Guatemala Foreign Student Education Update

Creando Mi Futuro, San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala

Website: Creatingmyfuture.org

To order clothing: http://www.atitlan-tlc-clothing-designs.company.site

Art opens minds; good nutrition promotes better learning.  A good education means hope for a better tomorrow.

Skyland Church has been sponsoring students in the Creating my Future project in Guatemala for 8 years. It provides art instruction after school to the Maya Tz'utujil children of this small village. At the same time it encourages the children to stay in school and helps with technology and tutoring. It also empowers the local women to grow their own food and provides a food basket per week for the families. We sponsor individual students every year and our own artist, Carolina McCall has visited the school along with Cliff. For more information please visit their website.

Updates from the Founder, Mira Talbot-Pope from 2021

Thanks to laptop donations, the kids can come during the week to learn to use computers, and get their homework done and printed. This goes a long way to making a good grade in class.  So we are open 6 hrs/5 days for this.

I really treasure the relationships I have with these moms, a few dads, and 38 kids....going on 9 years in total, for some.  I love seeing the growth both parents and kids are making, and that what we do helps them improve their lives.  I appreciate that all of you have made it possible for me to do this.

Hello, all:  The infrastructure fund of Creando Mi Futuro has been struggling a lot during the pandemic and because of the difficulty in getting to the States to sell TLC Clothing for the past two years,.  This fund pays our rent, internet, electricity, computer repair, and the salaries of our two teachers of the Homework class.

A fun way to support Creando (and the families of my two tailors!) is through a purchase of our TLC Clothing. 

http://www.atitlan-tlc-clothing-designs.company.site

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Our Community garden is making progress!  We only have a 12th of an acre to work but the families are enthusiastic and have shown up for 3 meetings about organic agriculture, compost-making, etc., and now two workdays on the land itself. The families are excited and I'm excited.   The piece of land is very sunny but right by the lake so gets cooling breezes, and best of all it's right near the project classroom, so we can involve the kids as well.   Since chemical agriculture has taken over the old cultivation practices, here, I'm happy to be offering a much healthier alternative.  The kids have the task of interviewing their grandfathers about how they used to cultivate, and a few grandfathers are going to come talk to the group.  

Thanks to those of you who supported our getting going. 

The older group of students (Juan Rafael, Domingo, Miguel and Mynor.) 

One of the older boys, Domingo, and his painting.

A man who comes here every year from Canada, bought a painting from each of the older boys.  That inspired the boys to paint even more.

Parents listen to volunteer’s description and the uses of the medicinal plants found in the community garden

Parents clearing the land for planting. This community garden will be a secure source of food during the pandemic.

the Junta Directiva (the mothers) and the food baskets

We elected a new Parent Board (Junta Directiva) in January, to serve for the next six months - they gave out their first food distribution this last Saturday, which went very well.  They are learning to buy in bulk, get receipts to give me, cooperate in providing the distribution, and doing it quickly and in order.  They all know how to handle money, and are learning to be more confident in speaking to a foreigner (me) in Spanish.

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Next month will be an article about the students we support from Fiji.

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Skyland Community Church, United Church of Christ

25100 Skyland Road

Los Gatos, CA 95033

phone: 408-353-1310

USPS mail: Skyland Church

P.O. Box 245

Los Gatos, CA 95031-0245

Website 

skylandchurch.com