This Christmastime, Ellen will be putting together boxes for large and single parent families. They will include:

1 weeks groceries
1 piece of (gently used) clothing for each child
1 small toy for each child
50 lempiras, or the equivalent of $2.50, which is one day’s wages

This is a typical family in need of a Christmas box. She is a single mom with a newborn baby (not in the picture) who works outside the home.

This has been a very difficult year for people in Honduras. There are still no rains. So with this drought, the political situation and the lack of foreign aid, folks are losing their jobs and their crops.
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New School for Santa Rosita: We Need Your Help!

Santa Rosita is a community of coffee pickers who earn about $2.50 per day and live way up in the mountains. They are extremely poor.

The school is made of bamboo posts and plastic with pieces of tin for the roofs. Two aulas, or classrooms, do not have any plastic meaning the rains destroy the “walls” on a weekly basis. Not only do the materials get destroyed but the kids also get sick regularly.

The community is comprised of hardworking and innovative folks who are desperate to ensure the best education and well being possible for their children.

Ellen has been working with the engineer from Vision Mundial, who donate their services. The municipality donates some of the materials, and Maranata Ferreteria gives their bottom prices on the rest of the materials. All labor except for the head abaniel (foreman) is volunteer from the community members. Therefore it is possible to build a classroom of cement for less than $5000.

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New School for Salitron Village

This is one of the neediest schools in the area. The floor has giant crevices, the roof is caving in, the windows are a mess and it also needs a blackboards, teaching materials and a bright paint job.

The teacher is an amazing man. He grew up in one of the villages and only completed third grade. At age 20, he went back to 4th grade, studied from then on and became a teacher. He is very involved in helping to establish a natural medicine clinic here in Copan.

Project School Supplies is working with the NGO Hope for Honduras to give the children in this village a safe and healthy learning environment. More information here.

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Donation of Vitamins and Anti-Parasitics for Rural Schools

Thanks to Vitamin Angels, we have received more than 30,000 vitamins and anti-parasitic medicine. We are now able to distribute vitamins to several schools in Copan villages and vastly improve the health of more than 400 children.

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Hygiene Workshops and Doctors Visits to Rural Schools

In the past two months, hygiene workshops have been set up in nine schools and a visiting doctor program has been initiated with six schools participating so far.

Pictured are babies being weighed to ensure they are a healthy weight and young children being taught the importance of washing their hands often with soap and water.

Learn more information about all Project School Supplies work in healthcare.
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New School for El Malcote Finished!

We’ll soon have photos of the completed El Malcote School. Learn more here.

The original school:

Work in progress:

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New Desks and Chairs for Agua Sucia School

The fence was locked and the teacher wasn’t there so we had to haul the furniture over the fence and into the school. The school before:

Learn more about the school and village here.
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New School for Los Arcos

Los Arcos is a village at the end of the mountain road. The children currently study outside, but now the rains have started. They desperately need of a classroom and we can build one for $4800, but need your help. The municipality will donate some materials, and we will get a great deal from the lumber yard and the engineer from World Vision will help us for free. Labor will be provided by the villagers.

Learn more about the school and village here. Learn how you can help here.

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Dental Hygiene Workshops

Workshops are continuing but Project School Supplies is in desperate need of more toothbrushes and multiple vitamins.

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Clothing Donations

Donations have been coming to Project School Supplies, which are then distributed in the rural villages surrounding Copan Ruinas for a small contribution of 1 or 2 lempira per item (around US 10 cents.)
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How to Help

Donations of cash, toothbrushes, toothpaste, school supplies and vitamins are always welcome. If you can, please consider an ongoing monthly contribution of $20 or more. Learn more here.
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Buy Music! Musicians Ellen Finn and Tamara Lewis are generously donating proceeds from the sales of their CDs to support the work of Project School Supplies. Purchase CDs at: www.EllenFinnMusic.com and TLewisMusic.com

Also, please help publicize all the amazing work Project School Supplies is doing in Honduras by forwarding this e-mail and newsletter to as many friends and family as possible.

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