We did it! Thanks to the generosity of friends and family, you have helped me to achieve my fundraising goal to cover the living costs for 6 months in Guatemala! Thank you to each of the donors who made this possible!
Any funds raised above $2,000 will go towards the community. As the projects and needs have not been further delineated, we will continue to write about our progress over the next six months and how your financial contributions are helping.
I have been simultaneously humbled and uplifted by the generosity of each of you throughout this transition, not only by your financial gifts but also by your words of encouragement and prayers.
In honor of this milestone, please accept this virtual high five (with directions, in case you are confused). Also check out this video , created by friends of a friend, which further shows how appropriate high fives are for celebrating big achievements. High five!
What I would really like to do is have a slideshow scrolling some of the pictures Edd has sent from Guatemala. It appears that I should be able to do this when I look at how to set up the page but as a beginning blogger, I don't quite get it yet. Each time I try to set it up, it doesn't pull in my own photos from flickr. So until I can figure it out, I'll include a teaser picture here of a child dressed up for the baile de venado (dance of the deer). He is from a community about 2 hours from Santa Maria Tzeja who came for the 39th Anniversary Festival. Here's the link to the other photos that I have uploaded so far - enjoy!
Edd comes back to the US in three weeks for his friends' wedding. Do you know what he is most excited to eat when he's back? An enormous salad. Leafy greens are not a part of the staple diet in SMT. So as we've been talking about what to bring back with us, we discussed the possibility of bringing back seeds (if that is permissible with Guatemalan customs) to plant a garden and have some of those greens that he's been missing so much.
Interestingly, Edd and Juana (the mother of the family Edd eats with), were talking about trans-genetic seeds and food last week. Juana was getting fired up about the implications that has on the people who eat the foods and her response was "Well, when Audrey gets here we´ll expand our little garden and she can help us grow our own food." How perfect that I've been thinking about having a garden and Juana has been thinking about me helping with the garden!
Except here's the thing: I don't really have any gardening skills. My dad - yes. Master gardener. For anyone who has ever been to my parents' house, you know that they make raspberry and cherry jam, grow apples and peaches, and have enough braided garlic hanging in the garage to keep Edward Cullen's entire family away. I think it's because I shared with Juana and Teresa that my dad grows garlic and makes a fantastic garlic soup that they believe I may also be endowed with that gardening gift. I am not sure it is hereditary.
The pictures above are examples of my attempts to grow plants/keep them alive over the last year. From the left - an African violet my mom got me in August. I'm pretty sure it's dead but I water it now and then just in case it's still alive. Second, a fern - who doesn't want to have a lush, green fern cascading on their porch? I tried. Really. But I think there must be something special about the fern that draws my cat Fiona to eat it and the poor fern has never recovered. I also still water it, just in case it's alive. Third, Kate and Ryan gave me this beautiful ginger (?) last year. It IS still alive - see how the green leaves keep growing? But the pretty red flower has shriveled. I keep thinking that a new flower will emerge but it hasn't happened yet. The redemption? Philodendron. The best plant ever. You pretty much cannot kill it. Even if you forget to water it for a long time, add some water and it comes back! It's super resilient AND you can clip its leaves and put them in water and they grow roots that you can eventually plant. This plant is the one that makes me believe there may be some hope for our SMT garden yet.
If you have any gardening tips or tricks, send them along!
Thursday night was the JA Fellows Awards Ceremony, the culminating event of the 2008-2009 program year. I have had the honor of working with this program over the past three years and helping it to grow from 115 students in 2007 to 220 students in 2009. The video above includes some highlights from the JA Fellows Expo that took place on April 18. The Expo is the day that all companies compete and display their accomplishments throughout the year and it was an awesome event.
At the Awards Ceremony on Thursday, we honored all of the students in the program who represent 15 JA Fellows Companies and awarded prizes to the individuals and companies who won awards from the JA Fellows Expo. Together, these students earned over $30,000 in sales over the course of 16 weeks, from October 2008 to March 2009. As if it is not enough for high school students to have started 15 companies and sold $30,000 worth of products in such a short time period, it is also important to note that these students accomplished all of this during the worst economic climate of our lifetimes. It is an exceptional feat!
Beyond the particulars of these students' collective successes, it has been a real joy to watch individual students grow and learn throughout their involvement as JA Fellows. Students deal with many obstacles from communication to motivation to personal challenges, and still they persevere to achieve great things. I have been priviledged to develop personal, and hopefully lasting, relationships with students and their families throughout my three years with the JA Fellows. Working with these students has brought me great joy and personal fulfillment and I am grateful to all of them and to Junior Achievement for providing me the opportunity to develop this important program. The successes of the JA Fellows could not have been possible without the efforts of many people: JA Staff - Sunil, Joy, Laura, Jack and many others, JA volunteers, JA Board Members, and the financial/volunteer support of many individuals, organizations, and corporations.
My work at JA has helped me to see that I have a passion for empowering others through education and economic development and I will be applying that passion in new ways while in Guatemala. I will also be using some of the products that our JA Fellows created this year! When I visited Edd in March, I took a Project My World bag, thinking that he could use its convenient size and toting ability. It was a huge hit and people have asked that I bring more back when I return. I also have my JUMP bracelet and my Twelve Fingers water bottle to take with me. Information about the 2008-2009 JA Fellows companies is here http://www.jafellows.com/companies.
Until June, you can also vote in the first ever JA Fellows Video Challenge! This contest highlights three videos that our JA Fellows created this year about their experiences: http://www.jafellows.com/video-challenge/.
I am exploring the possibility of having students from the school in SMT participate in the JA Company Program themselves once I am there. If it will work, you'll be sure to hear about it here!
Thank you to all the students, families, friends and supporters of the JA Fellows who have enriched my life over these last three years. I am extremely grateful.
One of the hardest parts about leaving Atlanta is ending my formal relationship with my Little Brother, Sergio. We have been matched through Big Brothers Big Sisters since 2004 and it has been awesome. Initially, I wanted to be paired with a 12-year-old girl (who doesn't love awkward adolescence?) but I ended up with a 7-year-old boy. Normally, they do not make cross gender matches but because there are so many more boys to match and less male mentors, they sometimes make exceptions. It has turned out to be a really great match for both of us. Now Sergio is 12 and about to finish his 6th grade year.
I'm extremely excited and relieved that my friend Clay has volunteered to take over as Sergio's Big Brother. BBBS has approved the new match so they are undergoing the process of making things official. I think it's a great time in Sergio's life to transition to a male role model and I couldn't think of a better person to be matched with Sergio now. Clay has taken us rock climbing a few times and it quickly became Sergio's favorite activity we've done together. This kid has no fear of climbing walls and Clay will continue to encourage him to take risks and try new things. Other friends in Atlanta have also become close to Sergio so I know I'm not only leaving him in Clay's care but the care of Yves, Tina, Bruce and others. I'll be excited to hear about everything when I'm in Guatemala!
Sergio and his whole family have become very important to me and I know that I will stay in touch with them for a long, long time. Here are some photos of Sergio and me throughout our years together. Note that both Sergio and I have had some significant transformations with hairstyles these last few years:
If you are interested in learning more about Big Brothers Big Sisters in Atlanta and finding your own awesome Little, please visit www.bbbsatl.org. To become a Big in your area, visit www.bbbs.org.
Have you ever decided on a Tuesday that you're going to sell as many of your belongings as possible on Saturday? If not, I suggest giving it a try sometime. The awesome feelings of parting with things you haven't used in years are truly cathartic.
Allow me to walk you through my evening. I started by thinking I would just empty one closet of things I knew I wanted to sell. But after one closet, I was hooked. I got things out from under the bed, the deep recesses of my closet, boxes on the top shelf near the attic...I couldn't stop once I started. In fact, it became rewarding for me to see how much STUFF I could pile on the kitchen table and chairs. I'm not going to lie - I impressed myself.
By the time I was about half-way to my first photo here (and consistently tripping past the picnic cooler), I realized that I would not be able to sort through all of this by myself. I called in reinforcements and along came Phil and Kyle to sort through my crap and arbitrarily assign monetary value to it. This is also a suggestion I have for future yard-salers: have people who have never seen your stuff price it. They don't care that you paid $30 for that bowl - it's ugly and should sell for $4. Maybe.
Four carloads later, many of my belongings were at Allyson's house and proudly displayed for all of Kirkwood and East Atlanta. I went home with money in my pocket, significantly less stuff and a carload of donations. One step closer!
The community is dedicated to continuing to grow and develop. Edd is teaching English in fourth to ninth grades and I have the opportunity to help the community build economic development projects. I'll also get to be back in the classroom working with Edd and having children give me lots of high fives. I am very excited about this work as I want to continue my career in international nonprofit work specifically focused on economic development and education.
We'll be updating this blog regularly to keep friends and supporters up to speed on SMT life so check back to see what's new!
Lindsey Christensen Michelle Kwasny Kristin Parker Michele and Jon Cremeans Carol Cordray Adam Ploshay Carson Stewart Nicole and Joel Hubartt George Leach and Leanna Adams Garth Stahl, Josh Kelly & Richmond the cat Jessi Pierce Clay Rockiki Tammi Ferrell Tracey and Andrew Pruiett Yves Neidlinger Kate and Ryan Hong Chris Rockett Mark Martin Travis and Katie Paulin Suzi Kyle Tina and Bruce Launey Rachel and David Pereles Kat and Mark Kirkwood Colleen Long Perry Mars Allyson and Pearce Korb Todd Rubin Kyle and Colleen Reis Dustin and Leslie Heslep Michael Lines Bryan Schlussel & Alicia Monti Jonathan Russell Bill and Linda Treasure Michelle Treasure The Culp Family Holly Hendryx Jill Poffenbarger David Kaszycki Kerry Wilkerson Joy and Marcel Holmes Ashley Clark Carol & Gene Stokes Nancy & Tom Quinn Susan, Andrew and Caroline Appel Barrett Feldman Alex Toland Terri Garfield
Helene and Clyde Lollis
The Johnston Family
Lucy Leusch Katherine Barlow
Help fund education & economic development in Guatemala
