We’re happy to welcome our good friend (and über-talented photographer) Rebecca Wilks to Bookmarks today. She’s traveled to Guatemala seven times over the last seven years and has been there to see the student she sponsors grow into a lovely young woman. Her most recent trip held a monumental milestone which Rebecca wanted to share with you.
Florentina near the end middle school.
Mom was right; the older I get, the faster time goes. I decided to sponsor Florentina Takez’s studies during my first trip to Guatemala with CoEd seven years ago. That trip seems like yesterday, but in the interim I’ve gotten my husband Marco hooked on CoEd’s work, Flor has graduated from high school, and we’re starting again with another promising student.
When we met Flor, she was twelve and painfully quiet, yet she had a steadfast determination. She was our randomly assigned scholarship student through CoEd, which meant that we paid for her direct and indirect school expenses. The youngest of five, her education would have been out of reach, but Flor is just the kind of dedicated student that this program seeks.