Project Update

I'm back in the real world now so I have a chance to give you an update on what your donations have been doing. The donations first spend a cycle in Kiva microfinance projects and these are the specific ones your money has helped:

Hezron Ngetich Luisa Morales Noor Shah Azmari Mohammad Hussin

I'd also like to tell you about two projects I visited in Central America which I will be making personal donations to.

Quetzaltrekkers is a tour company working in Leon, Nicaragua. Volunteers lead local hikes and activities and the proceeds go to projects benefiting the local children. Just walking around Leon and seeing the number of kids on the street, not in school and in need I knew that even if I didn't do a hike I was going to walk over to the office and just give them some money. Their website details how you can volunteer and lists the kinds of hiking gear you can donate.

Open Windows - I went to visit the project outside of Antigua, Guatemala and got to see the kids doing homework and learning how to use the computer. The project provides a library, tutoring assistance, and computer training for students and their parents. It provides resources they don't get at school and can help them find better paying jobs when they graduate.

Seeing these creative projects first hand got me excited to get back to Colorado and get to work! I'm signing up for Spanish lessons with Alianza this week and am earnestly targeting local non-profits for job/volunteer opportunities.

I am starting to understand that I need to learn a lot more about what resources are already in place in my community so that I can use them to help achieve Volunteerevolutions goals. Meanwhile I thought I could put the current donations to direct use. I know someone personally who unfairly lost her job and is not readily employable. It has been a difficult adjustment for her and so I've offered to pay her for volunteering. She was pretty surprised at the offer but really open even though she's never volunteered before. I've left it to her to motivate herself and find an opportunity she would enjoy (with a little direction to get started) so I'll keep you posted.