An aspect
of education here in
Guatemala is
to show parents
the value
of education.
When
education is valued, then
the girl in
the photo above could
go to
school instead of just
collecting
firewood to sell.
.
The front yard of
a home
shared by 3
generations.
Another visit to
the
home of one of the
kids
from The Scheel
Center
Another
home visit. Kitchen
is left
rear, one room for
10 people
on right.
Room for
10.
Brothers
not yet in school
Integral
- Second Quadrant
:
The 'We' / Relationship
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Since its inception in 2011 our
family food program has provided over
4500
nutrition baskets to our
sponsored families. Since we
opened our school in
March of 2016 we have provided
over 8,500 meals to our
students. The overall goal
of the Integral Heart Foundation
Sponsorship Program is to
provide children between the age
of 4 and 12 with access to
educational
opportunities and good nutrition
which will promote healthy
mental,
emotional physical and social
development.
We know
each one of the children in our
sponsorship program personally.
One of the roles of our Sponsor
Liaison is to foster a
person-to-person
relationship between our children
and our sponsors.
Click for most recent
photos
Lunchtime at the Integral
Heart Family School.
As with
each one of the kids who have
entered The Integral Heart
Sponsorship
program, we have visited their
homes and families to learn about
their needs
and to educate them on the
responsibility of having a
sponsor. Their hopes rest
on the generosity of a sponsor to
make the potential we see in them
a reality.
With your sponsorship a child can
attend school. This literally
keeps them off
the streets and in an environment
where learning, love and
potential replace
the lure of doing nothing, menial
labor or even a life as a gang
member.
With
your help, The Integral Heart
Foundation offers a chance to
break the cycle
of poverty through its
Sponsorship Program, in which
each child receives:
- The ability to
attend one of our kindergartens,
a public school, or one of the
after-school projects with
whom we collaborate.
- A monthly protein basket, meant
to supplement the nutritional
needs of the
entire family.
- Additional help when needed,
with clothing, shoes, medicine,
school supplies,
and as is the case with
several of our sponsored families
who need emergency
support because of
frequent flooding and landslides
during the rainy season.
-
The opportunity to interact via
live video with their
sponsors as way of
boosting their self-esteem
and self-confidence.
- The invaluable opportunity to
lift their entire family out of
poverty by learning to
value education over
manual labor and eventually
completing their education
giving them the
opportunity to proceed to
university if they so wish.
In
Guatemala, many after-school
programs exist because children
between the ages of
6-11 years attend public school
only in mornings, while teens do
so in the afternoons.
This is the result of an
infrastructure shortage which
makes it necessary for them to
share classrooms. With the
help of your sponsorship we
can ensure that these children
attend one of the after-school
projects with whom we collaborate
so that they are not
idle or getting into trouble
during their free time. Most of
these after-school programs
are provided by other non-profit
organizations.
The Integral Heart
Foundation collaborates with a
number of social organizations
in and around the city of Antigua
Guatemala. These organizations
work in the
areas of education, health-care
and community development, day
care centers,
and construction of housing,
schools and clinics. We select
beneficiary families
and individuals in co-operation
with these local partner
organizations.
WHERE YOUR
SPONSORSHIP GOES:
In Guatemala, a
teacher in a public school
earns $300 per month and a
Police
Officer, after thirty years of
service, will earn about $550
per month. As you
can see, a sponsorship of
$35 - $55 per month will go
a long way.
$55
p/m primary level child
sponsorship:
– 25% on food to family,
25% on shoes/clothing/medicine,
50% to the after-school project.
$35 p/m
for tot sponsorship:
– 50% to the
after-school project, 50% on food
to family.
WHY
WAIT
 A CHILD NOW!
Aside from
educating children, the challenge
also lies in inspiring the
parents
to realize that education has
value.
Since we know each of the kids
personally, we are using these
funds to ensure
their continued education. Families
qualify for sponsorship thru a
four page
interview document that allows us
to determine which families
simply need help
and which need and actually want
help. Your support will
empower the potential
of those who truly want to
benefit from this opportunity.
Your donations will also be used
to purchase school supplies,
clothing and shoes
as are so often needed. In many
cases we take the kid and
their family to the local
store to buy them enough
food to get through to
week's end.
As the children begin to
graduate, your support will pay
for transport to school or
college, college entrance exams,
or any other necessities such as
doctor’s exams
and personal hygiene products.
Sponsor videos:
with your support we can all make
many smiles!
SPONSORSHIP
CLUSTER
- Ask
4 or 5 of your friends to join
you in sponsoring a child
- Each
person commits to $5 or $10 per
month
- Together
a cluster can change a life!
ABOUT ONE OF
THE AREAS WHERE WE WORK
The Scheel Center is a school
and community center, which
opened in 2008.
It is built on a former landfill
(dump) that abuts a slum called
Vista Hermosa
(Beautiful View). A
beautiful view indeed, as you can
see, in some of the
photos in the left sidebar
below.
A view up the hill
slum
from the roof of the
Scheel Center. 35 mins.
walking to the top.
300 families live here
in constant threat of
mudslides &
earthquakes. |
A labyrinth of
corrugated
tin and cinder blocks.
|
The view from about
half
way up Vista Hermosa
of Antigua in the distant
valley below. The distant
volcano is Volcan de
Aqua.
(click photos to enlarge)
|
The Scheel Center is where
Debora spent almost two days per
week from 2010 to 2012,
giving her time teaching English
and Evolutionary Philosophy,
doing Big Mind with
the
kids, the moms, and the
staff and handing out food to
the moms. On certain
Fridays,
Debora still treks up the
hills to check in on some of
sponsored families.
In October, 2010 Debora was
honored as volunteer
of the month.
  
Deb with teachers and
director Teacher's
DayIf not at
school, kids work.
About us:
The Integral Heart Foundation is
focused on connecting hearts and
has no religious or political
affiliation. We are currently
working on the ground in
Guatemala, aiming to overcome
poverty by allowing children and
their families to dream through
education and will expand
our work to other Central
American countries as we
establish a successful,
flexible and scalable model.
About Guatemala:
43% of children under five
are chronically malnourished, one
of the highest malnutrition
rates in the world. More than
half of the population is below
the national poverty line
and 15% live in extreme
poverty.
Poverty among indigenous groups,
which make up 38% of the
population,
averages 76% and extreme poverty
rises to 28%.
Guatemala
is a republic. It is 108,890
square kilometers (42,042 square
miles), that’s
about the size of Virginia, half
the size of the UK and a little
bigger than Ireland.
Guatemala is the next country
south of Mexico and with a
population of 14 million
people, it is the second most
densely populated country in
Central America.
Please support
our work and education programs
by making a donation below:
The
Integral Heart Foundation is
a U.S. Registered 501(c)3
non-profit.
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