STARTS WITH YOU

Sanabria

TEACH started to support this site in 2017. In 2019, TEACH is budgeting funding for the site of $150 allocated to gas for the boat taking students across the river to school. TEACH had previously provided $5,500 to fund a boat and motor to take students across the river to school. A TEACH Donor provided an additional $1,300 for life jackets for the students. There are currently 26 students attending school from Sanabria.

To get to, and from, their primary school on the other side of the river, 25 children in Sanabria had to cross the wide and swift-flowing Rio Dulce in small dugout canoes. They also had to contend with power boat traffic. It was not a safe way for them to get to school and home again. Responding to a request from Sanabria parents, TEACH sent the village $5,500 to buy a boat with a 15HP outboard motor, that was large enough to carry 25 to 30 children. Shortly thereafter, TEACH received photos of the children with their new “school boat,” along with a detailed plan for the boat’s usage. The boat was given the name “Barq Sanabria-TEACH.” Concurrent with the photos and utilization plan, TEACH received a request for approximately $1,200 for the purchase of life jackets. The article in the fall/winter 2017 newsletter featuring the boat project ended with the call: “All we need now are funds to help the village purchase 25 life jackets…” A Donor quickly responded and provided $1,300 for the life jackets.

The story of the Sanabria Boat Project

by Fred Walker

To get to, and from, their primary school on the other side of the river, 25 children in Sanabria had to cross the wide and swift-flowing Rio Dulce in small dugout canoes. They also had to contend with power boat traffic. It was not a safe way for them to get to school and home again. Responding to a request from Sanabria parents, and with your financial help, TEACH sent the village $5,500 to buy a boat with a 15HP outboard motor, that was large enough to carry 25 to 30 children. Shortly thereafter, we received photos of the children with their new “school boat,” along with a detailed plan for the boat’s usage. The boat was given the name “Barq Sanabria-TEACH.”

Concurrent with the photos and utilization plan, we received a request for approximately $1,200 for the purchase of life jackets. The article in the fall/winter 2017 newsletter featuring the boat project ended with the call: “All we need now are funds to help the village purchase 25 life jackets…”

Your generous donations quickly came in and the money was promptly sent to Sanabria to purchase life jackets for the children. When our TEACH travelers visited Guatemala this past February, we made a stop at Sanabria, where we were greeted As I reflect on our relationship with our TEACH partners and families, lines from a song come to mind:

“All that we have and all that we offer,
Comes from a heart both frightened and free.
Take what we bring now and give what we need.
All done in His name.”

I have in my kitchen humble reminders of gifts received on TEACH trips – a bamboo pencil holder painted by a child at Los Quineles and a small ceramic turtle given by parents at Sanabria. These keep our friends in Guatemala close to my heart. Of course the gifts go in both directions. One could say that our gifts of money and time far outweigh gifts we receive, but think about the student letters, the smiles, the lessons learned, the leaps of faith, and much more. Who’s to say that the exchange is unequal?

And because of your generous support. May our hearts be filled with gratitude! by the villagers again expressing their thanks for providing the boat and life jackets for the students. We arrived at Sanabria just in time to witness the children returning from school in their new boat “bus” and wearing their new jackets. Each child, with the exception of two new students waiting for the arrival of their jackets, had printed their names on their jackets, many of which hung down to the knees of the youngest children. We cannot thank our generous donors enough for providing TEACH the capability to give these children a safe boat for transportation to and from their school, together with life jackets to further ensure their safety on the river.