Fund a teacher and teach a class in Latin America

I hope all is well with you. From Monday 3rd until the end of Friday 7^th April, GlobalGiving will be matching the first $50 of all individual donations to this page by 50% which is a fantastic opportunity for the projects, the children and members of the communities where we work. Thank you so much in advance for anything you can donate this week helping us continue our work in Latin America with the additional bonus of the matching!

You may have seen mention in the past of the week-long Charity Challenges that Fly The Phoenix undertake each year to raise funds for the projects and have thought about getting involved. This year we will be taking on the Lost City Charity Challenge in Colombia in May and the Inca Trail in Perú in July and it would be great to have you on the team if you are interested. For information on the challenges please follow the link below.

In Guatemala we have expanded our scholarship programme to a new school in Santiago Atitlán on the other side of the lake, concentrating on “diversificado”, similar to college education bringing the total of students we support to one hundred. We also pay for a local teacher to hold extra study classes during the week so the students can receive more attention, as well as have the opportunity to talk in private about any personal issues they may have.

This year we are helping primary school students from very poor backgrounds with extra utensils and workbooks. Whilst the government now provides basic supplies there is always the need for more which is difficult for many families living in rural areas to provide. It is hoped that these students will then become part of our scholarship programme in the future rather than losing interest and dropping out just because they didn’t have sufficient school supplies. With this we aim to reach our goal of fully educating between six hundred and one thousand children over the next ten years.

Classes continue in Ecuador despite the abnormal extreme heavy rains which have caused landslides, breaking the water tubing for the school and destroying some crops. As is custom, Pawkar Raymi was recently celebrated, asking Pachamama (Mother Earth) for a good harvest, made more pertinent this year with the current abnormal climate.

Our Plan Moo purchasing was put on hold during February and March as all the communities in the Imbabura, Carchi and Pichincha departments are taking part in Pawkar Mundiales. These are region-wide football and handball competitions which reach their climax in March with the first prize in the dozens of various categories and leagues being cows. This high demand has caused prices to surge so we will wait until the excitement is over and prices have returned to normal.

One of our local teachers David, who was also one of our first students from when we started in 2005, got married and the whole community turned out to celebrate!

Daily meals are now cooked on the new stove we purchased in 2022 using the limited ingredients provided by the government each month or so. One of our plans this year is to put in place a large school vegetable garden which will provide regular vegetables for both consumption and for sale to be able to buy other ingredients that can’t be grown in the mountains.

Classes got back underway for the new school year in Perú with a small party laid on for the children. As in each year we have supplied each student with their own textbooks which they can work from during the year. The new classroom built by Impington International College in 2022 has been inaugurated bringing our total number of classrooms to four.

Summer school held in January was very successful, despite the political and social chaos, with the children catching up a lot and now prepared for the new school year. The school vegetable garden is ready for its third harvest which will provide daily food for the children this year. We plan to increase the size later in the year.

Have a great April and if you can donate to this page this week to receive the 50% matching on the first $50 it would be fantastic and thank you in advance. Also if you are interested in getting involved in the charity challenges, please do get in touch through the link below.

Cheers

Links:

• Colombia and Peru Charity Challenges 2023

I hope all is well with you. As 2022, our 20^th Anniversary, draws to a close it is worth reflecting on what has been a year of rebuilding after the pandemic with full classrooms and sharing with you our plans for 2023 and the years ahead.

Access to full-time education from primary school to university will always be our number one priority though we are also aware that in times of hardship, employment opportunities are scarce even with an education. The pandemic, the effects of climate change which for years have been plain to see where we work and the current cost of living crisis are prime examples of these additional real-life obstacles facing our communities who already live with extreme difficulties.

The implementation of sustainable family and community income plans is key to ensuring independent economic stability no matter how the macro environment is faring and, after education, will be a priority for our work over the coming years.

We have learned so much over the past twenty years in Latin America, the highs and the lows and we plan to use this extensive knowledge we have garnered to benefit not only the communities where we currently work though also to implement new projects in other communities. The goal is the same wherever: sustainable full education and economic security.

Classes finally got back underway in Perú with an increased number of students after more than two years out due to the pandemic with plenty to be done for the children’s education. Thanks to the visit of the students from Impington Village College, UK, our first sustainable plan was introduced in the desert; a fully irrigated vegetable garden for the children’s school meals. A new classroom was also built as well as painting and one-on-one teaching to help bring the children up to speed.

With restrictions being lifted due to the pandemic we were able to celebrate Mother’s Day as well as other cultural celebrations. Sadly due to political unrest we had to postpone the already postponed end-of-year trip for the students until 2023! The likewise postponed Inca Trail Charity Challenge finally went ahead and was a great success.

Our plans for 2023 include welcoming an increased number of students now that we have four classrooms as well as expanding Plan Huerto to increase the school meals and help the local families. We also plan to identify new communities to work in over the coming years.Thank you so much to you all for helping us get this far and we hope you will continue to support our work for years to come as we face the known and unknown issues facing Latin American communities now and in the future.

This year was a very successful year in Guatemala as many of our scholarship students graduated from secondary school and college with some budding business administrators now seeking employment!

For them to even get this far is a success story with many suffering serious underlying health issues. Our students are spread over seven communities around the lake though they grasp the opportunity to learn, thanks to the scholarships, with both hands, making the long journeys to school each day to learn and give themselves a better opportunity.

Broken from the shackles of the pandemic and its restrictions on movement, the students were busy during the year taking on community projects including planting hundreds of trees and rubbish collecting.

Looking forward to 2023 we plan to add more students to the scholarship programme taking the number well over one hundred whilst also expanding Plan Costura, our sewing business for single mothers. As all proceeds are shared between the mothers, they are able to provide for their children, especially with materials and extra costs for primary school. With this, we are helping to provide education from start to finish. We will also continue our tree-planting scheme as part of our overall Phoenix action to combat climate change.

Full classes were held throughout the year for children from four rural Andean communities in Ecuador and we were able to celebrate full cultural celebrations for the first tie since the pandemic including Pawkar Raymi (asking Pachamama – Mother Earth – for a good harvest), Fanesca over Easter, Mother’s Day, graduate trips in July, colada morada for Day of the Dead and of course, Christmas!

We were also able to restart the implementation of Plan Moo whereby we buy milking cows which are looked after by local families and the income generated by milk and future calves’ milk is shared between them and the school’s costs. Plan Moo has been an essential part of our secondary school and college programme since 2008 and bringing more students into the scheme is paramount for the future of the communities.

We will continue with our six local teachers in 2023 in the central school for the four communities. We plan to increase the Plan Moo herd to help sustainably cover their salaries in the future. We also plan to implement Plan Cuy and Plan Huerto in the communities to ensure further income for the families and the school.

The process of identifying new communities to work with in the coming years is also underway whereby extra teachers in the local schools will be paid for from the income of sustainable community income plans, ensuring their future from the start.

The community in Honduras is now fully in charge of the secondary school and college with income generated on the ground to cover costs which has always been our philosophy – that the community take charge eventually. We will continue to support the college when and where we can during 2023, especially with sustainable plans.

Have a fantastic 2023 and thank you all once again.

Cheers