About SOL Seeds of Learning is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving educational opportunities in rural Latin America. We work with North Americans and Central Americans to build and equip schools in Nicaragua and El Salvador, educate children and adults, and promote cross cultural understanding. We have a US office in Sonoma, California and field offices in Ciudad Darío, Nicaragua, and San Salvador, El Salvador. Each year, Seeds of Learning sends ten to twelve work groups of volunteers to Central America. These volunteers spend between 7 and 14 days working with communities in Nicaragua or El Salvador. While there, volunteers partner with communities, form relationships, build bridges and explore each others' cultures while erecting or improving a school building.
If you are a California State employee, an easy way to contribute to SOL is through the California State Employee Charitable Campaign (CSECC). SOL is listed under 'Independent Charitable Organizations' as number 24020. Likewise, Federal Employees can donate to SOL through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), one of the world's largest workplace giving fundraising drive. If you are a Federal employee, you can sign up in the last quarter of the calendar year for the CFC. Each year more than 1.3 million Federal employees pledge over a quarter billion dollars. SOL is part of the 'Latin America Fund' listed as number 45653. |
Seeds of Learning Newsletter, Spring 2011
Table of Contents
With partner organization Pencils of Promise, 12 classrooms completed in 2010 By Daniel Plies, Program Director This year, with the help of our partner organization, Pencils of Promise (PoP), community members, work group volunteers, and a dedicated staff, SOL plans to work on 14 different classrooms in Nicaragua and El Salvador. 
IRIOMA, CUSTCATLÁNIn El Salvador, construction is already underway for the 2 new classrooms, kitchen and bathrooms in Irioma, Cuscatlan, where SOL workgroups are scheduled to support the project. Already volunteers from Sonoma Valley High School and Cardinal Newman High School have spent a week of hard work digging the foundation, mixing concrete, tying rebar, and laying the groundwork for the Irioma School. Irioma, is a community with a population of 210 people, and is located on the border of Tenancingo and Monte San Juan municipalities in El Salvador. The older classrooms, made of tin sheet metal, are located in Tenancingo. The new school is being constructed on donated land, just 50 feet away, in Monte San Juan. The community lives in an extreme level of poverty. The community is isolated and many of the homes are made of mud, bamboo or adobe with dirt floors. 80% of the population can't read or write. Irioma has one of the richest bio-diverse forests in Cuscatlán and benefits from an abundance of natural water. The majority of the people in the area are subsistence farmers and land owners who grow beans and corn. All work group volunteers travelling to El Salvador this summer will work alongside people in the community of Irioma to construct a school. In Nicaragua, together, with the generous collaboration and support of PoP, this year SOL is working to support additional classroom construction the communities of Tapasle (completed in early 2011), Verapaz, Sixto Sanchez, Montegrande, Olominapa, El Terrero, El Cacao, and El Jobo. 
SIXTO SANCHEZ, SAN RAMONUniversity of Portland and Hawken School volunteers will be working alongside of people from the community of Sixto Sanchez. Sixto Sanchez is a community that, until recently, had a thriving coffee cooperative. The farmers weren't affluent, by any means of the imagination, but by growing and selling coffee, and some additional farming of beans and corn, they were able to meet the needs of their families. The cooperative was so successful, and the community so well-organized, that the non-governmental organizations that worked in neighboring communities never offered any assistance to the forty families of Sixto Sanchez. This all changed in 2007, when disease struck the coffee harvest. The cooperative lost its entire harvest, and was forced to take out a loan on some of its land, in order to survive until the following year's coffee harvest. Today, the community has almost finished paying back the loan and is anxious to start building a school for their children. There are currently 55 children enrolled in the primary school (preschool through 6th grade) in Sixto Sanchez. Some of the children walk up to one kilometer each way to attend school. For the past 13 years, the children of Sixto Sanchez have been attending class in a community room, which is over 20 years old. The roof and the windows are leaky, and the floor is cracked and uneven. Some of the prefabricated wall pieces are coming loose from their tracks, balancing precariously on top of each other. Because there are no windows that open, it is quite dark, making reading and writing difficult. Besides being used for meetings, and various other activities, for which class is sometimes canceled, the community room is used to store coffee during the coffee harvest. At the peak of the harvest, the room can be filled with up to 40 100-pound sacks of coffee, crowding the students and teacher. The preschool meets in the cooperative office. Although the office is in good condition, it is not appropriate for a preschool, as the children don't have sufficient space to play, and there is little security for school supplies and/or didactic materials. Also, there are no latrines at the school. The women are anxious to have a kitchen at the school site so they won't have to carry the heavy pots of hot food long distances to school. 
EL CACAO, CIUDAD DARÍOThe Dario area work groups this summer will be working with the community of El Cacao to construct four much needed classrooms, repair desks, provide school furniture, and more. El Cacao is located 38 kilometers or 1.5 hours via public transportation from its municipal head, Ciudad Dario. For this reason, the town does not receive a lot of support from the mayor. The majority of the people in El Cacao work in the primary and secondary schools, small-scale stores, farming, carpentry, and in public transportation. Aside from these vocations, there is a high level of unemployment. As Nicaragua continues to modernize and develop, the same is demanded of its working population. Even in the more rural areas of Nicaragua it has become more and more necessary to receive a high school education to be able to compete and maintain a dignified standard on living. The communities of El Cacao, as it's many other surrounding satellite communities, are well aware of this necessity as reflected by the enrollment of El Instituto Carlos Santi which continued to grow every year since the establishment of this rural high school over 12 years ago. The growing Instituto Carlos Santi has effectively outgrown its current facilities of three classrooms, a teacher's prep room, a principal's office and basketball court. Given the present need for more classroom space, the school has resorted to dividing one of the classrooms in two with a plywood partition; the teacher's prep room is now occupied by the fifth year students; while the cramped principal's office also serves as a space for teacher's to prep for classes, as well as, housing the school library. The current school infrastructure, funded by the government and built in 1999 by the FISE, has been well cared for, but the lack of forethought as to the demand and growth of the student population has left all classrooms overcrowded which in turn, greatly affect the quality of learning. 
MONTEGRANDE, SAN RAMONTogether with ODFL and PoP, SOL plans to construct two classrooms. The current school is overcrowded with about half of the 110 enrolled students studying in a substandard structure. The school offers preschool through 6th grade. There are presently 4 teachers at the school teaching 12 preschool students, 30 1st graders, 30 combined 2nd and 3rd graders, and a multi-grade class of 4th-6th grade with 38 students. Some of the children walk up to two kilometers each way to attend school. In 2007, a two-classroom school was built with financial assistance from a Spanish organization, and administrative help from the Municipal Mayor's Office. First grade is taught in one of these classrooms, and fourth, fifth, and sixth grades are taught in the other classroom. Two other classes, one preschool class and one class of second and third graders, currently meet in a storage room that is over twenty years old. Located a few hundred yards from the main school site, the storage room has wood slat windows that are insecure and through which rain and wind enter, a leaky tin roof, and a cracked concrete floor. During the coffee harvest, the room is used to store hundreds of sacks of coffee, making classroom instruction difficult. There is no running water at the storeroom site and the latrine is dilapidated and almost full. Located approximately 4 kilometers outside the urban center of San Ramon, Montegrande is an extremely poor community. While growing coffee is the principal economic activity of the community, they also grow beans, corn, and plantains for consumption. Fifty of the community members are active partners in the Danilo Gonzalez Coffee Cooperative. The rest of the community members are related to those partners. The land for the proposed project is owned by the cooperative. The cooperative members are in favor of transferring the land to the Ministry of Education in order to proceed with the project. They are already working with the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives and the Ministry of Education to make this happen. While MINED has stated that this is an urgent need; they do not currently have any amount budgeted or plans for school building infrastructure in the region. This is a very typical scenario for rural areas in Nicaragua. In general, the regional MINED appreciates and has always supported the efforts of SOL in the past. SOL looks forward to working with ODFL and Mt. Tamalpais United Methodist Church work groups in Montegrande. 
As part of SOL's commitment to offer our programs to everyone, regardless of their individual economic needs, and thanks to the Matt Schekel Memorial Scholarship program, SOL offers financial assistance to work group volunteers who need it. Last year, we were pleased to award four youth volunteers a Matt Schekel Memorial Scholarship. Below is a highlight from one recipient, who reflects on the impact that going on the trip made in her life. If you'd like to support students in the Matt Schekel Memorial Scholarship program, click here. First of all, I just want to thank you for all that you have done, not just for me, but for everyone you have sponsored and the communities they enriched. Your generosity has changed not just the lives of those you sponsor, but all who benefited from their actions or stories. By going on this trip, I have come back more aware of all the blessings that surround me and with an unremitting need to help those less fortunate than me. Now that I know more about the lives of others, I want everyone else around me to realize how lucky they are and how important it is we do everything in our power to give everyone a better life. I'm sure that everyone else that has gone on one of these trips has felt the same way and for many of them, it was with thanks to you. We come back bursting with stories to tell everyone here around us and wanting to make them all understand this unexplainable drive swelling within us. In your own way, you are changing the world by backing Seeds of Learning and spreading the loving influence of SOL to all. On our last day in El Salvador, a little boy in a wheelchair came up to me and gave me an adorable picture of an angel that he had drawn himself. Over the days, I had been able to spend a lot of time with him and got to know him really well. A lot of the games we played were done on the ground so he needed help reaching things. However, everyone around him was extremely kind and always willing to lend him a hand. It shocked me to see that while his legs didn't work, it was obvious that his brain was in prime condition. He was one of the first to understand a game and loved trying to communicate with me even though we had no common language. It was amazing to see that he was treated so well despite his disability and I can't help but imagine the wonderful new education he will be receiving soon. Hopefully it will stretch his bright, gifted mind to a new potential. These are just a few of the people I met in El Salvador and their stories are with me every day. I feel so privileged to have been given this life changing opportunity and hope many others will be able to experience the same thing. With My Deepest Gratitude,
Local Sonoma Youth Work with Schools and SOL to Complete their Senior Projects 
From organizing a work group to travel to El Salvador, to making presentations at local schools, collecting supplies, and educating their community about El Salvador, SOL staff has been working with five seniors from SVHS to complete their Senior Projects. Bob Miller, Jose Dominguez, and Mariah Percy worked together to organize and co-lead a group of students to travel to El Salvador. They also led the effort to fundraise for the cost of the trip. Emily Chavez organized a school supply drive, made presentations, helped to fundraise, and traveled to El Salvador with the work group. Yvette Hernandez is one of five students who worked this year with Seeds of Learning to complete her senior project at Sonoma Valley High School. From Yevette: "As of right now for my senior project I am giving presentations to students at Adele Harrison Middle School to make them aware of the difficulty El Salvador faces with their education. The presentations have been about a half hour just explaining what it is like to be a student in a country like El Salvador. I explain to them my trip with Seeds of Learning and how it has been a life changing experience to say the least. I have also set out boxes in the classrooms and the office and ask for any donations the students can donate. The moment I finished presenting one would not believe the generosity these children have. Bringing me pencils and pens and even brand new notebooks. One little boy even wanted to give me his backpack right then and there. I had been shocked and it has warmed my heart all at the same time. Once the school year comes to an end, I will join up with the leadership class at Adele Harrison and see which grade collected the most supplies and send to El Salvador with a SOL Work Group." If you are interested in donating supplies for students in El Salvador, please contact our office. By Annie Bacon, Executive Director After an extensive search process, during which we received over 160 CV's, with the help of a consultant and a diligent search committee, after two rounds of interviews and reference checks, SOL was very pleased to offer the job to Julián Ramón Guevara and to receive his enthusiastic acceptance letter. 
Julián comes to us with many skills, life experiences, and a deep and thorough understanding of the work, culture, and what lies ahead for SOL in Nicaragua. I had the chance to meet with him and see him interact with staff at the Learning Center a couple of weeks ago, and feel confident that he will be an excellent new Director. In Julián's own words: "I am a firm believer in education, because it changed my whole life, firstly as a student and later as a teacher. I think this is the key to sustainable development for Nicaragua. And that's why I want to apply for this job position. I have worked in many ways in favor of education in my country, but I feel that lately my contribution has been from a bureaucratic perspective. I would like to go back to the community, to work directly with the people, something I did passionately during the eighties. I want to make concrete the things and you do. I also like your approach: bringing together communities and people from different cultures and economic situation to work for access to education." Lots of thanks for the opportunity to join your team. I feel really honored with the chance to give my personal contribution to the wonderful work you do to improve access and quality of education in our countries. I am sure that I will learn a lot from you and I expect to give my best to maximise the impact you are already producing in the lives of so many traditionally excluded people. I have developed some skills throughout my career, but I don't consider them to be my best contribution towards SOL's work. Instead, I offer my dreams and inspiration to engage with energy and passion in working towards what I consider the best point of departure for a sustainable development in our countries: education. Thanks again for this opportunity and I look forward to meet you all soon." Julián's first day of work with SOL was April 18. 
On Saturday, May 14, SOL held it's first annual El Salvador Day at the historic Sebastiani Theatre in downtown Sonoma. The event took place from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM, and was attended by community members, SOL Work Group alumni, parents, students, and others. We showed a total of three movies, each of which illustrated a different point and perspective of El Salvador, enjoyed traditional Salvadoran food, and guests bid on some beautiful silent auction items. The first film shown was Romero, with Raúl Juliá, portraying Archbishop Romero's transformation from passive cleric to eloquent defender of his church and people. Following the film, local SVHS youth and parents prepared a delicious lunch of traditional Salvadoran food. Lunch proceeds earned will help pay for their 2011 trip. Following lunch, we showed the film, Guazapa: Yesterday's Enemies (by Don North) which features an examination of the courage, resilience and humanity of the Salvadoran people in the aftermath of war. "The film touches the human spirit in its recollection of the terrible times of the past, the courage of those who fought against fear and fascism and it's practical hope for a better future." The final film shown was En el Salón de Las Promesas (In the Classroom of Promises), which is a documentary that takes a critical eye to the state of education in El Salvador. The documentary was made by Mike Abela and Andres Rico (both SVHS alumni, under direction of Peter Hansen of the SVHS Media Arts Program). The film features interviews with students, parents, and government officials who answer the question: "What can be done?" Following the documentary, we held a panel featuring the film makers, as well as AVID students Emily Chavez and Jose Dominguez. During the question and answer period (moderated by Kevin McNeely), we heard about the profound impact that the SOL trip had in their lives, what they hope to do in the future, and more. The final panel of the day featured SOL Board member, and retired economics professor John Donnelly; El Salvador civil war refugee, former SOL Board Member, and current Spanish teacher in San Rafael, Jesus Campos; Andres Rico; and Annie Bacon. During this time, we heard about US foreign economic policy in El Salvador, trade agreements, religion, film, SOL's work, and more. This was the first of what we hope turns into a tradition of community educational days. Please keep your eyes open for future weeknight movie nights. We thank Roger Rhoten of the Sebastiani Theatre for graciously offering the Sebastiani Theatre free of charge to SOL, Kevin McNeely for volunteering to moderate the two panels, John Donnelly, Jesus Campos, Andres Rico, Mike Abela, Emily Chavez, and Jose Dominguez for participating on the panels, Judy Frey-Cohen, SVHS Avid Students and their parents for preparing and selling the delicious food, and Rose Mary Schmidt, Laurie Dinwiddie, and John Donnelly for organizing the event. 
Children's Book and Beautiful Notecards for Sale Sonoma author Sara Donnelly and illustrator Sally Carnahan Lewis have created a heartwarming, bilingual children's story. Esperanza and the New School; Esperanza y la Nueva Escuela grew out of Donnelly's years of service in Seeds of Learning. Esperanza depicts this experience as seen through the eyes of one little girl. This story of SOL would be a perfect gift for your children, grandchildren, anyone trying to learn Spanish, your local school, or library. All proceeds from the sale of each book are generously donated to Seeds of Learning to support our programs of education. Each book is $15. Buy 5 or more copies, $12 each! Prices include handling and mailing costs. Purchase Note cards - Each card is one of 19 beautiful illustrations from the bilingual children's book, Esperanza and the New School / Esperanza y la Escuela Nueva (2009). The story, inspired by the educational mission of Seeds of Learning in Nicaragua and El Salvador, tells how a little girl's life is transformed by the creation of a school in her village. Each packet contains 6 cards, and is $10 per packet. Books and postcards are both available at the SOL Online Store! Ciudad Darío, Nicaragua
The cost for participating in a group is $1300 (if paid by due date) per person plus round trip international airfare. All groups are subject to cancellation or change. Minimum group size is 10 people. Please call for details and availability, (707) 939-0471 before applying. With some exceptions, most groups leave in the early AM of the departure date listed. SOL would like to sincerely thank and appreciate each and every person who made a financial and volunteer contribution to support its programs in 2010. With the support of hundreds of individuals, we were able to offer outstanding programs to thousands of people. Below are the financial contributions made to SOL in the 2010 year. In addition, thousands of volunteer hours in the US, Nicaragua, and El Salvador were given.
Seeds of Learning's Annual Report for 2010 is available here. [pdf] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© Seeds of Learning 2011