Posts by John Nelson
101 – 110 of 125 items
Update: Santa Familia Covered Play Area
Walter sent some new photos of the play area, and it looks like its coming along superbly. Some of the photos even give you a sense of the size of the play area, which is important because in El Salvador, boys are boys, and boy are they rough! Notice the thank-you poster for Mrs. Regina Johnson held by several well-dressed students, the nice banner Walter had made recently, and the Salvadoran workers perched atop the enormous metal structure under some very ominous clouds that could very well be building up a strong negative charge. You see, Salvadorans always play games with danger, but because they don’t pay any attention to the danger, they always win. If you have the privilege of traveling down to El Salvador, take a look at a) their corn-grinders and b) their ferris wheels and you will see what I mean.
Want to Give Something Specific?
One of our donors suggested that we post a list of items widely needed by the poor in El Salvador, so we asked Walter to think of all the items he could and their usual price. Here goes:
Wheelchair $450
5 lb can of powdered milk $18
Folding bed $45
Corrugated roofing metal for houses $70/dozen sheets
Children’s shoes $15
100 lbs. beans $60
100 lbs. rice $60
100 lbs. sugar $100
School notebooks $.50 each
Bottle of children’s vitamins $5.00
Wood planks for houses $35/dozen
School desk and chair $35
Box of 100 medical exam gloves $7.50
One-year scholarship for high school student $750 for full, $250 “media beca”
One classroom $5000
One library with books $10000
So whether you choose to mail your donations or donate online, just send us a note telling us what you would like to pay for (I don’t know if one is able to send a message with online donations). Then perhaps you’ll have the privilege of seeing photos like these result from your gift: here is a seasoned Salvadoran sitting in his new wheelchair courtesy of a generous TLAU donor.
New Project Suggestion From Walter
The Centro Escolar Catolico Monseñor Arnulfo Romero is currently soliciting help from TLAU. It is a relatively large school (950 students) located in Zaragoza in the department of La Libertad. Their situation is not especially urgent; they actually appear to be blessed with a problem. You see, they have a “gran cantidad de libros,” but nowhere to put them. Therefore, they are asking for your help to build a 10×12 meter library.
Want more pictures? Click.
Centro Escolar Oscar Arnulfo Romero
Construction of Covered Play Area Progressing Nicely
The gracious Mrs. Regina Johnson requested that in addition to the several classrooms, the library, and the computer room, a large covered play area for the children should be built to keep them out of the merciless equatorial sun. It should be up and functional in time to keep the students out of the winter monsoons, as well.
Want more photos? Click.
Muchas Bendiciones from the Cortez Family
The parents of Karla Lorena Cabrera Cortez, one of the students sponsored by our becados program, sent a letter of gratitude to The Least Among Us. It translates as follows:
December 19, 2006
Dear Padre Patricio and the other benefactors of this very important foundation:
Receive special greetings from the Cabrera Cortez family, wishing that in this Christmas the child Jesus and the Virgin Mary pour out abundant blessings on your spiritual works and your labors that benefit those in most need in our dear town of Santo Domingo de Guzmán.
Dear Father, by means of this letter we want to express our most sincere thanks for the most important aid that you have brought and continue to bring to our daughter Karla Lorena in the form of her scholarship that she is able to study for her technical High School degree. We are very grateful to God and to all of you who have made it possible for the youth of our town to prepare themselves academically as future professionals, especially our daughter Karla Lorena.
We are well aware that we are not able to pay back the donors for the sacrifice that they have made so that those in most need can receive such great aid but God Almighty and the Virgin Mary will repay you one hundred times one hundred. We will continue to pray for you the founders and for all the donors who contribute to the foundation and its success.
May God bless you all and may you have a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year.
Juan A. Cabrera
Teodora Cortez de Cabrera
Karla Lorena Cabrera Cortez
Karla is in her second year of bachillerato at the Instituto Nacional Jaime Abdul Gutierrez in Sonsonate.
New Roof
Update: Centro Escolar Virgen de Guadalupe
In light of recent revelations about the Centro Escolar Virgen de Guadalupe, it appears that TLAU will not be able to proceed as hoped. As earlier reported (see post January 22), the school needs two classrooms, an office, a storage room, and a small covered play area. But as always, TLAU and its officers must approach each project with a degree of caution commensurate with the trust placed in the organization by its devotees. Over a conference call in early February, Walter revealed that the land upon which the new classrooms would be built were in fact not in the name of the local bishop but rather belonged to a sort of government cooperative. The school assured us that they had signed an agreement with the cooperative effectively granting them ownership of the land, but it wouldn’t go into effect until after the classrooms were finished. Thus, if TLAU chose to improve the value of the land by constucting classrooms, there is a looming chance that third-world politics will run their course, leading said cooperative to reneg on their agreement and reclaim the land along with thousands of dollars worth of constuction.
The local bishop has been informed that TLAU will not proceed with any planning or construction until Walter sees the title of the land in the name of the diocese.
Su Corazonita Fuerte: The Plight of Madeline Beatriz Sanchez
Father Keane encountered Madeline during his July 2006 trip to El Salvador when her mother came to thank Father for TLAU’s supporting Lydia, Madeline’s older sister, through the becados program. She was extremely small for her age, 13 pounds at one year, because 
she had a hole in her heart–a ventricular septal defect that could only be treated with surgery. However, because of her family’s poverty, surgery was an impossibility. So Father Keane began talking to parishioners in North Carolina, particularly at St. Mark parish in Wilmington and St. Patrick parish in Fayetteville, and before long he had almost $19,000 from nearly 45 different individuals and even a few children holding a yard sale.
Madeline had her surgery on Friday, December 8th.
Father Keane has been keeping notes on her situation since he met her. To read them, click HERE.
Here are more PHOTOS of Madeline.