Children Helping Children

April 2013

Students of U32 High in Montpellier, Vermont arrived in Antigua on April 16th ready to roll up their sleeves and work

In anticipation of their mission, U32 High School students conducted a drive at the school resulting in tons of donated school supplies, books and backpacks they delivered to Open Windows Foundation in Duenas.   Another day took them to the highland village of Saquiya where they delivered 18 goats purchased, in part, with funds raised by the fifth graders at West Yellowstone School.  The goats are an essential element in a program to fight children malnutrition in rural areas of Guatemala.  Hard work began with construction of wood burning high efficiency eco-stoves in the home of five families who worked hand in hand with the volunteers.    Creative talents were put to the test when painting the walls surrounding the playground of a Mayan Families Foundation pre-school in Panajachel.  The result was a dazzling transformation of the enclosure.    Remaining days in Guatemala were spent enjoying a well earned holiday on lake  Atitlan and a visit to Mayan ruins and Chichicastenango.

December 21, 2012

Wichita East High students supported once again their summer mission team’s fund raising efforts throughout the school year.   Fifteen new sewing machines were delivered  by the 17 students and teachers  who participated in the GLP July 2012 mission to Guatemala.  The festive ceremony took place in Mayan Families Foundation spacious new headquarters in Panajachel.  Each student received a token handmade gift from the women receiving the machine.  While in Antigua, the students delivered a wheelchair and painted the house built earlier this year with funds raised by the fifth graders at West Yellowstone school for Maria Lopez and her disabled mother.    This very talented group of students also entertained with dance and songs the children at a child care and Open Windows Library in Duenas.  At the San Felipe school for children with disabilities a wheelchair was presented.  Upon request from one of the teachers the group also contributed a two burner stove and some pots and pans so that a nourishing breakfast can be prepared  for the children.

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Presenting the team of Temple Kol Ami Barbie girls

For the seventh time (as she has done every year since her tenth birthday), Hayley Curran, brought together a group of friends who spent a day at Temple Kol Ami, in Plantation, Florida, cleaning and dressing up several hundred Barbie dolls for the children at our projects. Each doll was individually packaged with a friendly note, in Spanish, for the recipient. GLP’s Mireille Hanna attended the event and showed images of happy little girls, in Guatemala, Mexico, and other countries, holding the dolls previously donated by this wonderful team! Hayley will be going to college next year. She has won a service award and two college scholarships as a result of her project. A TV interview resulted in her being swamped with calls from girls wanting to donate or collect dolls.

Cate Dunn, a student at Wichita’s East High also won a College scholarship based on an essay she wrote about her experience on a GLP mission to the High Andes in 2009. Since then, she has raised funds to provide books, soccer uniforms, and a nourishing breakfast for the schoolchildren in Chacabamba and Quisicancha.

Alex Schell was the youngest team member of our third visit to Peru. In anticipation of the voyage, and with the help of her good friend Jenna Smith, Alex raised nearly $250.00 selling Peruvian finger puppets and key chains to her schoolmates. This little charmer wanted to raise her own contribution for the purchase of school supplies we delivered to the children at the schools we visited.

Megan Weiner (center) asked the guests who came to her Bat Mitzvah to each bring a toy she donated to GLP.