This week we were contacted by a Mother-Daughter pair who are very interested in helping us with a fundraiser for the orphanage. The daughter would like to volunteer in Guatemala, and her mother would like to organize a drive with the Stake Young Womens, and make this their annual service project! This stake consists of about 150 girls, and could really make an impact on the orphanage! She is also a pre-school teacher, and has been speaking with our educational director, Ken Mangum, about what we need. We're so grateful for her enthusiasm, and it's a blessing that she finally found us. She told me she had scoured the internet for weeks trying to find my contact information. Then at 2am, Monday morning, she found my blog. I find it interesting because it's relatively easy to find our info through a google search, but she didn't make contact until right AFTER we had all come together, assigned responsibilies, and had a clear direction. If she had called 4 days earlier, it would have been disorganized, and she most likely would have been put on some type of contact list for later. I'm finding that things just seem to work out, and it humbles me.
Ken Mangum also gave a presentation to Sun First Bank, and they would like to do a fundraiser with their employees. It's so exciting to see other people get excited about something you're passionate about! Great job Ken!
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Coming Together
Saturday October 11, 2008 was the first official meeting for the volunteers of the Guatemala Children's Project. It's been a long time coming, and it was time that we all come together to unite our efforts and start making progress as a group. The meeting began at 8am, and finished at almost 2pm. We made some very important decisions, and I know that we will really start to see progress now. It was wonderful to finally meet everyone face to face, and bring our knowledge and ideas to the table. Tasks and assignments were delegated and everyone has a direction in which they are now clear. We've eliminated the excess tasks, and streamlined processes.
We also were blessed to have Guillermo here from Guatemala to attend the meeting. We are grateful for his example, and know he loves the children and takes great care if their needs. It's excited to be working with such wonderful individuals, and know that much good will come out of this small group of volunteers.
Guatemala Children's Project Board of Directors:
- President: Kevin Callahan
- Vice President/ Educational Director: Ken Mangum
- Field Office Coordinator: Doug
- Fundraising Director: Marta Tyler
- Marketing/ P.R.: Emily Reynolds
- Volunteer Coordinator: Debbie Clark
- Executive Secretary: Candice Chandler
- Executive Director: Guillermo Rangel
- On-Site Coordinator/ Nursery Director: Mandy Brooks
- I.T. Specialist: Mike Mangum
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Mayerly (Post by Mandy 1OCT08)
On Monday one of Guillermo´s kids, Mayerly, went back home to her family. It was so sad but good at the same time. She seemed happier. I know what Guillermo means when he says that you can tell when a family has changed. As soon as I saw Mayerly´s dad put his arms around her, I felt the spirit so strong and I felt so good about them. I am so glad she will have the chance to have a better life with her family.
Next week, one of my babies, Paola, goes back to her family with her brother Estuardo and her sister Diana. I will miss them so much but it really is better for them to be with their family than in an orphanage if their family treats them well.
Jose Daniel has changed since his first day here. He is a lot more calm and we have gotten him to start eating a little. He doesn´t cry as much anymore. I was worried about him with his head injury but he seems to be getting better.
Next week, one of my babies, Paola, goes back to her family with her brother Estuardo and her sister Diana. I will miss them so much but it really is better for them to be with their family than in an orphanage if their family treats them well.
Jose Daniel has changed since his first day here. He is a lot more calm and we have gotten him to start eating a little. He doesn´t cry as much anymore. I was worried about him with his head injury but he seems to be getting better.
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Here's the web site — GoodSearch.com and GoodShop.com You can also read about GoodSearch in the NY Times, Oprah Magazine, CNN, ABC News and the Wall Street Journal.
Monday, September 29, 2008
BUSY (Posted by Mandy on 27 Sept 08
Things have been busy around here, as usual. I got a new baby yesterday, his name is Jose Daniel and he is 6 months old. The police brought him because he was being abused and he had a fractured skull. He has not stopped crying since he got here. I think the head injury just barely happened and the reason he keeps crying is because his head hurts.I have 6 babies now, Jose Daniel, Levi, Alejandra, Paola, Jose, and Brandon. Besides Jose Daniel, they are all doing great. Levi is a month old now and he is growing so fast. Alejandra started to smile and laugh this week, and it is adorable. I love to tickle her because her laugh is so cute. Paola and Jose are still as much fun as ever, they love to dance and give kisses to everyone. Brandon is a little older and we just started trying to potty train him this week...we´ll see how that goes. I got a call from the government 2 days ago and they asked me to take in a baby that was born that day. I told them to bring him over, but they still haven´t brought him so I´m not sure what´s going on with that. They might be waiting until he is a few days older or something.We have been working non stop to find out where all the kids from the orphanage that shut down went to. It seems like we have been to government buildings here in Chimaltenango and in Guatemala City almost every day. But yesterday we FINALLY found the papers for a couple of the kids so we could put in the request with the government to have them come to our orphanage. So hopefully we will hear something about that soon.The cargo box finally came yesterday. It took two months to get here. We are sure it took such a long time because the guy who was in charge of the shipping here in Guatemala got more money for every day it was in the port. Every day he told us it would be leaving the port the next day. But then he would call with another charge and we ended up paying A LOT of money for it. But we went to the company yesterday and asked to talk to this guy´s boss and we told him everything that had been happening, how much money we had spent and how long it had taken to get the shipment. He was really apologetic about it, and he said he didn´t know why it had taken so long or what any of the charges had been for. He told us if we come back on Monday he will do something about all the payments we have had to make. Anyway, it was awesome to finally get it! I saw it before I came here but I forgot how many donations were in it. There were enough supplies to last us for probably a year or more, plus clothes and a car and two clothes dryers, along with some other things. Guillermo and I are both so thankful for everything that everyone donated.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Received!
Kevin called me yesterday with the official news that the cargo box full of donations has been received!!! It has been quite the ordeal getting it released, and thanks to the stake president there in Chimalt, he took action out of frustration and got the wheels turning. It has Officially been released, and received by the orphanage!! I cannot put into words the relief felt by all after this frustrating experience. They will now all have their supplies, 4-Runner, and household goods. When we arrive in January, the volunteers will have the opportunity to organize, and distribute everything to it's proper place. We are so grateful to finally have it in our possession, and look forward to replenishing their chronically low stock of supplies. This will undoubtedly change their lives, at least for a little while.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Plane Tickets
Plane Tickets
Plane tickets are currently being purchased by those individuals who are traveling to Guatemala for the next volunteer trip. Volunteers can go from January 9th - 16th, 2009. We are so excited to finally be able to start planning the next project, and we can't wait to get down there and see the kids again!!
Kevin has officially leased a building for which the volunteers will stay at during their trips. This will help alleviate some of the stress and work that is required of Martita when large groups come to the orphanage. I know it must be so hard for her cooking 3 times a day for so many people. She literally spends the entire day in the kitchen and doing laundry. It will also help us divide the work into shifts easier, giving each volunteer a break, and better set schedule.
Great strides are being made for the welfare of these children, but the financial burden is getting heavy. We are needing to find individuals who can help sponsor, and help raise money. There are so many good people who want to help these children, and we know once we gather all the information, compile it, and distribute to those willing to help......we can really get the ball rolling.
We'll try and keep everyone as informed as possible in the upcoming months.
Plane tickets are currently being purchased by those individuals who are traveling to Guatemala for the next volunteer trip. Volunteers can go from January 9th - 16th, 2009. We are so excited to finally be able to start planning the next project, and we can't wait to get down there and see the kids again!!
Kevin has officially leased a building for which the volunteers will stay at during their trips. This will help alleviate some of the stress and work that is required of Martita when large groups come to the orphanage. I know it must be so hard for her cooking 3 times a day for so many people. She literally spends the entire day in the kitchen and doing laundry. It will also help us divide the work into shifts easier, giving each volunteer a break, and better set schedule.
Great strides are being made for the welfare of these children, but the financial burden is getting heavy. We are needing to find individuals who can help sponsor, and help raise money. There are so many good people who want to help these children, and we know once we gather all the information, compile it, and distribute to those willing to help......we can really get the ball rolling.
We'll try and keep everyone as informed as possible in the upcoming months.
Monday, September 15, 2008
News
Entry from Mandy on Sept 13, 2008
I got some interesting news yesterday. I learned that the orphanage that I worked in here in Guatemala in December, the one with the terrible conditions, was closed down. Apparantly the police had been investigating them for months. I had written a letter in December right when I got home from that orphanage talking about the living conditions, and distributed it to as many organizations as I could in the States. It hadn´t made any difference. But I had sent a copy to Guillermo as well, and he distributed it to organizations here in Guatemala causing the police to go into that orphanage several times to view the conditions and the way that the employees treated the children. The other day a baby girl died there because of neglect, and this made the police investigate even further and finally they found that the orphanage was illegal and not authorized to be here, and that they had been taking in children and adopting them out illegally. The first thing I was concerned about was where all the children would go. There are 40 children there and I know that I know most of them. Guillermo and I spent all day yesterday trying to find out where they got sent to. We have been talking to the government and we are hopefully going to be able to take in all the babies and a few of the older children.
I got some interesting news yesterday. I learned that the orphanage that I worked in here in Guatemala in December, the one with the terrible conditions, was closed down. Apparantly the police had been investigating them for months. I had written a letter in December right when I got home from that orphanage talking about the living conditions, and distributed it to as many organizations as I could in the States. It hadn´t made any difference. But I had sent a copy to Guillermo as well, and he distributed it to organizations here in Guatemala causing the police to go into that orphanage several times to view the conditions and the way that the employees treated the children. The other day a baby girl died there because of neglect, and this made the police investigate even further and finally they found that the orphanage was illegal and not authorized to be here, and that they had been taking in children and adopting them out illegally. The first thing I was concerned about was where all the children would go. There are 40 children there and I know that I know most of them. Guillermo and I spent all day yesterday trying to find out where they got sent to. We have been talking to the government and we are hopefully going to be able to take in all the babies and a few of the older children.
Levi
Entry from Mandy on Sept 10, 2008
Well, I love the kids more and more every day. I wish I could be here forever. Yesterday Levi´s mom came. She wanted to take him away to sell him, and since that was her intent we refused to let her take him. After she found out that she couldn´t take him she decided that she wanted to put him up for adoption. She clearly only wants money for him, and she says that she can´t take care of him which is sad when she has four other children that she can´t bring herself to leave in an orphanage. I guess the good thing about this all is that we were there to take Levi instead of another orphanage, because I hate to think what would have happened to him if someone else had taken him. I am sure, from what I have experienced and seen in other orphanages here, that other places would have been willing to sell him as well for a cut of the money and who knows what would have happened to him after he was sold. Thank goodness he came to us. The other kids are doing great. Alejandra has become much more calm since she got here, and the two older babies are a ton of fun as always. We blessed all the babies on Sunday and that was a great experience.
Well, I love the kids more and more every day. I wish I could be here forever. Yesterday Levi´s mom came. She wanted to take him away to sell him, and since that was her intent we refused to let her take him. After she found out that she couldn´t take him she decided that she wanted to put him up for adoption. She clearly only wants money for him, and she says that she can´t take care of him which is sad when she has four other children that she can´t bring herself to leave in an orphanage. I guess the good thing about this all is that we were there to take Levi instead of another orphanage, because I hate to think what would have happened to him if someone else had taken him. I am sure, from what I have experienced and seen in other orphanages here, that other places would have been willing to sell him as well for a cut of the money and who knows what would have happened to him after he was sold. Thank goodness he came to us. The other kids are doing great. Alejandra has become much more calm since she got here, and the two older babies are a ton of fun as always. We blessed all the babies on Sunday and that was a great experience.
New Kids
This is an entry from Mandy's blog on Sept 5, 2008
It has been a long time since I´ve written anything, since things have been so busy! I have been back in Guatemala since the beginning of August. I finally got the last of the legal work done and I now have four babies in the nursery. Levi was the first baby I recieved, and he was 7 days old when I got him. He is about 3 weeks old now. His mom had an affair while her husband was in the States working, and she had Levi. Now her husband is coming back and she doesn´t want him to find out so she gave Levi up. He is about the cutest thing I have ever seen.Alejandra is 3 months old. She is a fatty but she is cute too. She had an older brother and 3 cousins come here with her, who live downstairs. Their story is a little scary. Both of their families were living in the same house together, and all of their parents were part of a gang. I read in the newspaper about the gang, and what they do is they kidnap people and then they tie them up and negotiate with them how they want to die. Within the next 48 hours they kill them and leave them in public places for everyone to see. So the parents had kidnapped this little 3 year old girl, and they were keeping her hostage in the house for money from her family. Last Thursday the police broke into their house and killed all of the parents, in order to rescue the little girl. The scary thing was that all their kids were in the house and saw their parents die. The good thing is that I don´t think the kids know what their parents were doing.Paola is about 1 year old (we´re not sure) and her dad was a gang leader. One day her brother and sister were left alone at home with her, and I´m not sure how it happened but their house caught on fire. Their parents never came home for them and the older brother took care of her and her sister on the streets for a few months before the police found them and brought them here. Her brother and sister live downstairs. Jose is about 1 year old as well. His dad beat him so badly that when we found him he was in the hospital with broken ribs. He still has dark bruises all over his back, and he has been here for almost a month. There were 2 other newborn babies. They died last week. One of them was premature and the other was really sick. That was really hard. I am still so sad about it. But one of the hard things about this is that we never know what kind of condition the babies are going to be in. There are a lot of sad things that we have to deal with, but I still love it here. It is worth everything to be able to take care of the babies and the kids that have been abandoned and to give them the love they deserve. Since I´ve gotten here we also hired someone to be the caregiver for the babies while I am gone. She has started already and she has been awesome. I know she will do a great job.
It has been a long time since I´ve written anything, since things have been so busy! I have been back in Guatemala since the beginning of August. I finally got the last of the legal work done and I now have four babies in the nursery. Levi was the first baby I recieved, and he was 7 days old when I got him. He is about 3 weeks old now. His mom had an affair while her husband was in the States working, and she had Levi. Now her husband is coming back and she doesn´t want him to find out so she gave Levi up. He is about the cutest thing I have ever seen.Alejandra is 3 months old. She is a fatty but she is cute too. She had an older brother and 3 cousins come here with her, who live downstairs. Their story is a little scary. Both of their families were living in the same house together, and all of their parents were part of a gang. I read in the newspaper about the gang, and what they do is they kidnap people and then they tie them up and negotiate with them how they want to die. Within the next 48 hours they kill them and leave them in public places for everyone to see. So the parents had kidnapped this little 3 year old girl, and they were keeping her hostage in the house for money from her family. Last Thursday the police broke into their house and killed all of the parents, in order to rescue the little girl. The scary thing was that all their kids were in the house and saw their parents die. The good thing is that I don´t think the kids know what their parents were doing.Paola is about 1 year old (we´re not sure) and her dad was a gang leader. One day her brother and sister were left alone at home with her, and I´m not sure how it happened but their house caught on fire. Their parents never came home for them and the older brother took care of her and her sister on the streets for a few months before the police found them and brought them here. Her brother and sister live downstairs. Jose is about 1 year old as well. His dad beat him so badly that when we found him he was in the hospital with broken ribs. He still has dark bruises all over his back, and he has been here for almost a month. There were 2 other newborn babies. They died last week. One of them was premature and the other was really sick. That was really hard. I am still so sad about it. But one of the hard things about this is that we never know what kind of condition the babies are going to be in. There are a lot of sad things that we have to deal with, but I still love it here. It is worth everything to be able to take care of the babies and the kids that have been abandoned and to give them the love they deserve. Since I´ve gotten here we also hired someone to be the caregiver for the babies while I am gone. She has started already and she has been awesome. I know she will do a great job.
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