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TRIP DEADLINES APPROACHING:
March 1st and 15th


Volunteer Carol and Crew
BE THE CHANGE  on an upcoming Xela AID service trip to Guatemala

2014 Trip Schedule* 
Dignified Housing
June 13-22
(late-night departure)   
Deadline: March 1st, 2014
"Dignified Housing & Other Projects TBD with Intensive Spanish Study Option." Includes Attitlan, Antigua and Tikal option. Contact leslie@xelaaid.org

 

Literacy Project
August 1-10/13
(late-night departure)
Deadline: March 15th, 2014
"Literacy, Art Therapy, & Special Projects at Las Nubes." Contact
*A 12-person minimum applies to all trips which otherwise may be canceled or combined. Thank you for your understanding.

Remember to LIKE Xela AID on Facebook so you'll get updates from our travels in Guatemala and other messages from the field! If you haven't already, it's easy. Do it NOW!
 
 LIVE.LEARN.THRIVE!
   
Benefit Concert Enjoyed By All
The Benefit Concert at Monkey Business Cafe in Fullerton was great fun! Thanks to all who were able to make it, and to Gary Robertson for his wonderful performance. Proceeds from the event are being shared by Xela AID and Heart Community Homes to help children and families here and in the Guatemala highlands.
 

Meet Sofia - Our New Xela AID 
Computer Lab Coordinator!
Sofia Everilda Gomez Perez is now the Computer Lab Coordinator for the Xela AID Computer Lab located at our June Russel-Glennon Clinic and Community Center. She will assist with maintaining the lab as well as teaching computer classes of up to ten students at a time. Special thanks to Kathy, David, Maddy, and Duke Nicolson for sponsoring her in Xela AID's Work Study Scholarship Program. We also appreciate funding from the 
SG Foundation which contributed to Xela AID's Women's Empowerment Program from which Sofia has benefited. This new position has been made possible by the sponsorship of Helen and Milton Dinkel, Covington, Louisiana for which Xela AID and Sofia are most grateful. 
 
Sofia is part of the Xela AID's Leaders in Action Program. Despite numerous obstacles in her life, she has persisted and quickly regained her confidence upon joining the Leaders in Action program. In fact, Sofia is the top performing student in all of the San Martin Chiquito area of more than 5,000 students. She is currently studying law and dreams of becoming a lawyer and working on social justice and women's rights. She is extremely active in her community and we are so lucky to have her working in the computer lab! 

Update from Las Nubes: Students Are Enjoying Their New Classroom!
The community of Las Nubes is nested in the misty forest on a mountain not far from Xela AID's base of operations. A handful of children from the exceptionally isolated community participate in Xela AID's Work-Study Scholarship Program. For many years, a small structure made of wood served as a classroom for just a handful of children, with many others unable to study. In recent years, Xela AID helped to add several classrooms, including the one pictured where construction was completed recently. Improvements at Las Nubes are being made possible through the generosity of volunteer Sherry Robin, who is also overseeing Xela AID's Literacy Program. 


 
Warmly,
Leslie Baer Dinkel Signature
Leslie Baer Dinkel
Executive Director

"I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples."

--Mother Teresa


Thank you... for your ongoing interest and support!
Children at Xela AID's San Martín Tots Preschool