WE NEED YOUR HELP - SAN JORGE WOMEN'S GROUP

The San Jorge Women's Group Committee and a picture of the Group

Update - June 2007. We got enough money donated to buy the land and it is already paid in full! We are now receiving donations for the actual building. Thank you so much to everybody who made it possible.

Update.- October 2007. A wonderful member of Mayan Families Connection, Carla Cooey and Westminster Church have raised $2620 toward the building! The best news is that a wonderful couple, who are members of the congregation, have agreed to match the first $15,000!!! Thank you!!!

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We have had a situation come up very quickly, as things often do here.

The place in San Jorge where we have always held our women's meetings, Christmas Parties, etc was sold several years ago to an Evangelical church. They will be taking it over soon. Also the President of our Women's Group, Juana, who has kindly lent us a room in her house for the sewing classes, now needs to use the room for the family. She is giving us notice that in a few months she will need it back. She has been very kind letting us occupy her brand new room for this long.

For those of you who have been to San Jorge, you know that it is a very small town, really a village. Land is at a premium in this town. There are very few flat spaces, everything is either up or down.Right across from where we have always held our meetings a piece of land has become available. This land is big enough for us to build a house that will be used for many things.This has been a dream of ours for awhile now.

We would like to be able to have a permanent house for the women's group. We would like to be able to set up a co-op store there, so that their goods can be put on display.

We would like to have a pre-school space there during the day where children can come and learn, and mindful of the malnutrition there, receive two meals a day, they can also learn to draw, play with educational toys and receive some stimulation. There are many single mothers who work who have to leave their children unattended.

We would like to have a permanent space for the Sewing class.

We would like it to be a space where medical and dental clinics can use the space and it would be clean. Have a decent toilet and running water. (Things that these groups like to have!)

We would like to have classes there for teenagers and adults to be able to learn to read and write. If people do not know how to read or write, there is no place for them to go and learn.

We would like to have cooking classes and other classes as they become available.

We can also use it for emergency housing, for women who need to get away from an abusive situation, for natural emergencies.

Land space, especially, in the centre like this piece is highly sought after. We are very fortunate that the man who is selling it would like us to have it, he likes what we are doing in San Jorge. There are other people who are asking him for this land. It will go very quickly. So we have taken a great leap of faith.The land is $10,000. U.S. We have put a deposit on the land of $1,350. U.S. We have signed a contract to come up with the rest of the money in two months. This is a huge risk we have taken but this center is very important. It will be a wonderful thing to have. There is so little land there that this opportunity to have a piece right where we need it may never come again. If it wasn't for this fact that land is so tight there we would not have taken this risk. It is really a Miracle already that this man is willing to wait two months for us to pay when he has people willing to pay it in full today.

We envision a two storey building. But in the meantime we have to pay for this land. We are asking for your help in any form that you can give it, donations, prayers, suggestions and ideas.You all have such great ideas .

I am counting on you to come up with some now!!! Fingers and toes crossed, Sharon


The piece of land bought is the one with the crumbling walls.


If you would like to make a donation, please contact us at mayanfamilies@yahoo.com or visit our website http://www.mayanfamilies.org/