Newsletter, September 2012

Dear Friends of Constru Casa, October is World Habitat Month and at Constru Casa we are focusing on the Youth of Guatemala through our work of providing sustainable housing for the next generation of Guatemalans. We have a fundraising gala focusing on youth, homes being built for young women who are heads of households, and strong partnerships with local schools. We are committed to providing a brighter future for some of the most vulnerable members of our community. Young people represent 70% of Guatemalas 14.7 million population and 52% of the youth live in poverty. Youth are not only the future of Guatemalathey are the present. During World Habitat Month, we ask that you especially remember the youth of Guatemala and offer your support to better the lives of the young men and women who make up such a large percentage of the country. Hope for Reyna Sixteen year-old Reyna lives in the small village of Santa Mara de Jess with her aging grandmother and her three younger brothers. When both her parents died unexpectedly three years ago Reyna was left as the primary caregiver for her brothers at the age of thirteen. Constru Casa built a home for Reyna and her siblings this July, and the young family is currently busy painting the walls and decorating the new house. For Reyna, this house not only provides a secure place to live, it also provides her with hope. In her old makeshift house constructed of wood and tin, men from the neighborhood often barged into her home at night, bothering Reyna and refusing to leave. Because of this, we decided to build an extra cement wall around Reynas house in hopes that it would keep her and her brothers safe. Reyna has expressed a desire to learn English and possibly work with Jardn de Amor, (please see next page for more information on the school) in the future. Your support of a new home gives hope to young women like Reyna who are working towards a better life for themselves and their family. In this issue: Hope for Reyna Spotlight: Jardn de Amor Latest News

Reyna in Santa Mara de Jess

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Newsletter, September 2012

Spotlight: Jardn de Amor
Jardn de Amor, one of our partner projects, is located in the community of Santa Mara de Jess, about 25 minutes outside Antigua. The program director, Julio Garcia, started the school in 2005 with the hope of offering quality education in a town with few educational opportunities for the local children. Now, seven years later, the school provides over 100 kids with basic elementary education as well as accelerated classes for older students who have never had any formal teaching. The project also provides a free meal for its students each afternoon, as many of the children receive very little food at home. Jardn de Amor is more than a schoolit is an extended family for the students it serves. We are proud of Julio and commend him and his teachers for their dedication to the Santa Mara de Jess community and their passion for education!

Latest News
On October 4th we will be hosting a cocktail reception and inviting local community members at Museo Miraflores (Miraflores Museum) in Guatemala City. This event, entitled Nuestro Futuro or Our Future, aims to raise awareness about Constru Casa specifically within the country of Guatemala. We will have an exhibition and auction of donated photographs of our project taken by two amazing photographers, Briana Forgie and Terri Huizinga. If you would like to come along to this event, please contact us at contacto@construcasa.org. On August 29th we held a charla y caf (chatting and coffee) event at a local cafe with all of the social workers of our partner organizations. We shared ideas on how to improve our social services follow-up plan for our families , ideas for the future, and explored new partnerships within the community. Despite torrential rains, we recently finished constructing a school and a clinic in Ceylan, a small village on the outskirts of Volcan Fuego (Fire Volcano) for the project Vamos Adelante. We want to send a special thanks to everyone at the Swiss based organization, Verein Guatemala-Zentralamerica, for their generous contribution to this project! We welcomed Shelley Ramsey from Tennessee to the Constru Casa team in July; Shelley will be serving as our Field Reporter for the next year. We are also excited to have a previous Dutch volunteer, Inez den Draak, back in our team! Welcome Shelley and Inez!

I had the best day of my life volunteering with Jardn de Amor. It is an amazing organization.-Frdrique Ouellet, Volunteer from Quebec, July 2012

The new school and clinic recently constructed in Ceylan, Escuintla

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