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PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #550 Sefora who is 5 years old.

Sefora is 5yrs old. She lives in Panajachel with her father, Manuel,
42yrs old and her mother, Felipa 42yrs old and her two brothers and
four sisters.
They are:
Oscar is 21yrs old. He will be graduating this year from High school.
Vilma is 18yrs old. She is studying 9th grade.
Miriam is 15yrs old. She is in 9th grade.
Candida is 13yrs old. She is in 7th grade in Jan. 2008.
Sara is 11yrs old. She is in 5th grade in Jan. 2008.
Juan Miguel. 7yrs old. He  will be in 2nd grade in Jan. 2008

The father works as a builder and earns $26 US per week.
The mother works selling cooked food, chuchitos and tamales every morning.
She earns $8 US per week.
The money that they earn is not enough to cover all the costs that
they have and cover the costs for the expenses for their children.
The families main diet is beans, rice, herbs and tortillas.

They own their house, it is made of cement block, the roof is tin
sheeting and the floor is cement.
They have an onil stove.
They have three rooms and a kitchen.
They have a water filter.
They have five beds.
They have one closet and four drawers.
They have chairs and table but not enough for all of them.
They have a pila.
They have water connected and pay $6 US per year.
They have electricity connected and pay $10 US per month.

When asked what the greatest needs for the family were the mother said
it was help with the costs of schooling , clothes and shoes for the
children.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #549 Juan Miguel who is 7 years old.

Juan Miguel is 7yrs old. He  lives in Panajachel with his father,
Manuel, 42yrs old and his mother, Felipa 42yrs old and his one
brothers and five sisters.
They are:
Oscar is 21yrs old. He will be graduating this year from High school.
Vilma is 18yrs old. She is studying 9th grade.
Miriam is 15yrs old. She is in 9th grade.
Candida is 13yrs old. She is in 7th grade in Jan. 2008.
Sara is 11yrs old. She is in 5th grade in Jan. 2008.
Sefora is 5yrs old. She is in 1st grade in Jan. 2008.

Sara's birthday is July 24th.

The father works as a builder and earns $26 US per week.
The mother works selling cooked food, chuchitos and tamales every morning.
She earns $8 US per week.
The money that they earn is not enough to cover all the costs that
they have and cover the costs for the expenses for their children.
The families main diet is beans, rice, herbs and tortillas.

They own their house, it is made of cement block, the roof is tin
sheeting and the floor is cement.
They have an Onil stove.
They have three rooms and a kitchen.
They have a water filter.
They have five beds.
They have one closet and four drawers.
They have chairs and table but not enough for all of them.
They have a pila.
They have water connected and pay $6 US per year.
They have electricity connected and pay $10 US per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #548 Sara Elisabet who is 11 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Nikki Cochrane - Blogs for a Cause, Thanks!

Sara is 11yrs old. She will be going into 5th grade in Jan. 2008.  She
lives in Panajachel with her father, Manuel, 42yrs old and her mother,
Felipa 42yrs old and her 2 brothers and four sisters.
They are:
Oscar is 21yrs old. He will be graduating this year from High school.
Vilma is 18yrs old. She is studying 9th grade.
Miriam is 15yrs old. She is in 9th grade.
Candida is 13yrs old. She is in 7th grade in Jan. 2008.
Juan Miguel is 7yrs old. He is in 2nd grade in Jan. 2008.
Sefora is 5yrs old. She is in 1st grade in Jan. 2008.

Sara's birthday is July 24th.

The father works as a builder and earns $26 US per week.
The mother works selling cooked food, chuchitos and tamales every morning.
She earns $8 US per week.
The money that they earn is not enough to cover all the costs that
they have and cover the costs for the expenses for their children.
The families main diet is beans, rice, herbs and tortillas.

They own their house, it is made of cement block, the roof is tin
sheeting and the floor is cement.
They have an Onil stove.
They have three rooms and a kitchen.
They have a water filter.
They have five beds.
They have one closet and four drawers.
They have chairs and table but not enough for all of them.
They have a pila.
They have water connected and pay $6 US per year.
They have electricity connected and pay $10 US per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #547 Glendy

Glendy is 6yrs old. She will be going into 1st  grade this Jan. 2008.

She lives in  a small village outside of San Andres Semetabaj.  She
lives with her father, Porfirio 45yrs old and her mother, Adela 43yrs
old. She has three sisters and two brothers. Last year her older
brother, 22yrs old, was driving a mini bus for an agency when he was
stopped by robbers, they stole the bus and murdered her brother.
Since then the mother has been traumatized and finds it very hard to
function. She is at the cemetery nearly every day.
The father is the only one working to cover all the costs of this large family.
When the eldest son was alive he was able to help the family with the
living expenses and he was helping to construct the house.   Now they
are finding it very hard to make ends meet.

The father works as a driver, he drives a pick up, he does not own the
pick up, he works for someone else.   He earns $4 US per day.

The mother is not well and needs to have a general examination with
blood tests etc but the family cannot afford to pay for it.

Before her son was murdered, the mother was at home all day cooking
and cleaning but since the death of her son, she is mostly at the
cemetery grieving, she does not show any interest in staying at home
with the other children and she is not helping to maintain the
household. The other children feel very abandoned.

They own the house the live in , it has three rooms and an outside
kitchen. It is made of cement block.
They do not have an Onil stove.
They use a gas stove.
They have four beds.
They have three closets.
They have a pila.
They do not have a water filter.
They have electricity connected and pay $26 US per month.
They have water connected and pay $0.40cents US per month.

The family has  a debt that they are paying off. It is $1,200 US.
This debt is half to finish the house and the rest of the money was
used to bury their son. They are paying $58 US per month.
The family diet consists mostly of beans and tortillas, sometimes it
is just tortillas with salt, the mother collects herbs in the
mountains and makes a soup of that.
They do not have food to eat.

The other children in the family are:
Claudia 18yrs old. She only went to school until 3rd grade. She has
taken on the responsibilities of her mother at the house. She is doing
all the cooking, cleaning etc.
Eric 17yrs old. He went to school until 4th grade. He works helping
his father and takes casual work whenever he can get it.
Damaris 16yrs old. She only went to 3rd grade. She stays at home and
helps her sister, she is looking for work but they live in a very
small village where there is not much work.
Elena is 12yrs old. She will be going into 1st grade in Jan. 2008.
Erwin is 9yrs old and will be going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008..

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #546 Ervin who is 9 years old.

Ervin is 9yrs old. He will be going into 2nd grade this Jan. 2008.

He lives in  a small village outside of San Andres Semetabaj.  He
lives with his father, Porfirio 45yrs old and his mother, Adela 43yrs
old. He has four sisters and one brother. . Last year his older
brother, 22yrs old, was driving a mini bus for an agency when he was
stopped by robbers, they stole the bus and murdered her brother.
Since then the mother has been traumatized and finds it very hard to
function. She is at the cemetery nearly every day.
The father is the only one working to cover all the costs of this large family.
When the eldest son was alive he was able to help the family with the
living expenses and he was helping to construct the house.   Now they
are finding it very hard to make ends meet.

The father works as a driver, he drives a pick up -he does not own the
pick up, he works for someone else.   He earns $4 US per day.

The mother is not well and needs to have a general examination with
blood tests etc but the family cannot afford to pay for it.

Before her son was murdered, the mother was at home all day cooking
and cleaning but since the death of her son, she is mostly at the
cemetery grieving, she does not show any interest in staying at home
with the other children and she is not helping to maintain the
household. The other children feel very abandoned.

They own the house the live in , it has three rooms and an outside
kitchen. It is made of cement block.
They do not have an Onil stove.
They use a gas stove.
They have four beds.
They have three closets.
They have a pila.
They do not have a water filter.
They have electricity connected and pay $26 US per month.
They have water connected and pay $0.40cents US per month.

The family has  a debt that they are paying off. It is $1,200 US.
This debt is half to finish the house and the rest of the money was
used to bury their son. They are paying $58 US per month.
The family diet consists mostly of beans and tortillas, sometimes it
is just tortillas with salt, the mother collects herbs in the
mountains and makes a soup of that.
They do not have food to eat.

The other children in the family are:
Claudia 18yrs old. She only went to school until 3rd grade. She has
taken on the responsibilities of her mother at the house. She is doing
all the cooking, cleaning etc.
Eric 17yrs old. He went to school until 4th grade. He works helping
his father and takes casual work whenever he can get it.
Damaris 16yrs old. She only went to 3rd grade. She stays at home and
helps her sister, she is looking for work but they live in a very
small village where there is not much work.
Elena is 12yrs old. She will be going into 1st grade in Jan. 2008.
Glendy is 6yrs old.  She will be going into 1st grade in Jan. 2008.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #545 Elena who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Karen Houseknecht, Thanks!

Elena is 12yrs old. She will be going into first grade this year.
This is the first year that she will be going to school.  The parents
could not afford to send her to school and they are hoping that if she
receives sponsorship that she will be able to go this year.

She lives in  a small village outside of San Andres Semetabaj.  She
lives with her father, Porfirio 45yrs old and her mother, Adela 43yrs
old. She has three sisters and two brothers . Last year her older
brother, 22yrs old, was driving a mini bus for an agency when he was
stopped by robbers, they stole the bus and murdered her brother.
Since then the mother has been traumatized and finds it very hard to
function. She is at the cemetery nearly every day.
The father is the only one working to cover all the costs of this large family.
When the eldest son was alive he was able to help the family with the
living expenses and he was helping to construct the house.   Now they
are finding it very hard to make ends meet.

The father works as a driver, he drives a pick up -he does not own the
pick up, he works for someone else.   He earns $4 US per day.

The mother is not well and needs to have a general examination with
blood tests etc but the family cannot afford to pay for it.

Before her son was murdered, the mother was at home all day cooking
and cleaning but since the death of her son, she is mostly at the
cemetery grieving, she does not show any interest in staying at home
with the other children and she is not helping to maintain the
household. The other children feel very abandoned.

They own the house the live in , it has three rooms and an outside
kitchen. It is made of cement block.
They do not have an Onil stove.
They use a gas stove.
They have four beds.
They have three closets.
They have a pila.
They do not have a water filter.
They have electricity connected and pay $26 US per month.
They have water connected and pay $0.40cents US per month.

The family has  a debt that they are paying off. It is $1,200 US.
This debt is half to finish the house and the rest of the money was
used to bury their son. They are paying $58 US per month.
The family diet consists mostly of beans and tortillas, sometimes it
is just tortillas with salt, the mother collects herbs in the
mountains and makes a soup of that.
They do not have food to eat.

The other children in the family are:
Claudia 18yrs old. She only went to school until 3rd grade. She has
taken on the responsibilities of her mother at the house. She is doing
all the cooking, cleaning etc.
Eric 17yrs old. He went to school until 4th grade. He works helping
his father and takes casual work whenever he can get it.
Damaris 16yrs old. She only went to 3rd grade. She stays at home and
helps her sister, she is looking for work but they live in a very
small village where there is not much work.
Ervin is 9yrs old. He will be going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008.
Glendy is 6yrs old.  She will be going into 1st grade in Jan. 2008.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #544 Ana Patricia who is 15 years old.

Ana Patricia is 15yrs old. She is in 10th grade this Jan. 2008.  Her
birthday is June 8th.  She lives in Panajachel with her father,
Hilario 43yrs old and her mother, Maria, 37yrs old. She has two
brothers and one sister.
They are:
Olga Marina 13yrs old.  She is going into 7th grade in Jan. 2008.
Juan Mauricio 11yrs old. He is in 5th grade in Jan. 2008.
Mario Ismael 9yrs old. He is in 3rd grade in Jan. 2008.

Ana Patricia really wants to continue studying.  She wants to become a teacher.
But her father feels that they do not have enough money to be able to
help her realize her dream.
The father works as a day laborer. This means that he takes whatever
works is available, field work, laboring, carrying heavy loads at the
market. He earns $36 US per week.
The mother stays at home , looking after the family. She washes clothes by hand.
The money that the father earns is not enough to cover all the costs
for the family.
They own the house that they live in . It is made of cement block. It
has one room and a small outside kitchen made of wooden planks. The
floor is cement and the roof is tin sheeting.
They do not have an Onil stove.
They made a fire place out of cement blocks and cook over that.
They do not have a closet. They keep their clothes in a cardboard box.
They have three beds made out of wooden planks.
They have a water filter.
They have a pila.
They have electricity connected and pay $7 US per month.
They have water connected and pay $4 US per year.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #543 Eric who is 9 years old.

Eric is 9yrs old.  He lives in Panajachel with his mother, Rosa 27yrs
old and his brother, Justin 6yrs old.
Eric  will be going into 1st grade this Jan. 2008.
His father abandoned the mother when Eric was born.  Justin has a
different father and he also left when Justin was born.   The fathers
have never supported the children the financially.
Rosa lives with her parents and her brothers and sisters.
Rosa has been trying to find work but has not been successful. She
washes clothes by hand and gets work whenever she can. She helps her
mother with washing and cooking.
Rosa's father suffers from diabetes and the medicine is expensive.
Her father is a caretaker and they live in two rooms made of cement
block. They have an outside kitchen made of wooden planks.
They have two beds, Rosa sleeps with her two children on one.
Her mother sleeps with the youngest brother in the other.
The rest of the family sleeps on the floor.
They have an Onil stove.
They do not have a water filter.
They have electricity connected . They do not have to pay for it as
part of the caretaker facilities.
They have water connected.
They do not have any closets and keep their clothes in a cardboard box.

When asked Rosa says that she needs help with the cost of schooling
her children, clothes and shoes for them.

The main diet this family has is beans and rice.
They are not allowed to keep chickens on the property.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #542 Kevin who is 9 years old.

Kevin is 9yrs old. He is going into first grade in Jan. 2008.  He
lives in Panajachel with his father, Rosalio and his mother,
Margarita. This is a very large family, he has two sisters and four
brothers.
They are:
Rosa 27yrs old. She is a single mother with two children.
She is living at home with her parents.  She went to 6th grade.
Hector 25yrs old. He is a caretaker for a house. He is about to get
married.  He went to 6th grade.
Luis 24yrs old. He went to 6th grade. He takes temporary work when he
can get it , driving a Tuk Tuk, working on building sites.
Julio 22yrs old.  He went only to 6th grade. He also does casual work.
Roberto 16yrs old. He is going into 6th grade this Jan. 2008.  Roberto
suffers from a medical problem that causes him to have nervous
attacks. They have to buy the medicine for him and this is expensive.
He is unable to work.
Norma 14yrs old. She went to 6th grade and has now left school. She is
not working yet.

The father Rosalio works as a caretaker and earns $40 US. per week.
He suffers from diabetes.
This is not enough to cover the costs for all their needs.

They live in a small house on the property that they are caretakers of.
The house has two rooms made of cement block. The kitchen is made of
wooden planks.

They have two beds.  The single mother sleeps in one bed with her two
children, Kevin sleeps with his mother in the other bed. The rest of
the family sleeps on the floor.

The mother suffers from an infection in her mouth that was caused by
an infected molar. She suffers pain in her mouth, she has not been
able to afford to seek medical attention for this problem.

They have electricity and do not pay as it is part of their caretaking
situation.
They have water connected.
They do not have a water filter.
They do have an Onil stove.
They do not have a closet. They keep their clothes in a cardboard box.
They have a cement floor on the house, but it is cracked and raising up.
They have a pila .They do not have a shower, they wash with water from the pila.
They have a toilet.
They do not have enough sheets or blankets.
They do not have pillows.

Their main diet is beans and rice. They cannot afford to buy meat or chicken.

They are not allowed to keep chickens in the property.
This family needs help with medicine, food , blankets, clothing and shoes.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #541 Debora Elisabet who is 11 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Atkins-Stumbo family, Thanks!

Debora is 11yrs old. Her birthday is August 27th.  She lives in
Panajachel with her father, Marcello and her mother, Rosa.   She has
two brothers and one sister.:
Walter 12 yrs old. He is in 7th grade in Jan. 2008.
Moises is 2yrs old.
Sefora is 2 months old.

Debora is going into 6th grade in Jan 2008.
Marcello works sometimes in the fields doing agricultural work, when
there is no work in the fields , he works as a tailor.
Rosa is unable to work because of the two young ones.

They own their house.
They have two rooms made of cement block and they have an outside
kitchen made of wooden planks.
They have water connected and pay $1.00 US. per month.
They have electricity connected and pay $12 US per month.
They have a pila.
They have a toilet.
They have two beds.  The mother and the baby sleep in one bed.  The
rest sleep on the other bed.
They do not have enough blankets or sheets.
They cook with a gas stove.
They do not have an Onil stove.
They do not have a water filter.
Rosa keeps chickens.
They have two cats.
When asked what the needs were Rosa said that she needs clothes  and
shoes for her children and help with the costs of schooling.
The parents are thinking that if Rosa does not receive sponsorship
that they will have to take her out of school, they cannot afford the
costs of keeping their son in Junior High and keep Rosa in school as
well.

He earns $30 US  a week. This is not enough money to be able to pay
all the costs for the family.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #540
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #539 Wendy
$ SPONSORED by the Durio Family, Thanks!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #538 Petrolina who is 5 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Crofford Family, Thanks!

Petronilla is 5yrs old. She will be going into kindergarten in Jan. 2008.

She lives with her father, Sebastian 44yrs old and the mother, 44yrs

old . She has three brothers and two sisters.

They are:

Ramiro is 18yrs old. He only went to school until 2nd grade.

He now works as a day laborer. He earns $3 US per day.

Leonardo is 16yrs old. He will be in 7th grade in Jan. 2008 .Rebecca is 13yrs old. She is going into 5th grade in Jan. 2008 Cecilia is 11yrs old. She is going into 3rd grade in Jan. 2008 Hector is 8yrs old . He is going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008

The father works as a day laborer- he works in agriculture cleaning off the fields, carrying heavy weights etc.

He earns $3 US per day.

The mother does not work. She is very ill, for the past nine years she has been suffering severe head pain. We have been sending her for medical help and it appears that she is suffering from severe migraines and she has respiratory problems.

This family is very poor and they do not have the possibility to cover all their costs. The mother was not able to seek medical attention until Mayan Families helped her.

The father has borrowed money over the years to help his wife but they did not receive good medical attention.

They also borrowed money for the eldest son to go to the U.S. to work.

They were hoping that the money that he would earn would get them out of debt. Unfortunately, he was captured and put in jail and then returned to Guatemala. This left them in an even worse position because they now have more debt.

They own the house that they live in. The house was damaged during Hurricane Stan in 2005. They now have one room made of mud brick and the other room is covered in emergency plastic sheeting. They have one small kitchen apart.

They have a water filter.

They do not have an onil stove.

They do not have a closet.

They keep their clothes in bags.

They have made their beds with wooden planks and blocks.

They do not have mattresses. They have a blanket on top of the wooden planks.

They do not have tables and chairs. They use tree trunks to sit on.

This family is very poor, their clothes are in tatters and the youngest child had no shoes at all the day that they came to visit.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #537 Hector who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Abelairas Family, Thanks!

Hector is 8yrs old . He is going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008 He

lives with his father, Sebastian 44yrs old and the mother, 44yrs old .

He has two brothers and three sisters.

They are:

Ramiro is 18yrs old. He only went to school until 2nd grade.

He now works as a day laborer. He earns $3 US per day.

The father works as a day laborer- he works in agriculture cleaning off the fields, carrying heavy weights etc.

He earns $3 US per day.

This family is very poor and they do not have the possibility to cover all their costs. The mother was not able to seek medical attention until Mayan Families helped her.

The father has borrowed money over the years to help his wife but they did not receive good medical attention.

They also borrowed money for the eldest son to go to the U.S. to work.

They have a water filter.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a closet.

They keep their clothes in bags.

They have made their beds with wooden planks and blocks.

They do not have mattresses. They have a blanket on top of the wooden planks.

They do not have tables and chairs. They use tree trunks to sit on.

This family is very poor, their clothes are in tatters and the youngest child had no shoes at all the day that they came to visit.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #536 Cecilia who is 11 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Linda Meyer-Peroux and Gene Peroux in Honor of their Neice, Eilis. Thanks!

Cecilia is 11yrs old. She is going into 3rd grade in Jan. 2008 She

lives with her father, Sebastian 44yrs old and the mother, 44yrs old .

She has three brothers and two sisters.

They are:

Ramiro is 18yrs old. He only went to school until 2nd grade.

He now works as a day laborer. He earns $3 US per day.

The father works as a day laborer- he works in agriculture cleaning off the fields, carrying heavy weights etc.

He earns $3 US per day.

This family is very poor and they do not have the possibility to cover all their costs. The mother was not able to seek medical attention until Mayan Families helped her.

The father has borrowed money over the years to help his wife but they did not receive good medical attention.

They also borrowed money for the eldest son to go to the U.S. to work.

They have a water filter.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a closet.

They keep their clothes in bags.

They have made their beds with wooden planks and blocks.

They do not have mattresses. They have a blanket on top of the wooden planks.

They do not have tables and chairs. They use tree trunks to sit on.

This family is very poor, their clothes are in tatters and the youngest child had no shoes at all the day that they came to visit.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #535 Rebecca who is 13 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Stormy and Lisa, Thanks!

Rebecca is 13yrs old. She is going into 5th grade in Jan. 2008 She lives with her father, Sebastian 44yrs old and the mother, 44yrs old .

She has three brothers and two sisters.

They are:

Ramiro is 18yrs old. He only went to school until 2nd grade.

He now works as a day laborer. He earns $3 US per day.

Leonardo is 16yrs old. He will be in 7th grade in Jan. 2008 Cecilia is 11yrs old. She is going into 3rd grade in Jan. 2008 Hector is 8yrs old . He is going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008 Petronilla is 5yrs old. She is going into kindergarten in Jan. 2008.

The father works as a day laborer- he works in agriculture cleaning off the fields, carrying heavy weights etc.

He earns $3 US per day.

This family is very poor and they do not have the possibility to cover all their costs. The mother was not able to seek medical attention until Mayan Families helped her.

The father has borrowed money over the years to help his wife but they did not receive good medical attention.

They also borrowed money for the eldest son to go to the U.S. to work.

They have a water filter.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a closet.

They keep their clothes in bags.

They have made their beds with wooden planks and blocks.

They do not have mattresses. They have a blanket on top of the wooden planks.

They do not have tables and chairs. They use tree trunks to sit on.

This family is very poor, their clothes are in tatters and the youngest child had no shoes at all the day that they came to visit.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #534 Leonardo who is 16 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Stormy and Lisa, Thanks!

Leonardo is 16yrs old. He will be in 7th grade in Jan. 2008. He lives

with his father, Sebastian 44yrs old and the mother, 44yrs old . He

has two brothers and three sisters.

They are:

Ramiro is 18yrs old. He only went to school until 2nd grade.

He now works as a day laborer. He earns $3 US per day.

Rebecca is 13yrs old. She is going into 5th grade in Jan. 2008 Cecilia is 11yrs old. She is going into 3rd grade in Jan. 2008 Hector is 8yrs old . He is going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008 Petronilla is 5yrs old. She is going into kindergarten in Jan. 2008.

The father works as a day laborer- he works in agriculture cleaning off the fields, carrying heavy weights etc.

He earns $3 US per day.

This family is very poor and they do not have the possibility to cover all their costs. The mother was not able to seek medical attention until Mayan Families helped her.

The father has borrowed money over the years to help his wife but they did not receive good medical attention.

They also borrowed money for the eldest son to go to the U.S. to work.

They have a water filter.

They do not have an onil stove.

They do not have a closet.

They keep their clothes in bags.

They have made their beds with wooden planks and blocks.

They do not have mattresses. They have a blanket on top of the wooden planks.

They do not have tables and chairs. They use tree trunks to sit on.

This family is very poor, their clothes are in tatters and the youngest child had no shoes at all the day that they came to visit.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #533 Lesbia who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Kowalczyk Family, Thanks!

Lesbia is 10 years old. She will be going into the 4th grade in January 2008.
She lives in Panajachel with her mother, Cristina, 35yrs old and her father, Feliciano, 45yrs old. She has four brothers and two sisters.

They are: Miriam is 17yrs old. She studied only until 6th grade and is now

working cleaning in a private house. She earns $66 US a month.

Oscar is 16yrs old. He will be going into 9th grade in Jan. 2008 Mynor is 14yrs old. He studied only until 5th grade and is now working taking sand out of the river. He earns $20 US per week.

Claudia is 13yrs old. She will be going into 6th grade in Jan. 2008.

Brenda is 11yrs old. She will be going into 5th grade in Jan. 2008.

Dulce is 7yrs old. She will be going into 1st grade in Jan. 2008.

The father works as a builders assistant and earns $46 US per week.

The mother works washing dishes in a restaurant in Panajachel and earns $25US per week.

The money that the family earns is not enough to cover all their costs.

Because they did not have enough money the other children in the family did not have the chance to continue studying.

Two years ago when Hurricane Stan devastated this area this family lost all their possessions. They were renting a house and the river flooded it. They are still trying to recover from this huge devastation.

They are renting land and pay $33 US. per week. They built a house made of tin sheets and two rooms are made of canvas sheeting . The

floor is dirt and the roof is tin sheeting. They have three rooms

and the mother cooks outside in the corridor.

They have an Onil stove.

They do not have a water filter.

They have three beds.

They do not have a closet. They keep all their clothes on a shelf the father made.

They have a table and chairs but not enough for everyone.

They have water connected.

They have electricity connected and pay $7 US. per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #532 Lendy who is 15 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Anna and Davie, Thanks!

Lendy is 15yrs old. She is going into 7th grade in Jan. 2008. Her birthday is October 7th.

She lives in Panajachel with her father, Santiago 46yrs old and her mother, Josefina 45yrs old.

She has two sisters and two brothers.

They are:

Marlee 18yrs old. She only went to school until 6th grade and is now working. She is now a single mother with one child.

Winsy 16yrs old. She is in school and is 10th grade.

Welder 11yrs old. He is in 5th grade in Jan. 2008 Evelyn is 8yrs old. She will be in 1st grade in Jan. 2008.

The father works as a day laborer and earns $50 US per week.

The mother works at home.

The money that the family has coming in is not enough to cover all their costs.

They have four children studying and the costs are enormous for them.

They do not feel that they can keep on giving this opportunity to their children.

They own their house. It is made of cement block, the roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement.

They have three rooms and an outside kitchen.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They cook with a gas stove.

They also cook over an open fire on the ground outside their house.

They have three beds for all of them.

They have one closet for all of them.

They do not have a water filter.

They have water connected and pay $4 US. per year.

They have electricity connected and pay $26 per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #531 Irma who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Russell Family, Thanks!

Irma 7yrs old. She will be in 1st grade in Jan. 2008 He lives in Panajachel with his father, Gustavo 29yrs old and his mother, Dominga 27yrs old. She has two sisters and two brothers.

They are:

Jonathon is 13yrs old and he will be in 4th grade in Jan. 2008 Edgar 9yrs old. He will be in 2nd grade in Jan. 2008 Neydi Melissa is 3yrs old.

Mayli Carolina. 11 months old.

Gustavo works as a driver. He earns $26 US per week.

Dominga makes woven bracelets in her free time to help the family.

She earns $8 US per week. She also washes clothes by hand when she can get the work. She earns $1 US per day. It is difficult for her to work because she has to take the little ones with her.

Unfortunately Gustavo does not put much importance to caring for the family. He has another woman and spends half his time with her and comes home only occasionally. Sometimes he only gives the mother $2 per week to feed the children. He does not give her any money to send the children to school or to buy their clothes.

Dominga also has to look after her mother who has tuberculosis. It is very difficult for her mother to work and so Dominga has to also provide the food for her mother and her 2 children.

Mostly this family has a very poor diet of salt and tortillas. They do not eat three times a day.

They live in a rented house.

They pay $50 US a month.

They now owe three months on the rent that they have not been able to pay.

The house is made of mud brick. The roof is tin sheeting. One room has a cement floor, the other room has a dirt floor.

They have a kitchen made of wood planks.

They have a gas stove. The mother cannot cook with a wood burning stove because of her t.b.

They have a water filter.

They have three beds made of wooden planks.

They have a pila.

They have the use of pila that belongs to the owner of the house.

They have one closet to keep their clothes, the rest of their clothes are kept in bags or cardboard boxes.

They have water connected. They pay $4.US. per year.

They have electricity connected. They pay $15 US per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #530 Edgar who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Russell Family, Thanks!

Edgar 9yrs old. He will be in 2nd grade in Jan. 2008. His birthday is 21st June.

He lives in Panajachel with his father, Gustavo 29yrs old and his mother, Dominga 27yrs old. He has three sisters and one brother.

They are:

Jonathon is 10yrs old. He will be in 4th grade in Jan. 2008 Irma 7yrs old. She will be in 1st grade in Jan. 2008 Neydi Melissa is 3yrs old.

Mayli Carolina. 11 months old.

Gustavo works as a driver. He earns $26 US per week.

Dominga makes woven bracelets in her free time to help the family.

She earns $8 US per week. She also washes clothes by hand when she can get the work. She earns $1 US per day. It is difficult for her to work because she has to take the little ones with her.

Dominga also has to look after her mother who has tuberculosis. It is very difficult for her mother to work and so Dominga has to also provide the food for her mother and her 2 children.

Mostly this family has a very poor diet of salt and tortillas. They do not eat three times a day.

They live in a rented house.

They pay $50 US a month.

They now owe three months on the rent that they have not been able to pay.

The house is made of mud brick. The roof is tin sheeting. One room has a cement floor, the other room has a dirt floor.

They have a kitchen made of wood planks.

They have a gas stove. The mother cannot cook with a wood burning stove because of her t.b.

They have a water filter.

They have three beds made of wooden planks.

They have a pila.

They have the use of pila that belongs to the owner of the house.

They have one closet to keep their clothes, the rest of their clothes are kept in bags or cardboard boxes.

They have water connected. They pay $4.US. per year.

They have electricity connected. They pay $15 US per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #529 Jonathon who is 13 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Russell Family, Thanks!

Jonathon is 13yrs old. He will be in 4th grade in Jan. 2008. His birthday is Sept. 13th.

He lives in Panajachel with his father, Gustavo 29yrs old and his mother, Dominga 27yrs old. He has three sisters and one brother.

They are:

Edgar 9yrs old. He will be in 2nd grade in Jan. 2008 Irma 7yrs old. She will be in 1st grade in Jan. 2008 Neydi Melissa is 3yrs old.

Mayli Carolina. 11 months old.

Gustavo works as a driver. He earns $26 US per week.

Dominga makes woven bracelets in her free time to help the family.

She earns $8 US per week. She also washes clothes by hand when she can get the work. She earns $1 US per day. It is difficult for her to work because she has to take the little ones with her.

Dominga also has to look after her mother who has tuberculosis. It is very difficult for her mother to work and so Dominga has to also provide the food for her mother and her 2 children.

Mostly this family has a very poor diet of salt and tortillas. They do not eat three times a day.

They live in a rented house.

They pay $50 US a month.

They now owe three months on the rent that they have not been able to pay.

The house is made of mud brick. The roof is tin sheeting. One room has a cement floor, the other room has a dirt floor.

They have a kitchen made of wood planks.

They have a gas stove. The mother cannot cook with a wood burning stove because of her t.b.

They have a water filter.

They have three beds made of wooden planks.

They have a pila.

They have the use of pila that belongs to the owner of the house.

They have one closet to keep their clothes, the rest of their clothes are kept in bags or cardboard boxes.

They have water connected. They pay $4.US. per year.

They have electricity connected. They pay $15 US per month.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #528 Blanca
$ SPONSORED by The Jones Family, Thanks!
Bio to follow.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #527 Israel

Bio to follow.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #526 Marlon Anibal who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Barrett Family, Thanks!

Marlon is 7yrs old. His birthday is June 21st. He will be going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008.

He lives in Panajachel with his father, Lucas 39yrs old and his

mother, Floriselda 32yrs old. He has one brother and two sisters.

They are:

Sulma 14yrs old. She will be going into 8th grade in Jan. 2008.

Alan is 9yrs old. He will be going into 4th grade in Jan. 2008.

Caterin is 4yrs old.

Lucas works taking sand out of the river and earns $26 US per week.

This is very hard and dirty work.

Lucas only went to school till 2nd grade.

Floriselda works temporarily in a store but this work is only for two months.

She earns $20 US per week.

They own the house that they live in. It is made of cement block, the roof is part cement and part tin.

The floor is cement.

They have two rooms and an outside kitchen.

They have an Onil stove.

They have a pila.

They have a water filter.

They have water connected.

The pay $4.80 each year.

They have electricity connected and pay $12 US per month.

They do not have a closet.

They have a wooden box they keep their clothes in, whatever doesn't fit , they keep in cardboard boxes.

They have table and chairs but not enough for all of them.

They have three beds. Two people sleep in each bed.
When asked what is their greatest need they said shoes and clothes for their children and school sponsorship.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #525 Alan who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Fleetwood Family, Thanks!

Alan is 9yrs old. His birthday is March 13th. He will be in 4th grade in Jan. 2008.

He lives in Panajachel with his father, Lucas 39yrs old and his

mother, Floriselda 32yrs old. He has one brother and two sisters.

They are:

Sulma 14yrs old. She will be going into 8th grade in Jan. 2008.

Marlon is 7yrs old. He will be going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008 Caterin is 4yrs old.

Lucas works taking sand out of the river and earns $26 US per week.

This is very hard and dirty work.

Lucas only went to school completing the 2nd grade.

Floriselda works temporarily in a store but this work is only for two months.

She earns $20 US per week.

They own the house that they live in. It is made of cement block, the roof is part cement and part tin.

The floor is cement.

They have two rooms and an outside kitchen.

They have an Onil stove.

They have a pila.

They have a water filter.

They have water connected.

The pay $4.80 each year.

They have electricity connected and pay $12 US per month.

They do not have a closet.

They have a wooden box they keep their clothes in, whatever doesn't fit , they keep in cardboard boxes.

They have table and chairs but not enough for all of them.

They have three beds. Two people sleep in each bed.

When asked what is their greatest need they said shoes and clothes for their children and school sponsorship.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #524 Lucia who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Dixie Pittman, Thanks!

Lucia is 7yrs old. She will be going into first grade in Jan. 2008.

She was born on 20th November, 2000.

She lives in Panajachel with her mother, Juana 40yrs old and her three sisters.

Blanca 15yrs old is in 6th grade.

Joselyn is 8yrs old. She will be going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008.

Vivian is 2yrs old.

The father abandoned the family two years and they have not seen him since. He does not financially support the family.

Juana washes clothes by hand to support the family. She earns approx. $7 US per week. She finds it very difficult to be able to wash because she has to take the little one with her.

Blanca works as a babysitter. She works in the afternoons after school. She earns $20 US per month.

The family rents a room and pays $13 US per month for their room. The money that Blanca earns pays for the room and they use the rest of the money for food.

They do not have electricity, they do not have a toilet, they use a latrine, they do not have a pila.

They wash their clothes with a piece of wood and a bowl of water.

They have only one small bed. Blanca sleeps in the bed and the rest sleep on a bed that is wooden planks.

They have one small closet, the rest of their clothes they keep in a cardboard box.

They do not have a water filter.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a stove at all, they cook over open fire, made of cement blocks.

Juana says that it is very hard for her to maintain all the expenses for the family.

Their main diet is beans and tortillas or tortillas with just salt.

Juana is in bad health and needs medical attention. She does not eat much, she tries to give the majority of the food to her children.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #523 Carlos who is 12 years old.

Carlos is 12yrs old. He will be going into 3rd grade in Jan. 2008. He lives with his father, Rene 48yrs old and his mother, Juana, 42yrs old.

He has three brothers.

Fausto is 17yrs old. He only went to school until 2nd grade.

He now works taking sand out of the river for construction. He earns $16 US per week.

Elias is 16yrs old. He is going into 6th grade.

Selvin is 14yrs old. He will be going into 7th grade in Jan. 2008.

His eldest brother, Mynor 19yrs old was killed in a car accident in November.

The father works taking sand out of the river to sell for construction. This is very hot, very hard work and the wage is not fixed.

He earns approx. $23 per week.

This is not enough to cover all their costs.

The mother works washing clothes by hand two or three times a week.

She earns $10 US per week.

Their main diet is beans, rice and tortillas, they do not have money to buy meat or chicken.

They own their house.

It is made of wooden planks.

The roof is tin sheeting.

The floor is dirt.

They have two rooms. They have one small room for a kitchen.

They have an Onil stove.

They have a water filter.

This family was very affected by Hurricane Stan in 2005. They lost their home and possessions.

They do not have beds, they have only mattresses on the floor.

They do not have a closet. They keep their clothes in a wooden box.

They have a pila.

They have water connected and pay $4.80 per year.

They have electricity connected and pay $3.30 per month.

This family needs school supplies, food, beds , table and chairs.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #522 Yessica Maria who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Lori and Lilly Herf, Thanks!

Yessica Maria is 7yrs old. She will be going into 1st grade in Jan. 2008.

Her birthday is the 14th of August.

She lives in Panajachel with her father, Pedro, 37yrs old and her mother, Maria 36yrs old. She has 4 brothers and 1 sister. They are :

Anselmo is 18 yrs old. He only went to school until 6th grade. He works in a hotel as a cleaner. He earns $13 US per week.

Domingo is 15yrs old. He went to school only until 7th grade. He now works as a builder's assistant. He earns $26 US per week.

Pedro is 13yrs old. He is going into 7th grade in Jan. 2008.

Blanca is 10yrs old. She is going into 4th grade in Jan. 2008.

Elmer is 4yrs old.

Pedro works as a builders assistant and earns $40 US per week.

For the lack of finances the older children were not able to continue studying.

They own their house.

It is made of cement block.

The roof is tin sheeting

The floor is cement.

They have four rooms and kitchen made of mud brick.

They do not have an Onil stove.

Maria cooks over a wood burning stove.

They have two closets for all of them. The rest of their clothes they keep in a cardboard box.

They have four beds made of wooden planks.

They have a pila.

They have a water filter.

They have electricity connected and pay $16 US per month.

They have water connected and pay $4.80 US per year.

They have tables and chairs but not enough for all of them.

Maria has been sick with stomach problems for the past three years.

She needs to be able to have various examinations but has never been able to afford them.

It is difficult for them to be able to cover all the costs for this large family with the money that the father earns.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #521 Maria Isabel who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Andrew and Nicholas in Honor of our Grandparents Rudy and Judy Michielli, Thanks!

Maria is 7yrs old. She is going into first grade in Jan. 2008. Her birthday is 6th Oct.

She lives in Panajachel with her father, Daniel, 35yrs old and her mother, Rosa, 38yrs old.

Maria has one sister and three brothers.

They are:

Jessica is 20yrs old. She is married and has one child.

She only went to school until 2nd grade.

Martin is 11yrs old. He is in 6th grade in Jan. 2008 Jonathon is 10yrs old. He is in 5th grade in Jan. 2008.

Alex is 8yrs old. He is in 3rd grade in Jan. 2008.

Maria's father, Daniel works as a day laborer, which means that he takes whatever work is available. Maybe working in the fields, agriculture, construction or carrying heavy loads in the market. He earns $26 US per week.

Rosa takes in work. She knows how to sew using a machine and takes orders from people. She occassionally earns $7 US in one day, but she can only work 2-3 days per week.

The amount that the parents earn is not enough to cover all the costs, especially for school for the children.

Four months ago the father became very ill with an infection in his foot, he could not afford to seek medical attention and it has now turned into an ulcer.

It is difficult for him to stand on his foot.

Jessica did not continue studying because the family could not afford it.

Their diet often consists of just rice or beans with tortillas.

They own their house.

It is made of cement block.

It has two rooms made of cement block.

The kitchen is made of tin sheeting.

The roof is tin sheeting.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a water filter.

They have five beds.

They have one closet for their clothes.

They have a pila.

They have a table and chairs.

They have water connected and pay $4.80 per year.

They have electricity connected and pay $9 US per month.

When we asked this family what they most needed they said, help with the children to go to school and food.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #520 Oscar Yasuari who is 17 years old.

Oscar is 17yrs old. He will be graduating this year. He has been

studying to be a teacher. He lives with his mother, Dora 55yrs old.

The father abandoned the family 11yrs ago.

Oscar has one brother and three sisters.

They are :

Lucrecia 26yrs old.

She is married with three children. She is a teacher.

Dina 20yrs old.

She is married. She studied only until 7th grade.

Leticia is 18yrs old. She is going into 9th grade this year.

Jason is 14yrs old. He does not go to school.

The mother has to cover all the expenses of the family. She works in a bakery.

She earns $13 US. per week.

Oscar takes casual work as he can. He works during his vacations but it is not enough to cover the costs of his education.

Oscar was hoping to be able to graduate this year. But on Dec. 31st his grandmother died and then his mother, Dora had to cover the costs of the hospital and the funeral. She does not have the money now to be able to pay for Oscar to return to his final year.

They own their house. It is made of block. The roof is tin sheeting and the floor is cement. They have a kitchen that is made of wooden planks.

They have an Onil stove.

They have a water filter.

They have a pila.

They have electricity connected.

They pay $12 US per month.

They have water connected and pay $4.80 per year.

They have 3 beds and they have a closet.

PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #519 Viviana who is 11 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Martin Family, Thanks!

Viviana is 11yrs old. She will be going into 2nd grade in Jan. 2008.

She lives in Panajachel in the Highlands of Guatemala. She lives with her father, Alejandro 47yrs old and her mother, Virginia 45yrs old.

Viviana has 6 siblings.

Gloria is 15yrs old. She will be going into 7th grade in Jan. 2008 Juan Carlos is 14yrs old. He is going into 6th grade in Jan. 2008 Catarina 12yrs old. She will be going into 3rd grade in Jan. 2008.

Susana is 10yrs old. She will be in 1st grade in Jan. 2008 Sylvia is 9yrs old. She is a special needs child, she is deaf, she cannot walk and does not talk.

Lorena is 5yrs old. She will be in kindergarten in Jan. 2008.

Unfortunately, Alejandro is an alcoholic and cannot work. Virginia is the one who works to support the family. She washes clothes by hand daily. She earns $2.00 US. per day.

Gloria works half day before school babysitting. She earns $20 US per month.

She uses this money to help buy her school supplies etc.

They own the house that they live in.

They have only one room and a mud brick kitchen.

They have a toilet.

They have water connected.

They have electricity connected and pay $12 US per month.

They do not have an Onil stove.

They do not have a water filter.

They have two beds for all of them.

They have one small closet for all of them.

They have one table.

They do not have anywhere to keep their dishes etc.

They have 3 chairs.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #518 Joselyn who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Jones Family, Thanks!

Joselyn is 8yrs old. She was born on 25th Oct,1999. She will be going into 2nd grade in January, 2008.

She lives in Panajachel with her mother, Juana 40yrs old and her three sisters.

Blanca 15yrs old is in 6th grade.

Lucia is 7yrs old . She is in first grade in Jan. 2008.