Food & fruit for primary schools in Latin America

Our fresh fruit and food programs continue in all countries with positive differences in levels of malnutrition obvious. That said, for many kids still the food we provide is sometimes their only meal of the day. We are hoping to bring in a breakfast program in Guatemala which will provide a hot drink and bread to help the start the day off well.

This year we will also be investing in school vegetable gardens to sustain the food programs in the future; this includes crops that can be eaten as well as sold in local markets to generate funds for foodstuffs that we cannot grow, including cooking oil, sugar, oil and salt.

Many thanks for your generous donations in the past and thankyou in advance for your donations in the future.

We have launched our Gift For Good, where for a donation of just $35 you will receive a hand-made fabric purse and also feed one child for the rest of the school year, definitely the perfect Gift For Good! Please follow this link or the link at the bottom of this report to make a difference.

A fantastic few months in Itzapa and Santa María in Guatemala. Excellent results in our first set of exams with our ten 14 local teachers shining in their education roles. Semana Santa (Easter) was celebrated with our own procession to keep up tradition, being open to all. Construction in Santa María continues at pace and should be finished in the next month. Plan Moo was officially started with the purchase of our first cows, and one has already given birth to a beautiful female calf, to ensure progression and sustainability. Plan Moo involves families receiving a cow and the income from the sales of milk are shared between the family and the school's runing costs.

Amazing results for the school in San Rafael, Honduras. In late 2013, the Government ran tests nationally and our school, with averages in the high 80's and 90's beat the average (50s and 60s). And this year is no different with the children showing great progress. Our secondary school continues to cover 6 grades from teenagers from 9 different communities and we have introduced music classes. Thanks to donations, we could print out the exam papers for the whole school for the rest of the year, otherwise they wouldn't have been tested. Father's Day was celebrated with much fun and games and the daily food and fruit program continues. 

It has been a brilliant few months in Nicaragua, celebrating our 6th Anniversary in La Thompson in April, with typical dress, a dance-off, a historical tour or our project and dancing into the night to include the whole community. Relaxation techniques have been bought into the curriculm, with some fantastic results. The educational work with all the children has been impressive with advances made in math and language. We have taken in children with special needs aswell and they have adapted well into the school environment.

In Perú, It has been a very productive first month of the school year in Maldonado with our paid-teacher Ediluz working well with three grades, without her the school would be a very difficult place to learn! We aim to start sustainable-income Plan Cuy (guinea pigs) in the houses of our children in the school, to benefit both them and our running costs in Maldonado. The sales of the guinea pigs, which reproduce very quickly, will not only provide a very useful income for the families though will also cover costs in the school, moving further towards sustainability.

School is back underway in Ecuador after the mid-year break (classes started in September 2013) and immediately exams are on the horizon! Daily hot food is still handed out to the children and we continue to cover the transport costs of two familes' children to attend school - an hour each way - as well as the transport of the local teachers. Our four teachers we pay for continue to shine, especially in Larcacunga, where the government removed one of their two teachers, leaving a gaping whole which she quickly filled to continue the children's education. Community meetings have been held in Muenala to discuss the implentation of the next stage of Plan Moo to sustainably cover some school costs in the future.

Links:

• Gift For Good - $35 to feed a child for the rest of 2014