Build a better tomorrow
Donation protected
Team members Ginny and Bob Joyes were given an opportunity to tour St. Anthony of Padua School when our team was in Ateos, El Salvador for our annual Helping Hands Medical Mission this past March. Below are their thoughts and pictures from that visit, along with some great news!
From Bob & Ginny:
A year ago our team initiated this gofundme page to “build a better tomorrow” for the children in Ateos, El Salvador. Our initial goal was to raise $20,000 to help fund a desperately needed addition to St. Anthony of Padua School. And we accomplished that in three months!!! A huge thank you to all those who contributed and to those who helped spread the word to family and friends and solicited donations to the fund. Now your help is needed again!
Those of us who went on the Helping Hands Medical Mission trip in March of this year saw first hand how those dollars are being put into action. We saw the laborers working in 90 degrees+ temperatures—digging postholes for the foundation, pushing wheelbarrows, mixing cement one little mixer full at a time; all the work is being done manually. And those laborers are paid $10/day (and that is not a typo).
After participating in four mission trips to El Salvador, with our main worksite being in Ateos, we have come to know, respect and love the people of El Salvador. We’ve had many opportunities to observe and interact with the students—in many ways they are like our grandkids; they smile readily, they love recess and play with enthusiasm, they are respectful.
El Salvador is a country of 6.4 million people, most living in extreme poverty. Education has the greatest potential for bringing about positive long term effects for the children, economically and socially.
Approximately 650 children are taught in the current small school building with 45 students per classroom; the school has a mere eight toilets and running water for only one hour each day. The building is filled to capacity twice each day—some students attend from 7:00 AM to noon; another group attends from 12:30 to 5:30 PM. The need for additional classrooms is indisputable. (see the pictures below!)
Right now the work on the school is almost at a standstill. The construction funds (both those raised locally in Ateos and the $20,000 our group collected in contributions last year) have been depleted; getting a construction loan is not an option. We, along with some of our fellow missionaries, are committed to this project and want to see it completed when we return to El Salvador next March. We have been brainstorming how to raise more funds. Then a couple of our very special friends made an offer—for the next six weeks they will match up to $10,000 in contributions made for this project!!! Can you help? Can you help? $20, $50, $200, or ? We certainly hope to take full advantage of this matching funds opportunity. Imagine what a total of $20,000 will do!
We had the opportunity to visit and speak to the students in each of the classrooms this past March. We were struck by their attentiveness, their expressions of gratitude, their respectfulness and warmth. Padre Mauricio, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, expressed his profound gratitude for the financial help we had provided for the school; he emphasized that there is a whole new level of hope among the students and staff and the whole parish community. Let’s keep that hope alive!
Without additional financial support it will take years for the school construction to be completed. Please help us reach our new goal of raising $10,000 by October 1st which will be matched by a very generous couple filled with the love of Christ.
From Bob & Ginny:
A year ago our team initiated this gofundme page to “build a better tomorrow” for the children in Ateos, El Salvador. Our initial goal was to raise $20,000 to help fund a desperately needed addition to St. Anthony of Padua School. And we accomplished that in three months!!! A huge thank you to all those who contributed and to those who helped spread the word to family and friends and solicited donations to the fund. Now your help is needed again!
Those of us who went on the Helping Hands Medical Mission trip in March of this year saw first hand how those dollars are being put into action. We saw the laborers working in 90 degrees+ temperatures—digging postholes for the foundation, pushing wheelbarrows, mixing cement one little mixer full at a time; all the work is being done manually. And those laborers are paid $10/day (and that is not a typo).
After participating in four mission trips to El Salvador, with our main worksite being in Ateos, we have come to know, respect and love the people of El Salvador. We’ve had many opportunities to observe and interact with the students—in many ways they are like our grandkids; they smile readily, they love recess and play with enthusiasm, they are respectful.
El Salvador is a country of 6.4 million people, most living in extreme poverty. Education has the greatest potential for bringing about positive long term effects for the children, economically and socially.
Approximately 650 children are taught in the current small school building with 45 students per classroom; the school has a mere eight toilets and running water for only one hour each day. The building is filled to capacity twice each day—some students attend from 7:00 AM to noon; another group attends from 12:30 to 5:30 PM. The need for additional classrooms is indisputable. (see the pictures below!)
Right now the work on the school is almost at a standstill. The construction funds (both those raised locally in Ateos and the $20,000 our group collected in contributions last year) have been depleted; getting a construction loan is not an option. We, along with some of our fellow missionaries, are committed to this project and want to see it completed when we return to El Salvador next March. We have been brainstorming how to raise more funds. Then a couple of our very special friends made an offer—for the next six weeks they will match up to $10,000 in contributions made for this project!!! Can you help? Can you help? $20, $50, $200, or ? We certainly hope to take full advantage of this matching funds opportunity. Imagine what a total of $20,000 will do!
We had the opportunity to visit and speak to the students in each of the classrooms this past March. We were struck by their attentiveness, their expressions of gratitude, their respectfulness and warmth. Padre Mauricio, pastor of St. Anthony of Padua Parish, expressed his profound gratitude for the financial help we had provided for the school; he emphasized that there is a whole new level of hope among the students and staff and the whole parish community. Let’s keep that hope alive!
Without additional financial support it will take years for the school construction to be completed. Please help us reach our new goal of raising $10,000 by October 1st which will be matched by a very generous couple filled with the love of Christ.
Fundraising team (5)
Jill Kinney Yanke
Organizer
Madison, WI
Kenneth Pientka
Beneficiary
Michael Kloess
Team member
Bill Belingloph
Team member
Bob Joyes
Team member
