Posted on April 6th, 2023
 UPDATE – April 2023 |
 AMISTAD CANADA welcomes two new NGO Partners by Mark O’Neill, President For the first time since Covid-19, the Amistad Canada Board of Directors met in person in San Miguel last month. It was a packed agenda including reviews of annual audit reports on each of our Mexican NGO Partners. Good news: all passed with flying colours! The Board also began work on a Five Year Strategic Plan the result of which will be presented at the 2023 Annual General Meeting (June 20 on Zoom, details TBA). And, the Directors approved two new NGO Project Partnerships: As of April 1, Canadians will receive CRA tax receipts for donations to the Amistad Canada–Fundación Comunitaria Don Diego A.C. PREPA PRO PROJECT. It supports a permanent ‘high school’ equivalent program for students from the community just southwest of San Miguel de Allende facing circumstances that prevent them from attending a traditional school.  Prepa Pro is a joint program with the Guanajuato State Education Department combining internet study with classes in Don Diego. The Foundation aims to register 17 students in the first semester and graduate at least 40 per year by 2024. A donation of 11,000 pesos (about $800 CDN) supports one student for a year by contributing to teachers’ salaries and computer equipment. https://fundacioncomunitariadondiego.com/  And, as of June 1, CRA tax receipts will be available for donations to the Amistad Canada–ProMusica A.C. YOUTH ORCHESTRA PROJECT. The PMYO aims to assist players to develop and strengthen their life skills through musical performance. The Project will provide the young musicians – many of who live far from San Miguel – with scholarship stipends of about 15,000 Mexican pesos ($1,100 CDN) per player per season to ensure they can afford to attend all rehearsals and performances. https://www.promusicasma.org/pro-musica-youth-orchestra  Caminos de Agua identifies the community Canadian donations will support  Caminos de Agua A.C., which became an Amistad Canada Partner last year, has now identified the community that will benefit from Canadian donations to the CLEAN WATER ACCESS PROJECT. San Marcos de Begoña is a village of about 800 people just a short drive southwest of SMA. Working with the residents, Caminos de Agua will install multiple Rainwater Harvesting Systems each providing participating families with a lifetime of safe water. To see what’s involved, check out this video about a rain system now operating in another Guanajuato community, Cerritos. www.AmistadCanada.org Three April-only donation matching opportunities  From now until the end of April, you can double the impact of a donation to Caminos de Agua by participating in the Spring Match Campaign. Every contribution will automatically be doubled (up to USD $10,000, about $13,800 CDN) thanks to the generosity of Chip & Lucy Swab and Bob & Peggy Krist – two of CDA’s earliest and most loyal supporters. So, giving this month will really help kickstart the new AC-CDA Rainwater Harvesting project.  From April 3 to April 7 only, donations of up to $50 CDN each in support of the new EEESMA ‘Help Deaf Kids Learn to Code‘ program will be matched by 50% ($25) to a maximum of $2,000. So up to $4000 could be raised. Monthly gifts of up to $50 will also be matched and, if the donation recurs for four consecutive months, the total will be doubled from $200 to $400! And, supporters of Jóvenes Adelante can also take advantage of another doubling offer. A total of $36,000 USD (about $50,000 CDN) has been pledged as 100% matching grants. However, donations must be received before April 15 to qualify for doubling. The offer is open to first-time sponsors or current sponsors who are taking on an additional student. Contributions to half and pooled sponsorhips also qualify. More information at https://jovenesadelante.org/sponsor-a-student/ Or contact donkrim@jovenesadelante.org  |
