Principal Braulio hired our first preschool teacher, Rosa Maria, this week after a unanimous decision from the hiring committee. She’s spending this month being acclimated to Nicolás Christian School and training to support the specific needs of our villages. She speaks the native Mayan languages of Ixil (the native language of most of our villages) and Quiche (the native language of San Nicolás village). Praise God that we found such a wonderful and qualified teacher!
Nicolás Fund for Education is excited about the early childhood education pilot project that will be launching in July 2019 in the village of San Nicolás! This program is being funded through a special grant. We feel investing in early childhood education is critical to building strong foundations that will benefit children throughout their academic experience. Students learn important social skills such as listening, sharing and cooperating, and become accustomed to a structured environment. Early childhood education has been shown to increase a student’s attention span, expand their vocabulary and learn preliminary math skills. Scientific studies consistently show the benefit of early childhood education in terms of enhanced language development, increased reading and math academic scores and cognitive and emotional benefits. These students will have an opportunity to learn some Spanish language. The pilot program will take place in the San Nicolás Early Childhood Development Center, located near the San Nicolás primary school. Nicolás Fund for Education is partnering with a Guatemalan organization called Crecer. Crecer is providing equipment and training for our programs. Beatriz Ruano de Dominguez from Crecer held a two-day training session in May for Nicolás Fund for Education graduates interested in education, and those students will have an opportunity to work in the Early Childhood Development Center as Teaching Assistants. Bellevue Presbyterian Church Early Childhood Development Director Lisa Phelps organized a book drive for the preschool and parents contributed books that our July 2019 team will be delivered to the school. This pilot program will benefit 14 village families and 26 children between the ages of 0 and 6 years old. Three separate programs will be offered. Parents and children 0-2 years old will gather to learn …
A critical part of the education at Nicolas Christian School is the carpentry program. Started by our country director Ivan Espan, students learn practical carpentry skills to help make them employable after graduating from high school. Unexpected and even more important benefits are the problem solving and teamwork skills it takes to complete a project. While working with their hands is not a new concept for our students who help out in their families’ fields, the task of making desks and chairs for Nicolas Christian School and the new preschool programs was the perfect challenge for our students. Check out the beautiful results!
Nicolas Fund for Education is growing and we are looking for volunteers to expand our impact! Would you be interested in contributing to our students’ education with your time and talents? Here are the main ways you can make a difference at NFE: Fulfilling a Dream Volunteers Our main fundraising event is the Fulfilling a Dream happening this year on Friday, April 26th in South Sound and Saturday, April 27th on Mercer Island. Some volunteer positions available are: Volunteer Coordinator (Mercer Island) – do you have great people skills and can coordinate and connect volunteers? We need to you help keep track of the big picture of our event volunteer logistics. Dessert Volunteer Coordinator (South Sound) (Mercer Island) – do you love all things desserts and want to organize a team of bakers to provide a variety of sweet noms for our event? Table Host Party Coordinator (Mercer Island) – all the table hosts get together before FAD to celebrate another year of God’s faithfulness and plan for the event. We need you to help coordinate the details for that party! Set-Up/Take-Down Volunteer (South Sound) – Arrive early to help set and decorate tables, make coffee and arrange desserts, OR stay late to remove and package decorations, take down tables and assist with light cleaning tasks. Communications Volunteers As we continue to grow and expand, sharing our stories on social media and our website becomes more and more critical as we reach new people. Some available volunteer positions available are: Story Content Coordinator – If you love sharing and hearing great stories from our villages, then this is the position for you! We need someone to talk to people who …
The November 2018 Impact Trip team included some special people: team members from Epiphany Parish. In 2005 they partnered with the village of Belen through Agros International and are now rekindling their partnership by providing scholarships for three students to attend Nicolas Christian School. We are so grateful they walk alongside these students as the future leaders of Belen! Check out our student page to pray for our students by name and donate to support their dreams!
By Barb Martin – Friends of Villa Hortencia Uno Luciano Castro Tum begins the morning at 4:30 am weaving cloth to be sold as part of the family business. He is a 9th grader in Villa Hortencia 1 where he receives his lessons via distance learning from the Nicolas Christian School in Nebaj. Luciano, a 20-year-old has been waiting for an opportunity to attend school past 6th grade. He is a member of the first graduating class of 9th graders in Villa Hortencia 1. It takes approximately 4 hours to weave one section of cloth which will be sold in San Juan del Quiche, a 2-hour walk over the top of the mountain and then a 4 hours bus ride to the market. In November, Luciano graduated from 9th grade at the ceremony in Nebaj. He is now excited about completing the first ever 10th and 11th grades. His goal is to graduate from University with a degree in engineering. He is the top student in his class with a promising future thanks to the donors who support education in the Ixil area.
Villa Hortencia Uno – Gail Hall, Chapel Hill Church When I first traveled to Guatemala in 2009 I thought I was going on a beach mission trip – how fun! Instead, I landed on top of a mountain at the end of a road, in an area largely forgotten by the world and their country. Despite the death and destruction all around them from the civil war, the Maya people survived with their faith intact. I fell in love with these people and the land, now coming here 1 to 2 times a year. In fact, I told the villagers once that my husband thinks I have a boyfriend here as I go so often to visit them! The more I came to know the people in this village, the more I realized that despite all our differences we share the same dreams for our children and for their futures. Dreams of health, education and a better life. I now have watched the children of VH1 grow up, from crazy kids running around the fields to well-behaved students excited to be a part of the new future. I am so thankful and excited that through the Nicolás Fund for Education, middle and high school is now a reality for those families willing to take a scary step and encourage their children to be a part of a new future. The villagers of VH1 all give their thanks to us and pray that God will bless us for our help. One of our students summed it up beautifully: “The goal that I have is like a dream, and now I can reach that dream so my goal becomes a reality. ” …
We have 35 new incoming students for the class of 2025 at Nicolás Christian School: From Los Angeles: 13From La Bendición and San Felipe: 7From VH1: 6From La Esperanza: 5From El Paríso: 3From Belén: 1
New year, new seventh graders, and new partnerships! Nicolás Christian School starts their new school year in mid-January and we already have an eager batch of seventh graders ready for middle school. Would you, your church, or your small group be interested in sponsoring the new students from a village this year through eWAVE’s “education with a village”? This program gives you the opportunity to support a small batch of students from a village on their educational journey. Get to know them personally through mission trips, video conferencing and personalized communication. Supporting them through donations, visits, communication and prayer shows our students how much they are valued and cared for. This partnership can be scaled for any budget – check out our website for more info and contact us with any questions!
Please support Nicolás Fund for Education on Giving Tuesday, November 27th by making a donation! Giving Tuesday is a global day of GIVING that takes place after Thanksgiving and before the holiday season. It is a movement intended to help counter the consumerism of the holiday season and raise the holiday spirit through giving to others. What a great way to start the holidays! We have an NFE donor willing to match all contributions up to $1000! You can also support Nicolás Fund for Education by using your social media to encourage others to donate to Nicolás Fund. This year, we are asking all donations to go through our website. Share this link to to our #GivingTuesday donation page: https://www.nicolasfund.org/givingtuesday-2018-donations/ Matching Donations Don’t forget many employers match donations. This is a great way to see your donations go further!
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Nicolás Fund For Education is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization (45-4887611). Your support makes a significant difference in the lives of students. Thank you for your generosity and commitment to education.
