Spread Hope
Brought to you by Comunidad & Food for the Hungry Canada
Spread Hope
Brought to you by Comunidad & Food for the Hungry Canada
$0 raised of $150,000 goal
0 donors
Let's build, buy and be the change - and bring safe new classrooms to the children of Guatemala
In rural Guatemala, something is spreading from the north. Something powerful enough to counteract the fear that so many of us are living in right now. It's hope. But not greeting card hope. Hope you can touch and see, made of bricks, desks, hand-washing stations — and people. The big-hearted, deeds-not-words people of Abbotsford and its neighbours, who are pulling together to help tiny Acul and Santa Avelina get their own hope — their children — back in school.
Buy a wall, buy a hand-washing station. Rally your team. Spread education, spread safety — spread hope.
Tiny towns. Huge challenge.
COVID-19 has closed much of Acul and Santa Avelina, including their schools. And with Internet access at 13%, remote learning is a remote possibility.
Many communities simply don’t have the money or infrastructure to implement safety protocols. The children — Acul’s shining hope — won’t be able to go back to school without high risk of illness. Many will drop out.
But Acul is tough. Once decimated by civil war, they rebuilt. They’re fighting back. And because of this, so are we.
Challenge accepted.
To get 1,783 elementary and middle-school children safely back in school — and improve the safety of 7,500 parents and community members — here’s what we’re building and bringing:
- To ensure safe social distancing, we’re building a two-classroom block in Acul with desks, seats, and blackboards: $55,200
- To make hand-washing second nature, we’re building 18 hand-washing stations in six schools: $57,110
- To keep safety top-of-mind, we’re distributing disinfecting kits ($2,250), personal protective equipment (PPE) ($2,250), sanitation guidelines and posters ($190) to six schools
- We’re also providing comprehensive community-wide safety education, from physical distancing to safe preparation of school meals
If we meet our main goals, we’re going to push hard for one more wish, a new school kitchen — ensuring every hungry mind gets the nourishment they need, with healthy meals served according to safety protocols: $33,000
Why this matters so much.
Drop-out rates for middle-school in the regions we’re supporting borders on 30%. Internet access is sparse, homes are often overcrowded and many lack electricity — the conditions needed for focus and learning are severely compromised.
The crisis is also forcing many of the poorest families to turn to every family member — including children — to bring in whatever money they can, often by working as labourers on the family farm. Work over school: it’s a constant struggle.
Here's how you can bring the kids back.
Silent Auction
NOTE: If you win an auction item, and your bid is 25% more than the value of the item, you may be eligible for a tax receipt for the difference between the bid & the value.
Hope made real. That’s what a school is. That’s what you’re building, in a part of the world that might never have the chance.
You can spread something good – right now – that will ignite your circle, inspire our community, and send goodness from Abbotsford to Acul, 6,000 kilometres away.
Thank you for your generosity!
Who we are.
We're a collective of local Abbotsford businesses that come together each year to raise money for Food for the Hungry Canada, a non-profit organization that works to reduce global poverty through lasting impact. While you're probably used to seeing us at our annual gala event, we've had to rethink how to support FH Canada this year.
We believe that our mission is to serve both our local and global communities. Thank-you for your continued partnership.
The Comunidad Partners
