and delivery by talking to either Juan Carlos or Andres at Casa Xalteva. You can look at my links if you need more information about Casa Xalteva.. It is located in Granada Nicaragua, half a block from the church of the same name (La Iglesia Xalteva.)

Stay tuned for pictures!

It's about that magical time..

HEY!
So, remember how I said that we would be supplying those adorable brown eyed beauties with school supplies coming up this month? Well it is about to happen.

Here is the lowdown: I saved a chunk of donations to be able to supply the kids for a second time this year. I am going to be sending money down to Juan Carlos so that he can take care of bussiness. I have no doubts in my mind that he will take on the project with grace without my help (who needs that silly gringa anyways?) We should be able to supply each child in Jose de La Cruz Mena once again. Juan Carlos will be taking photos, so I will hopefully be able to post some updated photos from the project. I might get teary eyed, knowing I wasn't able to help this time! My project (my baby) is growing up and isn't needing me as much anymore.. hehe.

So, keep in mind that the new goal is to supply these children twice a year. If we make more money, we will create new projects, possibly help more schools.. So I highly encourage people to donate to us this upcoming year and before. I hope to be able to get back to Nicaragua for 2 weeks in February to supply the kids and possibly (hopefully) think up some new projects in the community.

Also, good news... I got into grad school at Royal Roads. I am taking a program called:MA in Professional Communication specializing in Intercultural and International communication. I know this is the right path for me because when I was asked by a career councelor what I generally wanted to do, I answered by saying... "working with people of different cultures". Im not 100% sure where this will take me, but I know that Royal Roads is a great school and I will be able to find out about all the possibilities out there. I believe that this project "Si Quieres..." is part of the reason I got in!

Also: because of Alicia of Studio Red Dot, who wrote me an amazing reference letter about our time shooting the documentary. She claims it will be done soon :) Im excited to see it and I will surely be blogging about it when it is all done and ready for viewers.

thanks.
A little project that has gone along way....

Kathryn
DALE PUES (that is what they would say in GRANADA)

NEVER ending need in Nicaragua!

I have been getting lots of emails and facebook messages asking me about what kind of volunteer opportunities there are in the Granada area. They are simply endless! I highly encourage people to try out volunteering, there are so many great options for everyone. Try Casa Xalteva: they are always needing volunteer english teachers, as well as volunteers to work helping young children with homework. Donna Tabor is also a great volunteer resource in Granada, Nicaragua. She is the founder of "Building New Hope" and she can hook you up with a great volunteer job. Both these organizations are listed under LINKS on my blog page!

Don't forget that money donations are always a great way to help, if you can't make it down south. We are always collecting donations for our project, "SI QUIERES, PUEDEN REIR." We will be supplying our wee ones twice a year now. Which is a pretty hardy goal.

Thank you for your continued support. We hope to keep our project going even during really tough economic times. As little or as much as you can give can make a huge difference.

thanks!!

Better Quality Version of the Movie!

This is the finished/higher quality version of our "SI QUIERES, PUEDEN REIR" Movie. Please Enjoy. Thanks Cathy & Kay

an island that is growing.....

My best friend Juan Carlos (with whom I also work on this project) wrote on my birthday card a year ago... "Casa Xalteva es una isla de amor en el mundo y tu la has hecho crecer." (Casa Xalteva is a island of love in the world and you have helped it grow.)

This project, "Si Quieres, Pueden Reir" all started because of a beautiful NGO in Granada called Casa Xalteva. If you haven't checked out the website, I would highly suggest doing so. http://www.casaxalteva.com Casa Xalteva offers spanish classes to foreigners and lots of volunteer opportunities. But, the best thing about Casa Xalteva is the 15 smiling kids who attend it daily. These are kids from impoverished backgrounds that come to Casa Xalteva to get an education. They also feed, clothe, and take the kids on fun adventures. Nicaraguan kids are quite possibly the best in the world (but I guess, I am biased.) *Props to Ken Carpenter ( a prof from New Mexico) who made this vision a reality*

I originally came to Granada to learn some basic spanish and ended up falling in love with the city & the fabulous people. That is how our little project was born. On my second trip to Nicaragua, three friends by the names of Juan Carlos, Andres, and Kathryn started a project to help the kids in El Pantanal. This is why Juan Carlos wrote on my card, "that I had helped the island grow..."

We now like to think of our little project as a mini island that lives off the shores of Casa Xalteva..... and my dream is that "Si Quieres.." could become bigger and help more children in Nicaragua someday.

I would now like to put my thoughts on paper (or type my thoughts on a computer screen?) This next year- I would like to:
1) Make "Si Quieres, Pueden Reir" a registered charity or NGO
2) Build a real web site for the project
3) supply the kids both in August and in February with school supplies.
*If you can help me with any of these three goals, please write me... I love hearing from you!

And if you haven't already... Please watch the 4 minute movie that I made with my friend Kay from Seattle..It's a nice little introduction to our project and El Pantanal. It's a beauty. (You just need to scroll down to the MARCH 30th, entry)

Kathryn

Muchas Gracias!

Picture by Alicia (Studio Red Dot)

I want to give a special thanks to both teams of film makers who volunteered their time for our project, "Si Quieres, Pueden Reir." It is so amazing that I was contacted by both teams and that they were so enthusiastic to learn more about our story.

Thank you so much to Kay for filming the short movie and to her friend Catherine for editing it. It looks great! I have had really good feed back about it.

Thank you to Alicia and Matt for sending me more AMAZING professional shots from the documentary shot that we did in February. I am looking forward to seeing the final product. I know that Im going to cry listening to everyones interviews (especially Juan Carlos!) Good luck with everything.

If you are interested in finding out about either of these film maker teams, please email me for details!

Kathryn
(PS today is my birthday)

Movie, "Si Quieres, Pueden Reir."

Hi everyone!
I'm back in Canada, feeling pretty sad to be away from all my loved ones in Nicaragua. I feel so connected to the culture and people there, that I feel as if I would want to live there forever. I am sure that I will adjust to everything here, but Nicaragua is always in my heart. I can't forget how great my Canadian friends and family are as well.

Here is the finished product of the small film that my friend Kay made to help us promote our project, "Si Quieres, Pueden Reir." I hope you enjoy it.

This project is never finished and we still need donations to be able to complete projects that are in our minds... And we will be resupplying the children in Jose de La Cruz Mena in August as well.

Thank you for your constant support of this project! Let's hope it grows...

dale pues, Kathryn

Yes, I am still in Nicaragua!

I realize that it has been awhile since I have posted on my blog about the project! Things are just about a wrap until August.

Here is a point form recap!

1. All the children now have school supplies (about 500 of those glorious children)
2. We went back to the school and collected new lists of the students who were new to Jose De La Cruz Mena and supplied those new children with a package. We will double check this before I leave the country and supply any children who didn´t receive or are new.
3. With the rest of the money I have currently saved for this project, we will supply the children with a second set of school supplies in August. Children in Nicaragua go through two sets of school supplies per year (basically 12 notebooks in a year...) So I will be sending money to my trustworthy partner in crime and he will collect willing volunteers to help him (as I will be in Canada, unfortunately.) Would you like to help? Email me.
4. I have been finding children around the Granada area who need school supplies and have been independently giving them school supplies. So far, we have met 3 children who were in need and were able to help them out! It´s a good feeling.

I only have 2 more weeks!!!! The time went so fast, and I know that I wont be getting back to Nicaragua for awhile but I hope to be able to still make a difference. Thanks to you, I am able to have this project and improve the learning situation for many.

Soon to come a video interview about the project!!!!! (stay tuned)

thank you.

They laughed....

This picture says it all.
500 students with school supplies.
Now, he can do his job better.

With 1400 american dollars, we were able to buy a package of school supplies (6 notebooks, 3 pencils, 2 pencils, a pencil sharpener, and an eraser) for 500 students. Thanks to your kind donations: 500 children in Nicaragua can write, solve math problems, and practice their cursive writing.

on Thursday February 8th 2009, we delivered the gift of school supplies to our school, (JOSE DE LA CRUZ MENA.) We arrived at 10am for the morning classes and then we returned again at 3pm, to deliver the packages to the afternoon classes. It was a tiring day, working in the wind storm that came our way, and we returned to Granada covered in dust. We came back to Granada knowing that we had made many children laugh that day.

We also bought a huge array of art supplies and learning tools for the preschool class in the morning. These will help to encourage learning and creativity. The teachers of the school received a large amount of dry eraser pens that are necessary to their jobs.

I really hope the kids take advantage of what they have been given. Juan Carlos told me that the main reason why children don´t attend classes in Nicaragua is because their parents can´t afford to buy the necessary school supplies. With projects like ours and others that are alike it, more children will be able to attend school appropriately.

With the rest of the money that I currently have and other donations that come in, we will continue to create projects to help the community of El Pantanal. I will keep everyone updated on the following events that take place.

and more exciting news......

1)At the beginning of January, my friend Kay from Seattle who has also studied at Casa Xalteva, filmed a short video of my project. It will be about 2 minutes long and I will be able to share it with those who read my blog. Thanks Kay!

2)We spent the last week (on top of everything else) filming a documentary with a couple from California named Alicia and Matt. They have a film company called: Studio Red Dot. Together we filmed a pilot that will eventually be aired on tv (hopefully?) You can check out their website at: www.studioreddot.com
I think that it is going to turn out beautiful & I can´t wait to relive the heartfelt comments & laughs that we had while filming. Thanks to them!

Please check out the photos from the documentary shoot on your right hand side under (important links.)All the photos were taken by the fabulous Alicia. I hope you enjoy the many colours of Nicaragua!

thanks!!!!
Kathryn (Andres y Juan tambien)

Greetings from CASA XALTEVA

I would like to let you all know that the school season is starting on February 3rd, 2009. Thank you for your kind donations, they are greatly needed this year for 2 big reasons.

1) The situation in EL PANTANAL is worse this year. The cost of plastic has split in half (50% reduction.) Since the major source of income for the people of El PANTANAL has been recycling, it has left many without jobs & even worse off economically. This information comes from the local paper.
My friend Andres´s stepfather has changed his career this year and is now selling instant coffee and white bread to people in Granada. He makes about 50 cordobas per day and has to feed a family of 8 people. (50 cordobas is about 2.50 american dollars.)I should also mention that it takes him about 8 hours of work to make this money.

2)The cost of everything has gone up in Nicaragua. For instance rice has gone up from last year: 9 cordobas for one pound and now it has gone up to (at the minimum) 13 cordobas for one pound. This sounds minimal to us, but to the Nicaraguan people, this is a huge increase. All of their staple foods: rice, beans, plantain, sugar, & oil, have gone up dramatically.
If a family in El Pantanal has a hard time buying it´s family food, then you can imagine the burden of buying their children school supplies.
Today in the paper LA PRENSA had an article called, IR A LA ESCUELA ES MAS CARO (going to school is more expensive.) For example: for 12 notebooks it can cost between 140 and 240 cordobas (ball park between 6 and 13 dollars.)This cost can be devasting for many children, who will end up without any writing materials. That is where we come in! Our main goal is to take the financial burden off the parents by supplying all 500 children in Jose De La Cruz Mena in El Pantanal with school supplies.

Education should be a right all over the world (and not a privelege), we hope to make that easier for this one community suffering greatly.

So thank you and thank you some more!


Kathryn.