Dear Friends,
At 6:15 am on a Thanksgiving Day weekend, the Philadelphia airport is surprisingly quiet. Travelers can clearly hear Bing Crosby on the intercom system reminding us that it’s time to look forward to Christmas and that Thanksgiving is over.
But it’s not.
Waiting to board my flight for the first leg of my journey to Nicaragua, I realize I just checked 100 pounds of donated clothes. The baggage fees were paid for by a donation specifically for that purpose. I’m transporting donated funds in my backpack for medication, rent, a Christmas party for the children, construction of our new center, and more.
Our donors often say “we just give financial support,” but they don’t “just” do this. They make all we do possible. They give hope and joy to the lives of people who would otherwise believe the world has forgotten them. Because of you, they continue in hope.
We send our thanks to you for allowing us to share the essence of Christmas, the essence of Chanukah, and the essence of other beautiful, cultural traditions of this season: the celebration of love.
In our next update, three weeks from now, we’ll share the highlights of our trip. For now, here are a few from the past three weeks.
Always with gratitude,
Our hard-working young men who are mentored at our center, along with Maycól and our contractors, are working tirelessly….and it shows. This week was concrete week. There are no cement trucks in our barrio…it’s over 100 bags, carried, mixed and applied manually.
We will move forward this week to begin construction of the second-half of our expanded center. We’re on schedule and very excited about our progress.
Work progresses into November.
Workers toil in the soil the first week of November.
Construction of the walls continues through the first weeks of November
A look at the entrance way of our new center in Nicaragua.
Our annual appeal for 2021 is here!
Our sincerest thanks to Tony Ross, our graphic designer, who donates his amazing talent and to Nancy, Richard, and Bob Day who volunteer their time to assemble and mail our appeal.
If you haven’t yet received a copy and would like to, please let us know. Please take a moment to view it with our thanks for your time and for caring. Thanks you for all you do to keep us sustainable!
For more information, click here.
A Word About Food
School is not yet in session. Covid is still too prevalent for school to return safely. Many people in our barrio, Nueva Esperanza, do not have access to vaccination sites. While we strive to improve this situation through educating citizens about safety measures and vaccines, we also offer food to those in and around the school.
You can see below who comes to receive meals. Often what we give them is then shared with other family members. Not all of these are our students. But none are turned away. You’ve given us the option to say YES to everyone.