SPONSOR A STUDENT CAMPAIGN
Giving a boost up to a new opportunities
The sponsor a student project is
designed to allow those of us who have a little extra to share
with a student in order to ease some of the pressure and stress of just trying
to survive. The program will also allow more students to join the school and
begin learning.
Our goal is to avert a disaster that threatens
our students. The teenage girls in Guatemala have few options as
they reach 14 or 15 years old. With poverty so prevalent they usually must leave
the home of their parents at this age and fend for themselves. This means doing
one of two things - getting married and having babies, or taking a job as a
servant.
The marriage route more often than not means being subjected to domestic
abuse at the hands of a much older man. The girls are also expected to bring in
some money through selling to tourists or other means usually while pregnant
or with a baby in tow.
The servant job consists of being on call 24 hours per day with very little
pay usually less than $100 U.S. per month - in a live-in situation with bad
living conditions, like a cot for a bed in the laundry room.
 
Making matters worse, some of the
students of the Somos Iguales School were affected by Hurricane Stan in October
2005. The homes of Juana Lux and Juana Perez Sanchez and their families were
completely destroyed. The two Juanas are 14 and 15 years old and live in the
village of San Antonio Palopo. The floods washed away their entire houses, along
with all of their earthly belongings. They had to live in tin shacks until new
houses could be built.
We want to help our students to break this
cycle of early motherhood or domestic servitude. We want them to
be able to continue to learn so that they have other, more interesting choices
in life. We want you to help.
The way to do this is to
supplement their life with an allowance or stipend so they do not have to go
down the traditional path of early marriage or menial labor.
 For as little as $20 or $30 per
month, a student can have a little time freed up for education
or sometimes just a needed respite from the daily grind.
The idea is quite simple when
you have a little extra for a meal or two during your working time, you can
spend a little more time learning. This also takes away some of the pressure of
being forced out of the home to find a husband at an early age.
So heres the program: We need
people to sponsor a student by making a donation earmarked for the Sponsor a Student Program. We
will give money to student on an as-needed basis, usually monthly - like a
stipend or an allowance, so they can have a little extra change to take some
stress off
so they can learn more. We want you to help.
It will go to the students having the greatest
need first. Just put a message that you want your contribution
to go to the Sponsor a Student
Program when you make your contribution on line. Or, make a
notation on your check if you mail a contribution.
 You can give as much or as little
as you want. We take contribution of any amount. We encourage a
contribution of at least $20 per month in a one time annual minimum of $240, to
facilitate budgeting. But, give whatever you can. It will go to support these
kids and help them to move beyond the limited options they currently face.
The basic levels of support to
kick off the program are:
$60.00 ($5 per month for the year)
$90.00 - ($7.50 per month)
$120.00 ($10 per month)
$144.00
$200.00
$500.00
$750.00
$1,000.00
The goal is to put 80% or more of
the contributions to this program directly to the students. A small amount
necessarily will be used for administering the program and on cost of getting
funds to the students.
We are also seeking donated new or used laptops and computers for our
students to use. So, when you upgrade, put your old ones to good use.
Click this button to make donation
Or send check to:
Somos Iguales Inc.
205 N. Cougar
Ave.
Cedar Park, TX 78613, U.S.A. |
