School Bus for Kids in Punta Mango
Donation protected
As surfers we search for perfect waves and no crowds. Along that journey we encounter new communities and families who welcome us into their homes with genuine smiles, fresh meals and a good night’s rest. These wonderful families give you the best hospitality but are living in poverty.
We want to give back to these special people and their community. Surfing their waves give us so much joy so we want to give back in some way, sometimes in life we are lucky enough to be able to make a difference
On my first trip to Punta Mango in 2014, I brought a suitcase full of school supplies for the local kids. After meeting all the children and handing out the supplies, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of love and gratitude. One little girl in particular stole my heart, I promised Ceci I would come back and give her one of my surfboards. A year later In 2015 I was able to fulfill my promise.
Additionally to providing Ceci with her surfboard, the Miami surf community blessed me with plenty of donated surf supplies for the children: surfboards, leashes, board shorts, fins, wax, stickers, clothes etc. Feeling the stoke from the surf community we collaborated with our buddy an El Salvadorian local Andres Quevedo and successfully held a surf contest for the young surfers of the town. This kind of event incentivizes the kids to spend their free time engaging in positive activities, like surfing instead of drifting in a too common path of drugs and violence.
Now, we want to continue to help, and in listening to the local people and their communities' needs, we discovered education is a problem. All the children in Punta Mango seem to be achieving an elementary level education (there is an elementary school in Punta Mango) but continuing on to middle school and high school is a struggle. The nearest middle/high school is about 5 miles away and the children have two options to get there; one by walking or two by paying a local bus system that charges approximately $1 per child per day. With families averaging 3 to 4 kids per household it is not affordable for them to provide transportation for all their kids. And with temperatures in the 90's an excruciating 5 mile walk will kill the motivation of any child. Therefore, a transportation solution is desperately needed to offer these children the education they deserve. Help me raise funds to buy them a school bus (the picture shows the typical bus in that area of El Salvador), every contribution counts! thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
We want to give back to these special people and their community. Surfing their waves give us so much joy so we want to give back in some way, sometimes in life we are lucky enough to be able to make a difference
On my first trip to Punta Mango in 2014, I brought a suitcase full of school supplies for the local kids. After meeting all the children and handing out the supplies, I was overwhelmed with a feeling of love and gratitude. One little girl in particular stole my heart, I promised Ceci I would come back and give her one of my surfboards. A year later In 2015 I was able to fulfill my promise.
Additionally to providing Ceci with her surfboard, the Miami surf community blessed me with plenty of donated surf supplies for the children: surfboards, leashes, board shorts, fins, wax, stickers, clothes etc. Feeling the stoke from the surf community we collaborated with our buddy an El Salvadorian local Andres Quevedo and successfully held a surf contest for the young surfers of the town. This kind of event incentivizes the kids to spend their free time engaging in positive activities, like surfing instead of drifting in a too common path of drugs and violence.
Now, we want to continue to help, and in listening to the local people and their communities' needs, we discovered education is a problem. All the children in Punta Mango seem to be achieving an elementary level education (there is an elementary school in Punta Mango) but continuing on to middle school and high school is a struggle. The nearest middle/high school is about 5 miles away and the children have two options to get there; one by walking or two by paying a local bus system that charges approximately $1 per child per day. With families averaging 3 to 4 kids per household it is not affordable for them to provide transportation for all their kids. And with temperatures in the 90's an excruciating 5 mile walk will kill the motivation of any child. Therefore, a transportation solution is desperately needed to offer these children the education they deserve. Help me raise funds to buy them a school bus (the picture shows the typical bus in that area of El Salvador), every contribution counts! thank you so much for taking the time to read this.
Organizer
Valentina Parada Maggard
Organizer
Miami Beach, FL