Ripple Effect Has Great News to Share!!
Canadian Rotary Collaboration for International Development (CRCID) has awarded the Ripple Effect Program $358,000 to use as matching funds for educational purposes in Guatemala over the next 3 years.
Construction is underway on two schools at this time, with construction soon to begin on 4 more schools.
Thank you to all who have contributed to make this program so successful!
There are several projects partially funded that need partners to move forward. Highlighted below are two of these projects.
San Miguelito
Phase I would be the construction of 3 classrooms with an estimated cost of $40,000. Rotary Club of Kenora has donated $10,000 and with matching CRCID money and a possible D5550 World Community Service Grant, the amount required to complete the 3 classrooms is approximately $11,000.
The children are currently in cold, damp makeshift shacks and a church basement that is mouldy and dark. The land has been donated and the site is ready for construction to begin.
Villas de Oriente
This school has been partially completed by a Canadian NGO that no longer has an interest in it. To complete 4 classrooms, a small office and a kitchen will cost approximately $20,000. Rotary Club of Melfort has committed $2,500 and with matching CRCID funding and a possible D5550 World Community Service Grant of $2,500, the amount required to complete the project is approximately $7,000.
The conditions at this school are desperate. Children go to school in a very small one room house that is divided into 2 rooms by hanging bed sheets. The kindergarten is in the small backyard, shelter by a tarp for a roof. The owner of the house would like to move back in and has requested that the premises be vacated.
The children who are not able to go to this school walk about 3 kms down a 6 lane freeway and have to cross the freeway to get to school. A little girl was killed crossing the highway last year.
If you think you or your Rotary Club can help with either of these important projects, please email Gord LeMaistre at glemaistre1@hotmail.com or call 807-548-5390.
Together, we can make a difference!