Newsletter #12: What a Summer!
Before we get into the recap of the last couple of months, we are excited to share that the 4th Annual EDUPAVI Craft Fair is finally returning (in person) and is open for vendor registration! Each vendor at our fair chooses a percentage of proceeds to donate to our goal of providing 90 children with Education Support Packages.
Interested in participating? Click the image below to find out more and sign up before Oct 30th!
The past few months have been a whirlwind, but we could not have asked for a better summer.
On August 7th we had our first West Coast Classic Spikeball Tournament, which hosted 42 players and raised over $840! We had so much fun watching this amazing group of athletes battle to the top in the name of friendly competition and a good cause.
On August 21st, we saw the return of the highly anticipated 2nd Annual EDUPAVI Silent Auction! With the help of our bidders, dedicated auction committee, and the incredible generosity of many local businesses and donors, we raised just under $5000 for Education Support Packages. Click the link to see the catalogue and full donor list!
On Sept 12th, we were finally able to host the EDUPAVI Bike-a-thon which was postponed due to the heat dome in June. And it was definitely worth the wait! All our riders completed their 15, 50 and 100km routes in beautiful weather, and helped us raise over $6,400!
Exciting things have also been happening throughout the summer in Guatemala! Since their school year runs from Jan-Oct, their third semester has been in full swing with all 92 children from 68 families still registered in our program (an accomplishment in a year where the country's school drop out rates have been climbing!).
COVID is still a major issue in Guatemala; the majority of the population has still not been able to access their second doses, public schools have remained closed, and many families are still struggling to find work / facing economic hardship.
Here are some of the ways our team has been working to support the community and our students during this time:
Along with (in-person) small group tutoring and printed, self-guided home-school materials, this semester has marked the launch of the "Virtual Campus", a website where every student has an account and is able to access courses and resources online. Our team has been leading workshops for mothers to learn how to use the Virtual Campus, and has begun offering the first course: English lessons!
Now more than ever, the families in our program are at risk of facing food insecurity. Along with the snack the children receive when they arrive for tutoring (e.g. fruit, sandwiches and natural drinks), each family has been receiving a bag of food necessities each month as an encouragement for their children to continue with their studies.
This month, we also launched a new program called EDUPAN ("pan" in Spanish means "bread"!), which is an on-site bakery that not only aims to provide baked goods for the children and for sale to the community, but also provide occupational cooking workshops for mothers who desire entrepreneurial training and experience. This helps our program generate self-sustaining income while empowering women in the community!
Our Seeds of Hope program (where we provide tools and training for families to cultivate their own food gardens in order to increase their resilience and familial bonding) is still going strong. One family has even managed to expand their garden and earn enough money to buy a cow, which will provide milk for consumption and sale!
And lastly, our Purified Water centre is undergoing renovations so that we may be able to provide clean water to the community in the near future.
Thank you to everyone who volunteered, participated, gave generously, and advocated for others this summer! We hope that you are encouraged to see how your involvement in EDUPAVI has created real and immediate impact in the lives of our students in Guatemala.
Want to join this story of hope and empowerment? Click below to see how you can make a difference today!
Until next time,
Team EDUPAVI Canada