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| GLP News |
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| April 2008 | Nov 2007 | July 2007 | May 2007 | Jan 2007 | Oct 2006 | April 2006 | Dec 2005 | Aug 2005 | July 2005 |
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 NEWS UPDATE, April 2008
GLP Delivers textbooks & computers to 5,200 more children!
The Guatemala Literacy Project is excited to share how we are finishing up another great year. This year's projects would not have been possible without the support and commitment of the 87 clubs and 23 districts that contributed to the GLP. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to bring hope through better educational opportunities to over 5,200 additional Guatemalan schoolchildren.
(Click here to see photos!)
In February, 46 Rotarians and spouses traveled as part of our book and computer delivery delegations to Guatemala. This was the largest group ever, including 37 from the United States, 7 from Canada and 3 from the Cayman Islands.
The Rotarians traveled to some of the most remote corners of Guatemala to deliver textbooks to 20 schools (in San Marcos, Quetzaltenango and El Quiche) working shoulder-to-shoulder with members of the Xela, Del Valle and Vista Hermosa Rotary Clubs. The tours also inaugurated 7 computer centers, including La Esperanza, and Nuestros Pequeños Hermanos. These two schools have received (and done well with) the Rotary GLP textbook program within the last two years. These centers will provide at least two weekly computer classes to each of the 696 students that attend these schools.
Here’s what some of our dedicated GLP Volunteers had to share about their experiences on our Delivery Tours:
"I believe that you don't really understand the gift of being a Rotarian and the ‘power of one’ until you have participated in an international service trip. I believe that the GLP Delivery Tour is a great place to begin your international service career."
- Sheila Mosley, Windsor-Roseland, ON
"The whole trip was special to me. It made me feel I was making a difference in the world, but more importantly to children."
- Mitch Phillips, The Jeffersons, NC
“The long-term effect of the project, providing the means for people to plan for their future, is the real life example of giving 'hope'."
- Carolyn Johnson, Yarmouth, ME
"The trip was extremely rewarding because we saw the good that our funds provide."
- Mary Bak, Glenview-Sunrise, IL
"One mother expressed her gratitude to our group, saying, "God will reward you in heaven." After the ceremony, I offered her a pen and pencil, and she started crying. That is the one story that really sticks with me. We all have so much; we can't even imagine what is it like not to have a pen or pencil and what a gift it can be. It still brings tears to my eyes."
- Gretchen Liebenberg, Gig Harbor, WA
Consider joining the 2009 Delivery Tour, January 30-February 8! Space is filling up quickly, so contact us soon for more information and an application. |
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 NEWS UPDATE, November 2007
International GLP Exposure
The GLP is excited to announce that we are receiving even more exposure throughout Rotary International. This publicity is in addition to our highlights at the RI Convention, in the RI Annual Report, and our features in The Rotarian and Rotary World. District Literacy Coordinators throughout North America received a publication called Every School a Star - A Literacy Tool Kit. The GLP was at the top of the Resources and Service Opportunities list. What an accomplishment to be included in such a widely circulated kit! Another publication surprised us all by demonstrating the truly international spirit of the GLP when one of our very own Rotarians, Marie Munday (Aspen, CO), was featured on the cover of The Rotary Korea magazine.
Congratulations! The GLP continues to make its way around the world! |
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 NEWS UPDATE, July 2007
Rotary International Convention
The GLP was selected as one of just four literacy projects to deliver a panel presentation at the 98th RI Convention in Salt Lake City last month. Approximately 14,000 Rotarians from around the globe attended the convention, including 22 of our GLP Tour Veterans.
Over the course of five amazing days, all of us who worked at the booth had the privilege of talking to hundreds of Rotarians about our self-sustaining projects. We met many wonderful people who share our passion for service and literacy. Brochures and tour information were disappearing faster than we could keep in stock, and the enthusiasm towards our projects was tremendous.
Please join us in welcoming the many Rotarians we met in Salt Lake City to the GLP. We invite them to become active in our efforts to provide textbooks and computers to schools in the 2007-2008 Rotary year!
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 NEWS UPDATE, May 2007
GLP brings hope to 5,600 more children!
We are pleased to report another very successful year for the Guatemala Literacy Project. Rotary volunteers helped in delivering new textbooks and inaugurating computer centers throughout 26 communities. Thanks to your generosity, we were able to bring hope through better educational opportunities to over 5,600 additional Guatemalan schoolchildren.
This year's projects would not have been possible without the support and commitment of the 84 clubs and 23 districts that contributed to the GLP. Thank you.
Thirty-five Rotarians from the United States, Canada and the Cayman Islands volunteered their time, labor and dedication to the GLP Delivery Tour in February. Some of their thoughts and impressions are shared below:
"One lasting image is that of a 7th grader sitting with a very old woman, showing her a book. The amazement in both of their faces revealed the potential of this worthwhile program."
-Steve and Bonnie Avard, Grayson, TX
"I will not forget the moment when one of the 2nd graders sat next to me, put her little hand on my knee, and kept it there for a long time, just chattering away."
-Pieter Vos, Sun City West, AZ
"If I tell people one thing about the delivery tour, it will be that it was the best trip of my life."
-Diane Damico, Glenview Sunrise, IL |
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NEWS UPDATE, January 2007
GLP featured in two Rotary International publications!
Rotary World, RI's quarterly newspaper, featured an article this month about the successes and continued efforts of the GLP. Enjoy reading the article in Rotary World.
The GLP also received the distinction of being highlighted three times in Rotary International's 05-06 Annual Report! Our photos appear on both the front and back cover and on page 6. The authors of the report congratulate our efforts, stating, "Club- sponsored literacy projects are empowering disadvantaged children around the world - Mayan youngsters in rural Guatemala, who previously had no access to computers, are learning new skills."
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 NEWS UPDATE, October 2006
GLP leaders recruit new Guatemalan schools
Each August, Rotarians, staff and other volunteers travel throughout the Guatemalan highlands, offering the Textbook Project to principals and teachers at impoverished schools. This year we were fortunate to be joined by Rotarians Glenn Chamberlain (Ephrata, WA), Carolyn Johnson (Yarmouth, ME), Ann & Malcolm Williams (Dawson County, GA), Gary Law (Tempe South, AZ) and Matthew Kane (North Raleigh, NC; pictured right).
The recruitment teams visited over 40 schools in 5 days, driving long hours on bumpy, rural roads in some of the most breathtaking regions of Guatemala. It was all worth it, though, when the teams were welcomed by the schools, grateful for this exciting opportunity for their students.
A selection of professional photos by photographer Greg Rust, available in a 3-minute slide show, tells the Recruitment Tour story. Take a moment to view his incredible images. A word of caution, however: View them at your own risk as you may be tempted to join us next time!
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 NEWS UPDATE, April 2006
Microsoft partners with GLP to provide technology support
The GLP has much to celebrate after a Guatemalan press conference in which Microsoft formally presented to CoEd/GLP a $55,000 grant for computers and $200,000 in computer software.
CoEd staff members, Microsoft representatives, media, students and a principal from our projects were present for this exciting occasion. Our staff was given the opportunity to explain the project to the media and several newspaper articles resulted from this press conference. The students and Zolia Aleman, principal of Tecpán National School, also gave powerful testimonials about their positive experiences with the GLP.
Microsoft’s generous gift will greatly support both the current students of our 16 Computer Centers as well as countless future beneficiaries. |
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NEWS UPDATE, December 2005
GLP goes to the United Nations!
 The Rotary Guatemala Literacy Project (GLP) recently received the honor of being asked to speak at the United Nations for UN-Rotary Day on Nov. 5. Rotarian Glenn Chamberlain, our National Co-Coordinator, served as our speaker, representing all Rotary clubs that support the GLP. The following is a personal account of his experience:
The United Nations and I have a lot in common. We both recently turned 60. At an age when most are considering retirement, we are just getting started. And perhaps most importantly, Rotary International plays a central role in both of our lives.
My involvement with Rotary goes back thirty years. The UN’s relationship with RI dates back to 1945, when about 80% of the delegation members to the UN Charter Conference were Rotarians. RI continues to play a vital supporting role in the UN’s international humanitarian efforts.
It is against this backdrop that my wife, Carolyn, and I and Joe and Rebecca Berninger from the Cooperative for Education (CoEd) traveled to New York City in early November to participate in the 2005 UN-Rotary day. The event took place at United Nations headquarters. It involved Rotarians from around the world as well as high-level UN representatives. We gathered to discuss how innovative RI projects are working to achieve the UN’s Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), a world-wide effort to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by the year 2015.
I was excited to tell the world (quite literally!) about the Rotary-CoEd GLP. And how, together, 242 Rotary Clubs from 35 districts and CoEd are succeeding in breaking the cycle of poverty in Guatemala through education.
 The GLP was very well received. After the presentation, many in the crowd approached me to commend us on the innovative and important work we are doing. They were most impressed by the projects’ sustainability--how student fees pay for future replacement of books and equipment. Many wanted to know how they could replicate our projects in other countries.
Spending the day at the UN was a humbling and eye-opening experience. We hear a lot these days about corruption and politics at the UN. What we don’t hear about are the countless individuals dedicated to working with and within the UN to better the lives of those who suffer from poverty, in all its manifestations. Disease, hunger, and want know no political boundaries.
For me, “Service Above Self” is much more than Rotary’s motto--it is a battle cry for all who refuse to sit by idly while millions (many of whom are children) around the world do not have access to such basic necessities as books, clean water, inoculations and increasingly, technology. There is so much we can do to help. And we are just getting started.
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NEWS UPDATE, August 2005
Guatemalan student calls GLP Co-Director to say “Thanks for the books!”
Recently, Ephrata, WA Rotarian Glenn Chamberlain answered his phone and heard an operator say, “I have a long distance call from Guatemala, will you accept the charges?”
Fortunately Glenn, the National Co-Director of the Guatemala Literacy Project and 8-time visitor to Guatemala with CoEd, knew it had to be important and answered “yes.” He then found himself thrown into a broken conversation in Spanglish with Sindy Lopez, a young girl from Olintepeque Cooperative School. Sindy reminded Glenn that he had given her his business card during the textbook project inauguration at her school, which he and other Rotarians had visited on the most recent delivery tour.
“She told me all about what the books were doing for her in her school,” Glenn says with surprise. “She thanked me several times for coming all the way to Guatemala and to her school to bring the books. She talked about her homework and the fact that she now has books to read from and paper to write on.”
Glenn goes on to say that this call reinforced his gratitude to Rotary for introducing him to such international fellowship. “Even though my Spanish is no muy bien and her English is even worse, we were able to communicate pretty well.”
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NEWS UPDATE, July 2005
The Rotary Centennial Convention
 As you may know, Rotary International is one of our largest contributors and has supported CoEd’s work in Guatemala since 1997. This partnership between North American & Guatemalan Rotary clubs and CoEd is called the Guatemala Literacy Project (GLP). Over 240 Rotary Clubs have made contributions and dozens of individual Rotarians have spearheaded fundraising initiatives to benefit the schoolchildren of Guatemala.
This past June, the GLP was selected as one of two literacy projects, worldwide, to be represented at the Rotary Centennial Convention in Chicago. CoEd staff and Rotary Delivery Tour veterans were pleasantly surprised and impressed by the sheer volume of Rotarians who stopped by the booth. The saris, turbans and robes, mixed with western dress, emphasized the greatest aspect of being a Rotarian—international fellowship with others from around the globe.
“In my country,” remarked a Rotarian from Ghana, “children also go to school without books.” He now plans to involve his Rotary club in an effort to replicate the GLP model in that country. “Education,” he said, “is the only way our young people can hope to succeed.”
Other visitors were more interested in getting their clubs involved in Guatemala Literacy Project 2005-2006: “This is just the project I’ve been looking for,” said a Rotarian from Missouri. “Every year, my club just puts checks in the mail. The GLP will give us a chance to connect with the people we are helping. I’m planning to join the book delivery tour in February.”
Over the course of five days at the convention, Jeff, Joe and current GLP supporters talked to over 800 Rotarians at the booth. Brochures, copies of the Rotarian magazine featuring the GLP, and tour information were disappearing faster than they could keep them stocked.
 Rotary supporters of CoEd are thrilled to see this kind of momentum build for the Guatemala Literacy Project. They see this year as the greatest opportunity yet to deliver a blow to Central American illiteracy. The 2005-2006 goal for the GLP is to place first-ever textbooks in fifteen schools in the impoverished Quiché and Quetzaltenango regions of Guatemala. They also have a goal of establishing six new computer centers, which will focus on giving marketable technical skills to high school kids. In all, approximately 4,000 students will be given the gift of traditional and technological literacy, skills which are key to breaking the brutal cycle of poverty. |
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