It's International Literacy Day!

September 8 is United Nations' International Literacy Day and Pueblo a Pueblo is marking the occasion by celebrating the success of its Chukumuk school library literacy activities. By handing out flyers to parents and making announcements at school meetings, we have doubled participation in our after school literacy activities, like story time. Help us to celebrate by donating much-needed children's books to our library today.

This week we're also celebrating or participation in the 50th Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) as part of the Village by Village Federation. If you, a friend, or a family member qualifies to donate as a federal employee or military member, please write down this number: CFC# 88336. That is the number to make a donation to Pueblo a Pueblo and support education (literacy!), health, and nutrition for Guatemalan children.

An A (plus!) for Kids and Moms in Santiago Atitlan
More than 100 Santiago Atitlán children and mothers received vitamin A and albendazole (deworming) supplements in August thanks to Pueblo a Pueblo donors, as well as Rxiin Tnamet and Vitamin Angels. Vitamin A is critical to a strong immune system – it gives malnourished children the capacity to fight and win against potentially deadly diseases like diarrhea, malaria, and acute respiratory tract infections. Albendazole kills off the internal parasites that make rural children more susceptible to disease.

Radio and community announcements invited families throughout the region to receive these lifesaving supplements for free.  We’ll run another vitamin A and albendazole treatment six months from now, when we will offer follow-up doses for participants and hopefully give even more families these powerful tools against illness.

The Olympics ... in Santiago Atitlan!
Last week the Chukumuk and Panabaj schools took a break from academics to compete in their own “Olympic” school sporting events that promote physical education and health. The schools closed and everyone hit the fields to compete in soccer, basketball, and many other athletic events.

Many families can’t afford the gym uniforms that children are required to wear in school, but donors to our Child Health and Education sponsorship and scholarship program make sure the children are ready to go. This year the new uniforms arrived just in time for the children to proudly show them off at their Olympic Games.

Something as simple as a gym suit, backpack, or basic school supplies can make the difference between whether a child can afford to stay in school or must leave to work in the fields or take care of younger siblings. We want every child to be a winner in life, and that means getting a good education. If you haven’t sponsored a child yet, make today the day you give a child a chance to go for the gold!

Clean Hands, Clean Teeth, Clean Water
Pueblo a Pueblo’s new WASH (Water Sanitation and Hygiene) program is going strong. Recently the activity "Prometo Lavarme Las Manos” (I Promise to Wash My Hands) taught children to wash their hands before eating by coating their hands with paint and then washing them until all of the paint was gone. Then they could eat nacho treats with their freshly cleaned hands. The children also made their own posters with handprints as a reminder to wash. In an oral hygiene activity, the kids learned how and why they need to brush their teeth.  Each child received a new toothbrush to take home after practicing at school.

WASH also provides schools with clean water and sanitary facilities. This summer, Pueblo a Pueblo intern Jake Kaplove designed and led the installation of a clean water tank for the Chacaya School. The tank will supply a reliable water source when electric purification systems fail. Volunteers Greg and Brenda Vivian helped complete the project and put the (heavy!) tank in place. The project was funded with donations Jake raised before his trip, money Greg and Brenda raised through their fair trade business, and contributions from members of the Central Evangelical Free Church in British Columbia.

Can Crawly Creatures Help Fight Hunger?
What are slimy and squirmy and help your garden grow? Worms! Parents, teachers, and Pueblo a Pueblo staff working at the Panabaj and Chacaya schools have finished constructing worm composting bins, and the kids are now filling the bins with kitchen scraps, leaves, and other organic material. The worms will arrive later this month, along with classroom activities about why worms make such a big difference in growing a healthy garden. Then the worms will get to work, gorging themselves on the scraps and excreting nutrient-rich organic fertilizer to help grow bigger, stronger vegetables in our organic school gardens.
 
Welcome Amanda, Genaro, and Veronica
Pueblo a Pueblo welcomes three new members of our Guatemala staff, Veronica
Sunderland-Perez, the new program manager for the Maternal Child Health Program, Genaro Simalaj, our new school gardens technician, and Amanda Zehner, who replaces Jen Smith as our school health and nutrition program manager. All three have hit the ground running and are already working hard and exceeding our (very high) expectations!
 
GoodSearch for Pueblo a Pueblo - It's Easy
Did you know you can help us by doing something you do anyway -- searching and shopping online? All you have to do is sign up at www.goodsearch.com (it's free!).  So far we've raised the equivalent of a child sponsorship for a year. Let's do it again!
 
* Remember: CFC# 88336 for Pueblo a Pueblo *