See a myriad of faces that touched our hearts this past Christmas season by pasting in the following link    http://gallery.me.com/jonnieporte#100045

The inaguration of our school contrasts the few classrooms to the left still under construction. Escalera’s school is the structure on the right built in just 4 days.

For those joining us this December in Chiapas there will be a briefing meeting at Garbett Homes 273 East Capitol Street, SLC Monday December 7 at 7 pm. Come ready to learn about Carmen Yalchuch, get important information for the trip and meet fellow participants.The current school rooms in the village are constructed from planks of lumber. They house well kept classrooms but are dark and cold in the winter months.Fenced off gardens border the campus. Along with state mandated curriculum agriculture and an awareness of the enviornment are taught at this school .

Soccer field before Nick's work

Soccer game on finished field

Nick Flint’s vision created a truly transformative Eagle Scout project. On the steep and rocky hillside next to Pajalton Bajo’s new middle school, Flint directed dozens of workers in a mammoth effort to level and fill a soccer field with amazing amounts of dirt. They dug the dirt from nearby hillsides and brought it down in wheelbarrows and truckbeds before leveling and compressing it. They installed goal posts and bought sports equipment with the money his neighbors donated. When the field was finally ready for its inaugural game, hundreds turned out eager to play. Lightbulbs were strung up once the sun went down and soccer games continued late into the night and days afterward.

 

CORNERSTONE CEREMONY in PAJALTON BAJO   setting the foundation for a better future                                                                        Chiapas and Escalera joined hands this week to lay the cornerstone for Pajalton Bajo’s middle school.  The village put on a bright-colored celebration to express their thanks. In less than a month, a team of 42+ US volunteers will start and complete the six-classroom middle school.  Alongside villagers, these volunteers will work to build a middle school that Mary (right) will be able to attend when she comes of age.   Thanks to the Garbett family and Gabriel Sanchez for bringing about this new partnership and to Bryson and Paul Garbett for coming to Chiapas for the ceremony.  To see pictures of the ceremony click here. SCHOLARSHIP STUDENT SUCCESS honor roll, football team, service-oriented and university bound Meet Alejandra, Jorge, Francisco, and Christian–four successful students with Escalera scholarships.   With a gpa of 9.4, Alejandra (left) is one of the five Escalera students on the honor roll.  She plans to study medicine at Mexico’s premier university, UNAM, after she graduates.  She looks forward to telling her two little sisters over the Christmas holiday about how incredible Benemerito has been. Jorge and Francisco (middle) love the jobs they have at Benemerito.  Jorge works in the cafeteria and Francisco works with electricity.  Their supervisors say that they work more hours than they need to and are very reliable workers.  Franciso expects that his job experience at Benemerito will help him get a job after high school.  He plans to attend Brigham Young University after serving a full-time LDS mission.  He has a high gpa, and hopes to make it on the honor roll next semester. Christian (right) starts as an offensive lineman Benemerito’s football team.  He has played line and received the Escalera scholarship for three straight years.  Last saturday, Christian led the team in a grueling championship game, where Bene fell to Cuernavaca to finish second in state this season.   These four students have chosen to succeed despite the many difficulties they face on the home front.  Escalera recognizes them for having shown the moral courage to have come so far, and encourages them to continue.  These four represent the 85+ scholarship recipients this year that are using education to improve their future.  Alejandra, Jorge, Francisco, and Christian send warm wishes and holiday greetings to the many anonymous families that have helped make their hopes a reality.  $850 dollars sends one student to Benemerito for an entire year.  Next year, Escalera hopes to have 100 scholarship students.  If you would like to help us reach that goal, please respond to this email. FINDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF SCHOLARSHIP STUDENTS getting the word out in chilpancingo, acapulco,  zihuatenejo, and lazero cardenas                Over the past week, Escalera visited over 80 interested scholarship candidates (from the 7th to 9th grade) and their families in towns along the western coast of southern Mexico.  The conversations we had and the stories we heard convince us that these scholarships are motivating more kids to attend high school.  Due to financial necessity, many students told us that they have dropped out of school after the ninth grade in order to work, but now with the help of the Escalera scholarship, they hope to finish high school. Escalera thanks Benemerito Director Mario Carlos for letting us accompany him to these locations and for his continued dedication to reach out to the youth of Mexico.

For more info on how to get involved and make a difference in Mexico, download this brochure:

Pajalton Bajo Brochure

 

Mercedes: Health Education

a packed house

 

We are making some reparations on the middle school that we built in December.  New metal doors, a new paint finish, and flushing toilets are some of the things we are working on right now.  Next Monday, when school starts, we will be presenting the laptops that Zeegan George collected for his eagle scout project.  We will keep you posted on how they are received.

 

 

Mercedes: Stove Pilot Program

 

 

This is an above-standard kitchen for a family in Mercedes.  Usually, families cook directly over an open fire and much closer to ground level.  Because of their cooking methods, mothers and children frequently get sick from bacteria infection or smoke inhalation.  The government has identified at least 23 families in Mercedes that are in urgent need of stoves with proper ventilation systems.  Right now, we are trying to build a stove that will cost 80 dollars or less to install.  If we can get the cost low enough, we will look into starting a micro-business for stove installation.  We think that if we start stove installations as a micro-business rather than a charity, it will lead to more self-sustained development in the future.  We have received a commitment from the municipal government to fund the initial costs for our pilot stove program.  

 

 

 

Mercedes Health Clinic: finishing up the roof

El Pozo: new doors for a new year

metal doors for middle school

We are making some reparations on the middle school that we built in December.  New metal doors, a new paint finish, and flushing toilets are some of the things we are working on right now.  Next Monday, when school starts, we will be presenting the laptops that Zeegan George collected for his eagle scout project.  We will keep you posted on how they are received.

 

Benemerito: Scholarship Students

2008-2009 School Year

Here are the Escalera Scholarship students that will be attending Benemerito for the 2008-09 school year.  We caught up with them in their first week at Benemerito.  Meeting them one-on-one and getting to know their interests and aspirations helps us appreciate the value of these scholarships in a new way.  Behind each face, we find a story of sacrifice.  The people in this picture are proving that poverty need not prevent higher learning.  We thank the the students, their hard-working parents, and the donors for making education a priority.