Thank
you for your interest in Sponsor a Child’s Education in
Telchac Puerto. This program is an off-spring of The Progreso Apoyo
Program which was created by Kitty Morgan 5 years ago in Progreso.
Kitty’s program has been so successful and she has the
administration down so pat that I asked her to share it with me. She
has gone beyond the call of duty in giving all her vital information to
me so that Susan Stewart and I can start a program in Telchac Puerto.
This program will help finance the education of poor - but promising -
students in my home-away-from-home and Susan’s permanent home
of Telchac Puerto, Yucatan. Although all public schools in Mexico are
free, each student must provide all of his/her own supplies, uniforms
and, in some cases, even teaching aids, toilet paper, and contributions
to the school library! Obviously, this all adds up and to many families
these are extraordinary expenses and most children aren’t
financially able to go beyond 6th grade giving them very limited
futures and few, if any, opportunities to escape the cycle of poverty.
Each child and their family are interviewed before acceptance into the
Program as we want to personally see where and how they live and
whether the child’s grades are acceptable because the Program
requires them to maintain a minimum gpa of 8 (on a scale of 1-10 which
is the system here). Once accepted, each family receives a Program
Sheet in Spanish, explaining that this private program is a gift of
"things" (backpacks, school supplies, uniforms, shoes, etc.) and not of
money (which could be spent on other basic necessities) from the
sponsors – snowbirds, ex-pats and locals - and it's NOT
anything from the Mexican government. The Program Sheet goes on to
detail what the students must do in order to continue to receive their
annual help: (1) bring us their list of required supplies (each school
posts them) as we will do all the shopping in stores that know and give
Kitty, and now us, considerable discounts of 20-30%; (2) write a thank
you note to their padrinos (sponsors) which we will translate, mailing
you both copies; (3) come to my house the first week of school, in
uniform and with the backpack, to have their photos taken (also mailed
to you, along with a Family Profile and complete accounting of exactly
what was spent on your child) and, most importantly: (4) they have to
maintain an average gpa of at least 8.0 and provide us with copies of
their report cards each time they receive them during the year. If a
child fails in this, his/her sponsors are under no obligation to
provide him/her their support the following year. Tough love, I know,
but there are so many deserving, yet desperately poor kids that we have
to try to save the ones who have the best chances of making it to
university which they can work their own way through if they have the
desire and drive.
Our gift to the program, besides the shopping and bookkeeping, is that
we absorb the entire costs of photos, postage and whatever else comes
up administratively. There is absolutely zero overhead, thus, every
peso (or dollar) you donate goes directly to the kids.
Please e-mail if you have questions or need further information. The
grade level of your sponsored child determines your length of
commitment, i.e., if your child in 4th grade maintains an 8.0, you're
on the hook for 5-12th grade (9 years) at US$125 a year. If you choose
a 6th grader, your commitment is $175 a year for the next 7. The Slush
Fund has, to date, been the Program’s lifesaver as these
funds are one time donations without any commitment and are available
to any child who exceeds his designated amount. They’re also
used to make $125 into $175 and $175 into $275 for those kids moving up
into the higher grades.
Kitty, and now Susan and I, are telling the kids coming in that there
are no guarantees regarding high school (as she’s still
winging HS, hoping to mix and match funds from kids who fall by the
wayside and from the slush fund). The Progreso Program entered its 5th
year last fall and, so far, God (and her generous padrinos) have
provided all that was needed and then some.
Money needs to be with us not later than May 30th of each year for the
following fall term as the shopping has to be done before mid-July
because school starts again in late August. Our school days are shorter
than elsewhere because we have 2 shifts, thus, our school year is
longer with only about a 6 week break between semesters.
We
look
forward to hearing from you soon and I thank you for your
generosity in reaching out to help these children get the education
that all children everywhere deserve. They are the future of any nation
and I wish my adopted country could see this as clearly as you and I
do!
Abrazos,
Judy Abbott de Mier y Teran and Susan M. Stewart
Mailing
Address: Judy Abbott
de Mier y Teran
Apartado
13
Cordemex 97310
K'ab
