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Project Amigo
March - April E-News |
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| Greetings! |
 Greetings and best wishes from your friends in Colima, Mexico.
It's March already! Our last week of the season is upon us. Seems like only yesterday we were facing seven work weeks. How can the winter have flown by so quickly?
While folks in the north were experiencing record snowfalls, we here in Colima have been experiencing unusual cold fronts, and lots of rainy days. Sometimes, the days were so overcast for so long that there was no "solar" for our solar panels and we had a few rather chilly showers. We gave thanks for having water at all - how many on our planet don't?
Comisario Noé (see the January E-news) has been hard at work his first two months of leadership. Just last weekend he rounded up a bunch of young people from the village and set them to work planting trees as part of a state-wide reforestation effort. (Ted begged the kids to reforest his head while they were at it.) The annual Interact Youth Work Week in February brought 17 young people, mostly from Nevada City, CA, and a few from Terra Linda, CA. Good, steady, fun and responsible young people who give us hope for our future. They worked hard, teaching hundreds of children to brush properly and giving them new toothbrushes; bringing books to be shared; and delivering clothing they had brought, and soccer uniforms donated by Rotarian Greg Kuhl of Foster City. They also got to work with the scholarship students from Cerro de Ortega, helping 210 children enjoy the annual visit to Colima's Tortugario. A highlight of this outing was a turtle release!
We are gearing up for our annual visit to Rotary Clubs and fund raising events in the US and Canada. This spring we'll start in San Diego and finish up at the Rotary Convention in Montreal. We look forward to seeing old friends again, and to making new ones. If you go Montreal in June, be sure to stop by booth 2112 in the Projects Exhibition area.
Happy Spring from Ted and Susan!
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| Meet our Students |
Evangelina "Eva" Suarez
Mendoza
"I live in the village of Pueblo Juarez, to the southwest of Colima. I come from a humble and hard-working family that has put forth great effort to give us the best. However, because there are eight of us children, they didn't have the resources to give us the opportunity to study. None of my brothers and sisters studied beyond junior high school.
When I was 10 years old, I went to live in the state-run boarding home in my village for kids like me - poor children who needed a better chance to get a primary school education. The albergue provided us food, a bed to sleep in, a place to study, and adults who could help us with our homework. It was there, living in the albergue, that I became part of the family of Project Amigo. I've been a scholarship recipient for 12 years, and thanks to my sponsors, Gerry Reicher and Jody Huckins, I have now graduated from the University of Colima with a degree in Accounting. I am the very first in my family to have a profession!"
Eva is now working as part of our bookkeeping team and is running the show while our bean counter and bookkeeper (and also former scholarship recipient Maria Esther "Tey" Cruz) is on maternity leave. |
| Intensive Spanish Course |
Do you want to learn Spanish or improve the Spanish you now know?
Our three week intensive program in July will be fun, and you will learn quickly. Our professor this year will be Bruce Powell. Bruce has years of experience teaching Spanish. AND, your private tutor will be a Project Amigo University Scholar. For more information click HERE
This course is filling up. Sign up today! |
| Help Wanted |
District promoter - make presentations to Rotary Clubs in your area.
Nutrition Specialist - Rewrite menus at our home for University scholars. Minimum 30 days - volunteer position in Colima. Spanish needed.
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Project Amigo is a U.S. 501(c)(3) organization. Our Federal Tax ID # 68-0396073.
Our mission is to enable the poor children of Colima to achieve their highest potential by providing educational opportunities, material support, enrichment activities, and medical and dental services not otherwise available to them. We provide scholarships to outstanding students who complete sixth grade so that they can attend junior high, high school and college at the University of Colima.
Our scholars are becoming doctors, lawyers, teachers and community leaders. When these students complete college and enter a profession they, and their whole family, break out of the cycle of poverty that has imprisoned them for generations. Our administrative costs are low, and the benefits to the children we serve are high. You can help Project Amigo by using your credit card and making a contribution on-line by clicking Donate -- or by sending your check to: Project Amigo 14 Commercial Blvd # 119 Novato, CA 94949
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