Newsline: Church of the Brethren News Service -- Feb. 28, 2008 Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford, News Director 800-323-8039 ext. 260 -- cobnews@brethren.org
BRETHREN VOLUNTEER HELP GUATEMALAN SCHOOL RAISE
FUNDS
(Feb. 28, 2008) Elgin, IL -- Results are in from a three-week US educational/fundraising tour on behalf of Miguel Angel Asturias Academy in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala. Brethren Volunteer Service worker Ryan Richards, who serves as development and office manager at Miguel Angel Asturias Academy, accompanied and translated for the tour by Jorge Chojolan, founder of the nonprofit school.
Richards volunteers at the school on behalf of the Global Mission Partnerships of the Church of the Brethren. He reported that the tour and annual appeal raised sufficient funds to cover the academy's operating budget for the 2008 school year and build a new computer lab.
Chojolan spoke at events on the tour, sharing his vision for education in Guatemala. Beginning on Nov. 27, the two gave 30 presentations in 12 cities across the United States, to interested audiences in as far flung places as Washington State and Washington, D.C.
"The academy, serving some of the country's most marginalized children, offers a model for reforming Guatemala's educational system," Richards explained. "Only eight out of ten Guatemalan children enter elementary school, and all but three drop out before the end of sixth grade. Poor families can send their children to the academy thanks to scholarships and a subsidized general tuition. The school combines strong academic fundamentals with training in leadership and human rights issues."
Richards holds a bachelor of arts degree in international development from Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pa., and was part of the fall 2007 orientation unit of Brethren Volunteer Service.
Tom Benevento, Latin American/Caribbean specialist for the Church of the Brethren, has recommended the academy as a mission site: "The academy is a school that matches Church of the Brethren concerns and values of respect, education for youth from situations of poverty, and educating to create a more just and loving world."
--This report was provided by Janis Pyle, coordinator of mission connections for the Church of the Brethren's Global Mission Partnerships. The Church of the Brethren is a Christian denomination committed to continuing the work of Jesus peacefully and simply, and to living out its faith in community. The denomination is based in the Anabaptist and Pietist faith traditions and is one of the three Historic Peace Churches. It celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2008. It counts almost 130,000 members across the United States and Puerto Rico, and has missions and sister churches in Nigeria, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and India.
# # # For more information contact: Cheryl Brumbaugh-Cayford Director of News Services Church of the Brethren General Board 1451 Dundee Ave., Elgin, IL 60120 800-323-8039 ext. 260 cobnews@brethren.org
********************************************************** To receive Church of the Brethren news via an e-mail list serv, go to http://listserver.emountain.net/mailman/listinfo/newsline