Many people have asked, "What do you need down there?" Well we need a lot of things, and most of what we need is readily available here and the prices are fair. Some good hearted people have sent us materials and books for the library. The items have been sent priority mail, which is expensive, and we have to pay duty, not on the materials but on the amount that was spent for postage and insurance. More often then not the duty is equal to the cost of the items. If you are making a trip to Ecuador....Bring all you can as the duty is normally zero. If you want to bring a computer or something expensive we would appreciate it, but let us know ahead of time and we will advise customs that it is for the school.
There is a French tour company that has the Katitawa School on their itinerary and brings a bus load of French tourist by about once a month. They always bring a box of the most commonly used supplies which keeps us in pens, pencils, notebooks and such. This really helps and we rarely need to buy these types of supplies.
What we need, is money for maintenance and improvements.
We would also love to be able to raise the salary of our only paid teacher. Luis is a creative teacher, the likes of which you will not find in many schools. His salary is only $150.00 per month.
I know in today's economy, extra money is hard to find. However if you feel drawn to the donate button in the right hand colum, feel free
Roberto,
ReplyDeleteI just want to comment on your request to donate $$$.
It is always more fun and more rewarding to pack a box or two with items that you have hand picked. You can picture the opening of the boxes and the smiles on the faces of those receiving them. Sending a $$$ donation doesn't quite give you the same satisfaction or feeling of making a difference. However, I've seen what $10 can buy in Ecuador and what $10 plus $25 postage can buy in the U.S. If I took the $10 and added the $25 postage, I cld send $35 cash and you cld do wonders with that in Salasaca.
So many people think they need to make a HUGE donation to make a difference. I've been involved with the giving end of help to Ecuador for a long time, and I want to assure everyone out there who is reading this...$10 a month can make a huge difference to someone in Ecuador.
If you stop and think about it, if 10 people decided to donate $10 a month that is $100 toward the needs of the school in Salasaca. Most of us "blow" $10 a month on absolutely nothing. Why not put that $10 to work to make a difference? You do not have to be wealthy to make a difference in the lives of others. You just have to care enough to send a small amount of money and when all added together can make a big difference.
Everyone gets on the band wagon to give at Christmas. It is wonderful to see the love, generosity and caring that comes with Christmas, but the needs in Ecuador don't just come at Christmas...they are year round.
Ask any of the volunteers and I'm sure they will agree that dollars donated (in any amount) will be your greatest gift.