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Greetings!
Thank you for your continued support and partnership with Mayan Families. 2014 has begun busier than ever and we're eager to share all the exciting things going on in our remote little corner of the world.
After an incredible Christmas of giving and some fabulous Valentine´s Day wishes we are now already starting to prepare for Semana Santa (Holy Week) - one of the most important weeks in the Guatemalan festive calendar. We ask that you please consider giving a food basket to a family in need. Many of the families we work with do not have enough money to purchase even the most basic of foods to celebrate this holiday in Guatemala.
Take a look at the links below and other important events taking place at Mayan Families this month.
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Give An Easter Basket this Semana Santa
Traditionally, on Santos Jueves (Holy Thursday), families gather together to eat sweet bread and drink hot chocolate for breakfast. A typical lunch of white beans and chicken follows. On Good Friday, it is a tradition for families to eat green beans, carrots, and fish.
Your food basket donation can make the difference between another week of hunger, and the joyous celebration of an important holiday. Any donation you can send will help to relieve the crushing poverty that these children and families endure.
This year, the traditional sweet bread is being produced from a bakery that is run by a family of orphans. This family received a Micro Loan from Mayan Families to open their own bakery and we are very happy to be able to help support them with and see their growing progress.
If you would like to give a basket of food to your sponsored student, or any family in great need simply go to Send a Gift and either enter your student´s number or write ¨for the family with the greatest need¨ in the notes section
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Follow one of our many Critical Cases from our Shelter Program
Have you ever gone to sleep fearing that you could be evicted from your home by the upcoming sunrise? For many of our families this is a daily reality. From lack of land ownership, precarious living conditions and lack of basic sanitation we have compiled a list of some of our most critical cases from our Shelter Program.
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Medical Volunteers from Adelphi
We were fortunate enough to have volunteers from the Adelphi College of Nursing and Public Health visit us in January. These ten eager young women enjoyed a whirlwind week of new and exciting experiences including installing fuel-efficient stoves as well as working on two medical projects with our preschool kids and elderly care patients.
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Help the Garcia Bajan Family
When illness strikes a family member, the financial and emotional demands placed on the family are overwhelming under any circumstances. But in Jose Garcia-Bajan's family (FA 47), five of the family members have been diagnosed and the oldest daughter has already died from a fatal illness.
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Istaislda (A0058) and her 45-year-old daughter Juana (A0069) have crippling rheumatoid arthritis that keeps them in constant pain and unable to work and support themselves. They have one room where they share a bed which is a piece of wood covered with foam. Istaislada (A0058) is in desperate need of sponsorship for our Elderly Care Feeding Program to ensure that she can receive a hot meal at least once a day.
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Student in need of Sponsorship: Yenifer Julissa (1377)
Yenifer is a bright and bubbly 3rd Grader whose favorite class is language and communication. Already, she has a higher level of education than her father who only studied until the 2nd Grade and her mother who never went to school at all. With her family earning less that $3/day a student sponsorship will ensure that she can continue her studies and be the first in her family to have a chance to rise out of poverty and create a sustainable future for her family.
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Update on Baby Myra (FA0347)
We want to thank everyone who donated so that Myra could receive the medical attention she so desperately needed for her severe malnutrition. Fortunately, Myra and her mother are now in a Nutritional Recovery Center in Quetzaltenango where Myra is being monitored and cared for. If you would like to make a donation so that we can help other malnourished babies and prevent severe malnutrition cases similar to Myra's, please donate to our Well Mother Well Baby Program.
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Please note that if you are one of our many donors who like to send us checks we have changed postal addresses for the USA! the new address is:
Mayan Families
PO Box 653
Tewksbury, MA 01876
United States of America
Don´t be concerned if you have a check that has been sent to our old address. These will be automatically forwarded to our new address. Any concerns or question please contact donorrelations@mayanfamilies.org
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