It's that time of year again!

The 2011 school year was such a success in so many ways. We received a donation at the end of 2010 from monoloco restaurant in Antigua of notebooks, pencils, and pens, enough for all of the children with plenty left over. Then, we were able to get donations to buy ALL of the school supplies for ALL of the kids at the El Hato School. Such an accomplishment! Then we received enough funds throughout the school year to buy all the vegetables and fruits needed to supplement the kids' breakfasts, with enough left over to give the kids a big fried chicken lunch at the end of the year!
In addition, our partner NGO, Las manos de Christine fund raised and had an English classroom built which is currently being used for summer school classes and will be used for the English classes in the 2012 school year. It was a lot of hard work and time, but the end result is a spacious classroom with space for at least 45 kids to take English classes. Plus, we had a slew of amazing volunteers passing through Earth Lodge that were helping Stacey and Pearce (the 2011 English teachers) up at the school.
For the 2012 school year, we will have 2 new English teachers working for both Las manos de Christine and Earth Lodge. We are hoping once again to get all of the school supplies and fruits and vegetables paid for again, and the teachers are hoping to raise money so that kids can have El Hato School sweaters.
So we need your help!! $7 US (50 Quetzales) buys a child a new sweater, $20 US pays for a years worth of vegetables and fruits for 1 child, and $25 pays for all the school supplies for 1 child.
How you can donate: You can send a PayPal payment to elhatoschool@yahoo.com or you can send a check to Las manos de Christine for a US tax write off. When sending a check please also send an email to elhatoschool@yahoo.com to let us know it was sent so we have your email address on file. Also please enclose a note for what you'd like the money to be used for (i.e. veggies, sweaters or school supplies). Send checks to:
Las Manos de Christine, 824 Canterbury Arc, Las Cruces, NM 88005. Please make sure your return address is visible so we can send you the tax form later in the year.
Any questions?? Email Briana at elhatoschool@yahoo.com for more information!!
Thanks again to everyone who helped in 2011 and here's to a succesful 2012!!

2011 El Hato School Sponsorships

It's time to help the El Hato School for the 2011 school year. This year we expect about 285 students to attend the school (which is up from 250 last year!)
In the past, people have paid $45 to buy school supplies and to help send a child on a field trip. Sponsors received a picture of the child that they sponsored and updates throughout the year on school happenings.
This year we are changing things up a bit. Now, sponsors can contribute $25 that can go to either a child's bag of school supplies or a week's worth of vegetables to supplement the children's breakfasts. Sponsors can specify what grade level they'd like to help if contributing towards the school supplies and a picture of that grade receiving their supplies will be sent. Or help with the vegetable fund and receive a picture of the children enjoying a nutritious breakfast!
Why have we changed things?? Firstly, last year, we weren't able to get all the kids sponsored therefore we weren't able to send the children on the field trip. Hopefully with lowering the sponsorship contribution to $25, we can get all the kids school supplies paid for which is more of a priority than a field trip as the parents in the village are largely unable to pay for their kid's supplies. Secondly, the $45 given by sponsors was needed at the beginning of the school year so the sponsors could receive the picture of their student...but now, we can receive the $25 donations all year long as extra school supplies are always needed and we hope to buy vegetables each week for the kids (as we have done in the past!). The drawback is that pictures of individual students won't be sent to sponsors but as mentioned above, other pictures will be sent when you donate as well as updates throughout the school year. And as always....100% of your donation goes to the school, there are no overhead or administrative costs, so each penny goes to helping the El Hato kids!
How can you donate??
There are many ways to make your donation:
1) You can send a paypal donation to elhatoschool@yahoo.com
2) You can deposit or wire money into either our US (Citbank) or Canadian (TD Canada) bank accounts (please email first for account numbers and information)
3) You can deposit or wire money directly in the school account at Banco Internacional in Antigua (please email for more information). This is best just for those that live or are currently in Guatemala.
3) For those in the US, you can send a check to the NGO Las Manos de Christine. This NGO is partnering with the Earth Lodge in helping the El Hato School and you can donate and receive a tax deductible receipt which will be sent out at the end of the year. 100% of your donation goes directly to the El Hato School, there are no overhead costs.
If you wish to donate this way, please make out your check or money order to Las Manos de Christine at 824 Cantebury Arch, Las Cruces N.M. 88005. Include your address so the tax form can be sent to you. Please include a note saying that the donation is for the El Hato School and specify for either school supplies or vegetables and if you can also send an email to elhatoschool@yahoo.com to let us know that a check was sent so we can follow up. We also need to receive this email so we can have your email address on file in order to send the appropriate photos.

Together with all the sponsors, Earth Lodge and our partner NGO Las Manos de Christine, we have seen incredible growth and changes in the El Hato School and we hope to continue our good deeds this year. Please help if you are able, every little bit contributes to the education of the village children!

El Hato School Needs your help!!

We are currently raising funds to build 3 new classrooms at the El Hato School!
One will be used primarily for English classes and the other 2 will accommodate the overflow of preschool and kindergarten classes. These classes grow larger every year and as of now, they are extremely overcrowded. We are finalizing our prices but we estimate in the $12,000-$15,000 range to build all three. We will be using materials bought locally, labor from the town of El Hato and any and all volunteer muscle that we can find!!
For more information on this project and for info on how to donate, please contact Jonathon Engels lasmanosvolunteer@gmail.com.

Thanks for all your support!!

Thanks to those that sponsored for the 2010 School year.

A big thank you to all that sponsored children for the 2010 school year. We fell a bit short and were not able to raise enough money to send the kids on the field trip as we had hoped. However, we used the $45 per child to instead sponsor 2 children, so we were able to buy school supplies for 2 kids instead of one. This way, we were able to buy school supplies for all of the children in the school.
We still need funds to buy vegetables and fruit for the breakfast program and we will now start raising funds to build 2 new classrooms. Due to amount of help sponsors give each year, more and more kids are attending school and the classes are getting overcrowded. We estimate that these 2 new classrooms will cost about $4000 total, so any help that can be given is much appreciated.
Please contact Briana at elhatoschool@yahoo.com for more information.
Thanks!!

2010 School Sponsorships

We are now beginning to look for sponsors for the 2010 school year. Help the children of the El Hato School and sponsor a child in the elementary school. There will be roughly 225 kids starting school in January and they all need help!
Sponsors pay $45 for the entire year and this pays for all of the child's school supplies plus pays for them to go on a field trip to the movies. Sponsors receive an emailed photo of their child, plus updates on school happenings throughout the year.
In 2009 we were able to get all the kids sponsored and take them on a field trip to the Guatemala City Zoo and this trip was a HUGE success and it was an amazing experience for the village kids. We hope to be able to sponsor all the children in 2010.

There are many ways to make your donation:
1) You can send a paypal donation to elhatoschool@yahoo.com
2) You can deposit or wire money into either our US (Citbank) or Canadian (TD Canada) bank accounts (please email first for account numbers and information)
3) You can deposit or wire money directly in the school account at Banco Internacional in Antigua (please email for more information)
3) For those in the US, you can send a check to the NGO Las Manos de Christine. This NGO is partnering with the Earth Lodge in helping the El Hato School and you can donate and receive a tax deductible receipt!! 100% of your donation goes directly to the El Hato School, there are no overhead costs.
If you wish to donate this way, please make out your check or money order to Las Manos de Christine at 824 Cantebury Arch, Las Cruces N.M. 88005. Please include a note saying that the donation is for the El Hato School sponsorship program and if you can also send an email to elhatoschool@yahoo.com to let us know that a check was sent so we can follow up. We also need to receive this email so we can have your email address on file in order to send the child's photo.

Thanks to all for their continued support over the past 3 years. The El Hato School is growing and improving every year, and more kids are now attending school than ever before. This is largely due to the efforts and donations of the sponsors!

If you have any questions, please email Briana at elhatoschool@yahoo.com.

End of the school year Party!!

Coming up soon at the end of October is the end of the school year party at the El Hato School. We have completely run out of donation money, so if we are going to give the kids a party this year, we need to raise more money!!
For the past 2 years, we have hired trampolines, a bouncy castle, bought pinatas for each grade and bought the food for the lunch. The cost of this party is about $700 US, so any help you can give is highly appreciated; if we don't raise the money, then there unfortunately will be no party this year!!
Please contact Briana at elhatoschool@yahoo.com if you can donate. There are many ways to give...either via paypal, in our US or Canadian bank accounts, in our Guatemalan bank account that we use just for school donations, or you can send a check to Los Manos de Christine to get a US tax write off. All of the appropriate information can be given to you when you contact us.
Thanks again to all for their continuing support.
Here are some photos from previous parties!

Tree Planting and Garbage Pick up!

On Aug. 18th, the children at the El Hato school planted 120 Gravilea trees. Earth Lodge bought these trees from the organization "As Green as it Gets" and we thank them for giving us such a great price!
The day started with a presentation of the importance and benefits of planting trees. The children explained that trees give water and oxygen as well as supplying firewood, fruit, paper and furniture. After the presentation, the children paired up and planted their trees!
The idea is that the each child is responsible for the tree that they planted, making sure it has water and picking the weeds around it. The children also picked up any garbage they found whilst planting the trees and put the rubbish in the garbage hole that was dug last year at the school.
Thanks to those that donated for this reforestation program!