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We've partnered with DonationLine.com to make it easy for you to to donate your vehicle--car, motorcycle, boat, etc--get a tax deduction, and have a portion of your donation go to Mayan Families. CLICK HERE to find out more!
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Volunteer's and Interns needed!
We are looking for volunteers and Interns to travel to Guatemala and help with:
Translation
Teach English
Teachers assistants
Executive Assistant volunteer
Photography
Video
Marketing
Web site development
Social networking
Carpentry
and much more!
Please contact
dwight@mayanfamilies.org
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Mayan Families Connections
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is is an online community for our supporters! To participate, visit the MFC Blog, or join the Yahoo! mailing group to keep up with the latest news. |
| lp Mayan Families for Free!! |
Spread the word by posting the link to one of our blogs--Family Aid, Elderly Care, or Sharon's Blog--on your Facebook or Twitter, forward this email to your friends, mention us on your personal blog--whatever you can think of to let more people know about what we're doing! Even simple acts like those can make a HUGE difference for us.
To make a tax-deductible contribution...
To give via check, please send your donation made out to Mayan Families to:
Mayan Families
P.O. Box 52
Claremont, NC 28610
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| About Us | |
Mayan Families is a small non-profit group working in the Highlands of Guatemala. We are a registered 501(c)(3) Non Profit Charity of the Internal Revenue Code.
Your donation is tax deductible as allowed by law.
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Summer Newsletter
Summer-2011 |
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Summer News
This summer Mayan Families has been very, very busy. Lots of groups and individuals visiting us who have done wonderful things. Lots of stoves installed...that means many families no longer cooking over an open fire on the ground, no more terrible burns, no more smoke to hurt the lungs and the eyes!
We have built houses, delivered water filters, the children at our pre-schools have had lots of visitors and fun crafts to do, food has been given to needy families, clothes, shoes, chickens,playgrounds installed, two classrooms built, medical and dental treatment freely given. We even had a visiting veterinarian team to help out with our animal projects. So many great people came to Panajachel to help.
Thank you to each and everyone of you!
We are happy to organize individual or group service trips....just contact us at sharon@mayanfamilies.org .
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Debora's news!
 We at Mayan Families are always surprised and amazed by some of the stories we hear every day. Debora's is one of those stories that make us reflect on our own lives and how we, sometimes, make a big deal of minor problems. Debora is 9 years old. She lives in Panajachel with her mother, father and five siblings. She had a problem at birth and the doctor told the family that they had to make a choice to either have Debora's head grow to a very large proportions or to cut her spine and she would have a normal size head but not be able to walk. With this agonizing decision, the family decided that their daughter would have a more normal life if they cut their spinal chord. Debora is only a child, but she is doing the best she can to live a normal life. Luckily for her, she has a very supportive family and her mother Ramona dedicates almost all of her time to take care of her. When she was only four, her mother took her to the pool at a hotel in Panajachel and Debora loved every minute of her time there, so her mother decided, despite her scarce financial resources, to enroll her in the swimming classes and soon the girl was competing. Debora's eyes shine when she speaks about swimming. She has been to several competitions some of them in other cities; she has won 9 medals and she told us with pride that she even competed with kids without any disability and won.  Her mother told us that Debora loves to be outside; she likes to see people on the street, go to the supermarket, sit near the lake and watch other kids play. Mayan Families sponsored her to go to school, at first, we had to encourage the school to accept Debora but then they saw how much Debora loves to go to school and she was accepted. Her favorite thing is to read and write, she already wrote some poems but she is too shy to show them to us. When asked about what makes her sad, she told us that is the fact that she doesn't have many friends, she said that her classmates don't like to play with her because she cannot walk, but she loves her siblings and she has 2 good friends that play with her all the time. Life in a wheelchair is not easy, especially when the financial resources are very limited, but Debora is an example to be followed. She is persistent and according to her mother, she always gets what she wants. She is determined to live a joyful life and to become a swimming teacher and we at Mayan Families, together with our donors, are glad to be helping her to have a good education and follow her dreams. Debora touched our hearts and we hope she touches yours too! Special thanks to her sponsor who has made her education possible. |
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Employment Opportunities for members of the Sewing Project - Trade School!
 We are excited to embark on a new venture with a NGO in Panajachel which helps women artisans with viable employment opportunities. They asked to partner with us because we have trained over 140 women from nearby communities with Sewing Skills. On Wednesday, Sept 7th, we had a meeting with the 16 women who have been selected to partake in this employment opportunity . The participants will create a steering committee for their group and they have also been asked to get the proper documentation to receive wages. This is really empowering because women learn about organizational processes as well.
The women were selected based on their sewing abilities as well as their economic need. After undergoing the trial period, the selected participants will start making the conferencebags for a well known international apparel company. This particular company needs thousands ofbags to be completed so this employment opportunity should keep the women busyfor months to come! Most importantly the women will be able to earn an income and help their families. We are very happy to have facilitated this opportunity for the women by providing the sewing skills that are required to make the bags. The women are very excited to have the opportunity to generate an income.
Our sewing instructor, Don Alberto, is currently providing a couple of training sessions to the women to ensure that they do a fantastic job with the bags. We are always in need of sewing machines, materials and funds to help women learn skills for a better future.
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Mayan Families Elderly Care Program.
Meet Pedro Hulahu. Pedro is a very sweet and gentle man whose life has been greatly changed by Mayan Families. Pedro never married and has no children. After the death of his brother, Pedro found himself completely alone, struggling to find labor work, and with no place to live. A local family gave Pedro a small corner of their shed for him to sleep in. The space was smaller than 4 square feet, there was no access to a bathroom, no drinking water, and his bed was just a piece of ply wood. Pedro had no consistent source of food and all weather elements easily leaked into the shed, often making Pedro's bed wet and cold.
Today Pedro's story is very different. Pedro is part of our Elderly Care Program and, thanks to generous donations, he is now living a healthier and happier life. When Mayan Families found out about Pedro's story and his poor living circumstances, we immediately began brainstorming some options for Pedro. We started giving him a nutritious lunch every day so that he would have a consistent food source. Then we found out that the same family who was letting him sleep in their shed had a vacant room in their home that they would rent to Pedro for $65 a month. We shared Pedro's story with many of you, and you responded generously and Pedro was sponsored. We were able to move Pedro into a beautiful, clean, fully furnished room with a bathroom. Pedro now sleeps on a mattress, has a water filter, has a desk, and lives in a safe, warm room.
When we moved Pedro out of the shed and into his new room, he literally got down on one knee and thanked God for this incredible blessing, and Ronnie, a very special volunteer who worked so hard to make this happen. With your help and donations, we have been able to change Pedro's life by giving him a dignified place to live that keeps him healthy. Although Pedro is alone with no family, we have had the privilege to become like his family and help take care of him. Pedro is so thankful for your help, and we are so thankful that Pedro is happy!
We have so many elderly people who now, thanks to the Elderly Care Program can count on getting one hot meal a day. But with aching bodies are sleeping on bare wooden boards, who need a mattress and a blanket to make life so much more comfortable for them. A very small thing but it means so much.
If you would like to help be part of other great life-changing stories like Pedro's, please support our Elderly Care Program. Just go to www.mayanfamilies.org/donatenow
and scroll down to enter your donation in the
Other $
box. In the
Details
box, please write "Elderly Care Program". Thank you so much for making lives healthier and happier in Guatemala! |
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In Memory of Gabby Lewis
We would like to express our condolences to the family and friends of 8yr old Gabby Lewis who tragically died from injuries suffered in a car accident. Gabby, who was adopted from Guatemala was the beloved daughter of Shane and Becky Lewis, big sister to Tucker, long time supporters of Mayan Families. The family is using this terrible tragedy to help the children of Guatemala ...they are planning a library supported by donations sent to Mayan Families in memory of Gabby.
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Sincerely,
Sharon Smart-Poage
Mayan Families
www.mayanfamilies.org
Tel: 619-550-2608
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