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Help Ceramic Artist Romeo and family to survive

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Hi, my name is Diane Cooner and I created this fundraiser for Romeo G. B. and family, who are ceramic artists located in western Nicaragua.

We would love to be able to connect with anyone that thinks they might like to be a local distributor for their ceramics in the US - but on a more immediate note, we would be very grateful if you, Dear Reader, would be able to donate to our GoFundMe campaign.

Things are very serious in their country just now. Besides their gov't not recognizing there is a global pandemic (and therefore no vaccinations, no masks, no social distancing, no problem, except for scores of dead doctors, medical staff and educators), the political situation is very unstable (elections coming in November), and of course artists are the first to suffer.

Historically, Romeo brought the family's pottery to Costa Rica, where he sold to tourists, residents and many of the foreign nationals that reside here. With the pandemic, the borders were closed and his family survived through donations that the ex-pat community could come up with. Now that the borders are open again, Romeo can travel but is faced with additional requirements to cross the border, as he needs a covid exam each trip and they are not cheap, even in Central America. Every cent that goes to these expenses is a cent that doesn't help to feed the family or take care of medical expenses and general home life.

After 15 months of supporting this family, our small group of 12 original donors are close to maxed out and are now reaching out to the world to ask for help. Who knew the pandemic would continue this long!

The family consists of Romeo, wife Adriana, 2 young adults, a baby and a grandfather (Freddie). I do not give out their surname as there are journalists in the family and that is a dangerous occupation at this time. Their basic overhead is US$600/month and that is what we are trying to meet.

Romeo and his family have been creating ceramics since the 1970's. His father-in-law Freddie was the first person in the area to learn how to throw pots. Romeo's wife and daughter are also involved in the creation of pieces including the artwork, crosshatch work and burnishing. Their pieces are all hand made and hand-fired in their backyard kiln.

We hope you will consider a donation to this cause, either one time or monthly. We don't see the family situation improving before their country's elections in November 2021.

I will be posting thank you's and continuing updates here.

Thank you for your consideration, and God Bless.




Organizer

Diane Cooner
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA

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