Hello Friends of Miracles,
Thank you to all who voted, and promoted Miracles in Action's American Express grant project. We came in #21 of 25, and feel honored to have been selected in the Top 25. We encourage those of you who are an Am Ex card member to vote again for the project that will receive $1.5 million as #1.
In reviewing the Top 5 winning projects, we would appreciate your support of "Loans That Change Lives". The link below takes you to their project and a short video on KIVA - a microcredit loan non-profit that believes in the same philosophy as Miracles in Action - to help poor people to help themselves. Small business loans make so much more sense in breaking the cycle of poverty, and teaching people how to fish so they eat for a life time, rather than giving them fish, where they only eat for a day.
If KIVA wins, Miracles in Action will apply for funding on loans for women in Guatemala. Volunteer Fred Zambroski is seeking loans to help women set up daycare centers as a business and offer early childhood stimulus to the toddlers who attend (reading, games, learning values like sharing with other kids....) The daycares will also allow mothers to work and bring in money for the family and self esteem for themselves. Fred needs funding for this very worthwhile project, and if KIVA wins the American Express grant, we may be able to help these women set up daycare centers - a BIG win-win. Some of you may remember Fred because he filmed several of our school opening celebrations, and edited the footage, making wonderful videos for us to share.
Here is the link to the KIVA project- "Loans That Change Lives" - please vote. Thanks again for your support in getting us into the Top 25 - the exposure has helped Miracles in Action.
QUICK UPDATE: Eight of us just returned from Guatemala and the opening of two more schools, located in the Huehuetenango area, high in the mountains at 9,000' elevation. It is so cold at night and the women and girls wear a towel around their shoulders, because they are too poor to buy a sweater or jacket.
Thanks to American Airlines, we were able to bring all students and mothers an AA First Class quilt (one of the gray duvets used for our Europe and transcon flights). AA donated 100s of them to Miracles. Each of the mothers with babies and grandmothers received one of Ruth Laroe or Marie Senechal's beautiful handmade quilts. And, each child got a backpack with school supplies, a warm knit hat and mittens, and they picked a toy (for most kids, it was their first toy). The teachers received teaching supplies and skin cream with SPF - to use on the children with burned and wind chapped lips, hands and faces. We purchased the cream from As Green As It Gets - a Guatemala based charity that helps set up businesses for local people - our cream was made by Maria Benita - a new entrepreneur.
Thank you to John Mincieli - donor of the construction funds to build School of Miracles #19 in Cumbre de la Botija, and thank you to AA Flight Attendant Marla Zell for building School #18 in Captzincito, a beautiful memorial to her teacher parents - Edward and Maureen Talton. You just can't imagine how grateful and happy these villagers are to be able to send their children to school. They gave us certificates of appreciation, and two of the committee members (both women) were unable to sign their name. They used a thumb print on our certificates.
Now with a school, future generations will be able to read, write and get ahead. Thank you also, to Alirio Ochoa of PEILE, our partner charity that coordinated the project, and to all the villagers who put in hours of hard labor to build the two schools. School #19 took just 32 days, non-stop 6AM-6PM to build , with no machinery!
Thank you too, to Magdalena LaVerdiere, for funding the fuel efficient, safe stoves for each family in San Antonio - where her school #15 is located. We had a chance to speak with the women and see the stoves in action. They LOVE their stoves which use much less wood and vent the smoke from the house.
A few of our favorite photos from this trip:
Big smiles for the new quilts, much warmer than a towels they have been using to stay warm in the highlands.
Thumbs up for the new vented stove, saving 70% wood usage, and for the new Captzincito School #18 - thank you Marla Zell.These women use their thumb print to sign their name. Neither went to school and they are illiterate. This makes them determined to have their own children get an education. Both are on the committee board responsible for building Cumbre School.
John Mincieli funded the construction of Cumbre School. Here he is with 4 students of the school. The women knit him this hat. They do not know John lives in Florida and the hat is too warm and also, pretty cute looking on him.
As always,
Penny
Penny Rambacher, R.D.
