2012 Juarez Children's Education Program Fundraiser

Stephanie and Mike Bruno, Patricia Kline and Joe Fantuzzi.

Bill and Pam Klaus, Linda and Ken Alsman.

Our 2012 Fundraiser took place on September 30 at the Woodside home of JCEP cofounders Joni and David Cropper, co-hosted by Scott and Patricia Kline. About 40 people attended the party that featured food from Oaxacan Kitchen. The theme was a celebration of our donors under a harvest moon. Cofounder Scott Kline presented the history of JCEP as well as our current status and goals for the future. We were successful in making our fundraising goals for this year.

David and Joni Cropper, Scott and Patricia Kline.

Lorraine Carlson, Matt Heitel, Fred and Ellen Eder.

This past summer was one of our most proud. We graduated four students from high school and two from college. For 2012/2013 we have eight students in the program. Five are in college and three in high school. Our libraries continue to operate serving students of K-12 with a computer lab, tutoring and other library services. We currently work on a rotating basis with each library open three days per week. For more details on what each student is doing, including recent graduates, visit my previous blog post.

Colleen O'Malley and Carter Burgess

Al Nayeri, Tom Goren, Andrea Nayeri.

Our goals for the future include continuing to graduate students into a world where they can be self-sufficient job-holding members of society. We need English tutors to travel to Mexico this summer, so if you are interested in spending two to four weeks teaching English let us know. We also want to improve the entrance exam test scores of our student preparing for college and would love some tutoring advice or assistance.

Linda Copper and Mary Jane Elmore.

Diane Cesinski and Martin O'Malley.

If you are looking to make a donation or get involved, please see our Get Involved Page on our website.

Thanks again to everyone that joined us at the fundraiser. Your love and support for the students has changed lives in ways we never imagined.

Janet Wetter, Haley and Joni Cropper.

Tracy and Faith Cropper and Neolle Shipley.

All photos were taken at the Fundraiser at the Woodside Home of Joni and David Cropper on September 30, 2012.

Library 2 Up and Running Strong

I got to visit our second library in Kilometer 30. Originally constructed by our team in January 2008 and outfitted with furniture and books earlier this year, it is now fully operational. There are two librarian/teachers in the library when it is open. The hours are 2 to 6, Monday through Friday. Susie spends most of her time here since it is even more heavily used than the original library. (Photo above of computer classroom.)

The library is equipped with computers and furniture paid for by funds from an anonymous donor. The tables are rugged, first-quality new tables and the chairs are equally rugged, blue plastic stacking chairs. In the main library there are tables for the smaller kids as well as adult-sized tables. There is a classroom equipped with six computers. There is an additional computer equipped study space in the main part of the library. (Photo at right: Susie Pineda our librarian and JCEP shepherd.)

We still are adding books but as of now have a nice stock. On school days the place is packed. It even had students on this Friday when school had not yet begun the new year.

Outside, the playground equipment is holding up well with the bat slide, teeter-totter and the swing. The soccer field is dirt but is lined with half-buried tires for a boundary. (Photo below: The Bat Slide with JCEP van a Library 2 in the background.)

Next to the library is the house we built last year for the family to watch over the library. So far the security has worked well. The government installed a four-headed overhead streetlight to help as well. There is a Missions Ministries medical clinic on the site as well. It is staffed once per week by a doctor from Juarez. (Photo below: Story time at the new library.)
The whole complex is right next door to the local primary school and is within a short walk of the kindergarten as well. I am assured it has been a great blessing to the area and has become somewhat of a community center.

Thanks to all that have supported JCEP and this effort. You have blessed many families in this poor community. (Photo Below: The tires surround the soccer field.)

SRK

Playground Equipment in K30

Last year, a local Nor Cal family bought their children a play set for their yard. In order to set a good example for their children, they decided to donate money to JCEP to provide a playset for the children of the colonia outside Jaurez. Often things happen at a very deliberate pace in Mexico. The playground set was no different, but once it was complete, the results were spectacular.

This week the set was dedicated at the kindergarten we built in 2007. The set is three structures. A jungle gym-slide shaped like a bat, a teeter-totter and a swing set. A local craftsmen made them out of pipe. He welded them together and set them in concrete at the site. Jeff Piner, the local Missions Ministries head of operations, said the set will probably be working long after we are gone.

In January we will have a duplicate set for the library we built in Kilometer 30 in January 2008. God bless the donors and their family.

SRK

Book Drive - Fiesta Gardens School gives 5 Boxes

Warren Adams and his son Brennan went to Juarez with our team in February to build houses. When they got back, they decided to continue their mission work by raising books for our Library. Below is a letter which Warren composed to Missions Ministries regarding the books. Warren and I met in our men's small group at church. We have become great friends and he is an inspiration to me with his passion for helping others.

SRK


Date: October 20, 2008
To: Mission Ministries
Re: Books for Juarez
In February 2008, my son and I went to Juarez with Scott Kline and others from Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. During our visit, we had an opportunity to see the library that had been built, and over the period of our trip, we painted the interior of the library.
My 7 year old son goes to Fiesta Gardens Fiesta Gardens International School (FGIS), which is a Spanish immersion program in San Mateo, California. During our trip back from Juarez, we came up with an idea to conduct a “Books for Juarez” drive with the hope that the children attending FGIS would donate unused Spanish and English speaking books to the library in Juarez.
Working with Shelia Spieller, the principal at FGIS, we organized a “Books for Juarez” flyer that was distributed to all FGIS students, and Scott and I gave a presentation to the students on the effort in Juarez, Mexico, and in particular, the construction of the library. We were able to reach about 200 to 300 hundred kids and broaden their knowledge of the world, which is one of the reasons FGIS agreed to participate in this effort.
On behalf of FGIS, and Juarez Children's Education Program, we are pleased to donate approximately 5 boxes of Spanish and English books to Mission Ministries for the library in Juarez.
Sincerely,
Warren J. Adams and Brennan Adams
Sheila Spieller, FGIS Principal