Fund a teacher and teach a class in Latin America

In Honduras we have taken on four of our “colegio” students to help out across the 6 grades in primary school. As well as paying them a monthly stipend we will also be covering their University costs so that they become qualified teachers in the future. In 2015 we aim to increase this number to 6.

Independence Day was celebrated in style, with dancing, games, theatre and some good food, as well as marching through the communities. We also celebrated Day of the Child with similar aplomb!

A very sad way to celebrate our ten year anniversary working in Ecuador as Huayrapungo, Muenala and Larcacunga cease to function as schools with the government bidding to centralise education and populations. Our work in the communities continues however with transporting all the children daily to the centralised school and back, daily fruit, materials and more sustainable income plans in the communities to generate employment and ensure further education in the future. We also plan to keep on two of our local teachers to give reinforcement classes in the afternoons back in the communities. Happy Anniversary Ecuador!

September is the month of Independence Day in Nicaragua and our kids joined in the parade in Estelí as well as activities in the school. Apart from the national festivities classes with the pre-school continue as we approach the end of the academic year in November.

School continues at pace in Perú and we will soon be introducing after school reinforcement classes as well as sustainable plan workshops which will enable the older children and their families to learn new trades which they can then take on and create their own businesses. At the same time, we are planning to employ ex-students to come back in the afternoons to help out the children with their homework in exchange for us helping to cover some of their University costs.

In Guatemala, our school drumming band and the rest of the school took the streets of Itzapa and were loudly applauded everywhere they went. We also celebrated Day of the Child, with lots of piñatas, games dancing and food. Both schools have excelled so far this year with our fifteen local teachers (ex-students we now employ) and our addition of another local teaching, acting as a classroom assistant in Itzapa has improved ten children so that they now should pass their final exams later in the year.

Our water tank was finished in Santa María which will provide daily water in the school, as opposed to one a week for one hour. Further construction is due in Itzapa with building more latrines and a full paint-job for both schools is in the pipeline.

Finally, let’s not forget what The Phoenix Projects are all for in Latin America: 40 local teachers, the majority of whom were previous students, teaching almost 1000 children daily whilst receiving food across five countries benefiting seven communities (fifteen if you include the communities our students come from in Honduras for our colegio)...all for under $200,000 a year - every penny and cent counts - thank you to everyone who makes this possible year after year.