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Project Amigo
Summer 2010 E-News |
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| Greetings! | Greetings and best wishes from your friends in Colima, Mexico.
It's summer already. Is it just us, or did winter and spring pass more quickly than usual?
So, what's happening at Project Amigo? In the articles below you'll meet a couple of our scholars; you'll learn about a new program for designed for them, and you'll read what it's like to be a Work Week volunteer.
We've just returned from a long, beautiful driving and fund-raising tour of North America. We presented at 60 Rotary Clubs, three Rotary District Conferences, and staffed a booth at the Rotary International Convention. We enjoyed seeing so many of our old friends, donors, and work week alumni, and meeting a whole bunch of new friends along the way.
During our drive across our cherished home country, no matter how remote we were, we saw school buses taking children to and from school. In our "adopted" country of Mexico, rural kids are not so lucky. There are no school buses. If their parents can't pay for public transportation, they don't get to go to school. And, as you'll read below, there are some pretty bright kids in the rural areas who have the potential to make a difference in their communities - thanks to all of you who support our effort to be sure they aren't left behind.
As we see storms building, immigration battle lines being drawn, and oil spilling, it would be easy to lose heart. Please read on and reinforce your faith in what IS possible, and what you are helping to achieve. We need your help now, more than ever!
Happy Summertime from Ted and Susan! |
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| Meet our Students | |
Tati finished the school year in first place of all eighth graders at her junior high school!
Besides being smart, her classmates recognized her leadership abilities and elected her to represent them as a Deputy (Representative) at the State Congress held on Day of the Child this spring. Tati consistently earns all 10's in her classes. She's learning English in Skype sessions with her amigo Dr. Sam Brown of Cheshire, CT. And she is the first to step up to the plate to help out with whatever we need her to do - whether it's taking visiting teens on a walking tour or treasure hunt in Cofradia, helping serve or clean up when we have large groups at our headquarters, or lending a hand to stuff our delicious coffee and granola into bags for visitors to take home with them. Most visitors to Project Amigo have met this dynamic scholar - and no one doubts that she's a compelling force to keep an eye on.
Her parents didn't have the chance to complete primary school - their education stopped at second grade. They're proud of Tati, and they're grateful to Project Amigo's visitors and contributors who join them in encouraging their daughter to reach for the stars that were beyond their grasp. |
| Meet our Students |
Maria Concepcion Fonseca, M.D.
 We're proud to share a letter written to us by Dr. Conny Fonseca -- recently selected as the Director of the Community Health Center in Tepames, Colima. Conny has been a Project Amigo scholarship recipient since she was in 7th grade - back in 1996.
I am a woman deeply fortunate and I am extremely grateful for what life has placed in my path. When I close my eyes and remember my past, I see a girl in a humble little town -- unaware of the beauty of the world, but with a dream so big, and one that poverty made unreachable. Can you imagine how wonderful it is for me now to share with you that I can finally say "I'm a doctor!"
I'm sure I would not have succeeded without your support. Your dedication to your work of helping students like me succeed is what inspired me to dare to dream my own dream. And you brought wonderful friends into my life - the Mayhews, the Evans family and all the other visitors to Project Amigo over the years who encouraged me to never give up. Now I pledge that the seed you all planted in me will bring good results as I serve my community as the Director of the Health Center. I desire from the depths of my heart that your life be filled with blessings. |
| Meet our Students |
Carlos Daniel Arias Vazquez 
Carlos was featured on the GROW blog just a few days ago.
Read all about his success at: Carlos
Organics Unlimited grows premium organic bananas in coastal regions of Colima state. They are sold at organic food markets on the west coast of the U.S.
The GROW Fund of Organics Unlimited funds scholarships and community services in the costal village of Cerro de Ortega, Colima, including Carlos' scholarship to study psychology at the Universidad de Colima. |
| New Program - Life Skills Development Program | 
When did you learn to balance a checkbook, write a letter or to develop a five-year plan. If you're like most people we know (including ourselves), you were in your 20's or 30's -- especially with the five-year plan.
It's not enough in today's world to get a college degree. If you haven't developed a network, acquired effective communications skills, and mapped out how to get where you want to go, you're not going to get there.
Facing this challenge, our Director of Children's Services, Jorge Torres, and Project Amigo Board member Bruce Powell developed a two-year life skills program. It will be offered first to our university scholars.
The program will combine moral and ethical values with practical skills in all of the following areas: personal and social responsibility; finances; health and maintenance; civil and political responsibility; effective verbal and written communication; and cultural and aesthetic development and appreciation. Our scholars will complete the two-year program twice during their college years, hopefully sharing experiences with first-timers, and gaining additional insights for themselves the second time around! |
| Notes from a Volunteer |
Volunteer George Nickel of Edmonton, Alberta wrote:
 We decided to join a Project Amigo work week last year at the District Conference in Jasper -- where we met Ted and Susan. One has a tendency to say YES when the departure date is a long way off. But it didn't seem like any time at all before we were getting ready to fly to Mexico to join Ted & Susan in their wonderful work. The week we spent working (Vision Clinic) was absolutely wonderful. Yes we were tired; yes we had little time to ourselves during the week. But nothing can replace the moments of joy we felt to be able to help others less privileged than we are. We were made welcome, cared for but not coddled, and every day was a new adventure. We often recall moments of that unique adventure and find that our week has made us better people and broadened our outlook towards others. A work week should be on your "bucket list." To read more about the Vision Work week, please see Vision. What will it take for YOU to give nine days of your life to meet some great people like George Nikel and to help deserving students like those you just read about? Register
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Project Amigo is a U.S. 501(c)(3) organization. Our Federal Tax ID # 68-0396073.
Project Amigo Society Canada has been approved. Our official number is pending.
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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