Our 2008 annual Friends of Fabretto trip for donors and anyone interested in our work is already shaping up to be a great group of people!  We still have spaces available, but if you are thinking of participating, we are coming up on the time where commitments to the trip are recommended!

The FOF trip gives visitors the opportunity to have an "intense Fabretto immersion", seeing all five of our centers in action, a few of our rural primary schools and SAT, our new rural high school program.  The trip is hosted by senior Fabretto staff members including Alexandra Garcia and Kevin Marinacci.  Visitors will have plenty of time to meet and speak with other staff members and best of all, the children!

Other than flight reservations, Fabretto takes care of all travel logistics while you are with us.  A modest daily fee covers all your expenses and your only responsibility is to enjoy the people and places of Fabretto. 

We highly recommend you extend your trip through the following long weekend to see some of the other beautiful sites of Nicaragua.  This year, the timing is such that the Ruben Dario Poetry Festival will be in full swing in Granada at the end of the Fabretto trip.  One of the largest festival of its type in the lower Americas, it's a must see! There will be music, dancing, parades in the streets, bright colors everywhere, and of course - lots of poetry!  Other things to do "post Fabretto" include: lazing on the beaches, surfing the waves, scaling up an active volcano, jungle hikes, browsing the street markets for local crafts, and much more.  Fabretto staff can help you plan a post FOF itinerary.  So, we hope to see you in Nicaragua in February! Just call our Arlington, VA office for more information or to sign up.

For a review of the 2007 Granada Poetry Festival...

Kelin Needs A Sponsor!

How many nine year old girls do you know would list helping her mother around the house as her favorite activity?  Well, this is exactly what Kelin Fatima Chavarria did - which just shows how sweet she truly is!  Even better, Kelin is a wonderful student, achieving very good grades in her third year of elementary school.  She attends the Fabretto program in Esteli, home of our most urban campus.

Community: Esteli is the second largest city in Nicaragua and is located on the Pan-American Highway, about 150km north of Managua.  The economy is built on the town's strategic location as an agricultural trading center and the fact that the land is especially well suited for growing tobacco.  Indeed, it is the cigar capital of Nicaragua and the town's cigar factories are a source of employment for many.

Home & Family Situation: Kelin lives with both her parents and two siblings.  Her father, Elis, is 35 years old and works in a tobacco factory, as does her mother, Tania who is 28. Together they make about US$100 per month.  Most of the time, Kelin's grandmother takes care of her and her siblings because her parents work 12 hour days, from 6am to 6pm.  Their home is built of cement bricks, with a dirt floor and a zinc roof.  Being in an urban area, the family has electricity, drinking water and a latrine. However, their house is small and her family hasn't had enough money to finish building it.

Enrolled in Fabretto because:  When asked why they enrolled Kelin in the Fabretto program, her parents say they like the fact that through the program, she can become a better student and is learning good values like hard work, diligence, and caring for her family and community.  Needless to say, they deeply appreciate the lunch program which is crucial to supplement the home diet and are excited that Kelin has the opportunity to study English, music, arts and sports, subjects not offered in the public school system.

Please step forward to sponsor Kelin! Contact our sponsorship coordinator Joanne Mazzella at mazzellaj@fabretto.org. Sponsorship is just $30/month and in return for your support you will get lovely, personal letters twice a year from sweet Kelin, the gratitude of her parents for your support, and the knowledge that you are helping a young girl and her family break the cycle of poverty.

Many of you may already be familiar with the concept of Charitable IRA Gifts, which became allowable last year. For those of you who haven't heard of it though, we thought we'd briefly introduce this idea to give you another vehicle by which you might consider helping Fabretto.

It is fairly common knowledge that minimum distributions from one's IRA account, which are taxable, must start as of age 70 1/2. However, under the Pension Protection Act of 2006, up to $100,000 can be marked as intended for a charitable gift and the sum is then not subject to taxation.  In the first year many retirees were motivated to meet their minimum distribution requirement by directing the funds to their preferred charitable organizations.  In all, $30 million was distributed in this way, with a median gift size of $5,000.

Working Together: Better than Working Alone

Special Appeal: Warehouse Space!