The Vamos Adelante team is right now preparing to hand out the second schoolbag of the year, which includes more notebooks, pencils, crayons, markers, glue and other handicraft materials the students always seem to need! First, our education supervisors are visiting all the schools where our students attend to check in with the teachers to confirm that all is well and the students really are attending class.
Our scholarship students also just completed their first big exams and will soon receive their test results.
Vamos Adelante recently launched our new afternoon tutoring program in Ceylan after training two new teachers. We designed this program to help children with special learning needs by giving them a hand with their homework as well as doing fun craft projects!
We also continue giving children and elderly a warm meal five days per week in Ceylan. In February, a temporary governmental program began providing meals in the primary schools. Vamos Adelante has therefore reduced our program from 150 to 80 in March, continuing to provide meals and elderly who are not included in this governmental program.
The electricity continues to fail often in the communities at the foot of Fuego. It is often dark for many hours. Following the eruption last year, Vamos Adelante handed out many very solid, easy-to-use solar lamps that provide light as well as a source to charge a cellphone and people were highly thankful. Families have continued asking us if we would help them by distributing more of these lanterns.
Even in the temporary homes in La Industria, Escuintla, where those from La Trindad (who were greatly affected by the disaster) are now living, do not have reliable electricity. They have also been asking Vamos Adelante to continue distributing these solar lanterns. So, in 2019, we have already donated 400 solar lamps — these families are thrilled!
We also continue helping with funerals of the victims as they are recovered from the debris.
Fuego remains rather active and surprises us often with very strong explosions. A government-led training evacuation was practiced last month in many villages. The government has also installed over 20 warning systems throughout these communities. In the meantime, the public schools are all open and working according to schedule. However, everybody fears the approaching rainy season as the volcano’s crater supposedly is filled to the brim with lava. Heavy rainfalls will probably provoke this situation and lead to more evacuations.
Thank you for your support.
Nina
Vamos Adelante 