Who we are!

Hello again everyone!
We thought it'd be nice to post an entry about who we are and why we care, so that we're no longer random people asking for donations over the internet =)

Erin is a Special Education teacher in New York.  She went to Guatemala because she wanted to be immersed in a culture while giving back to the community.  The children at Escuela Pacaja have touched her heart in so many ways, it proved to be an amazing and life-changing experience.  Erin enjoyed  getting to know the kids so much that she had to continue to help the school once she got home.  She also served as the unofficial Spanish-English translator in Guatemala, since she lived in Spain for a few months during college.

Liz is a graduate student and an underwriter who lives in Philadelphia. Giving back to Pacaja is important to Liz because it not only benefits the school, it also supports the progress of Guatemala.  You can tell she had an amazing time with the kids in this picture.  Liz is also an award-winning photographer -- she won a photo contest sponsored by our volunteer program!

Stephane is a marketing analyst who lives in Washington state, by way of Paris, France.  He brought two of his very quiet and shy* children, Matthieu and Alex, along with him to Guatemala.  The three of them had a wonderful time, and it was amazing how many friends the two boys made over the short week!  After seeing the conditions at Pacaja, and reading about the depressing education statistics in Guatemala, Stephane knew that he had to give more to the school and its children.

*Not at all shy or quiet =)

Zhitong is a financial analyst in Baltimore.  Volunteering at Pacaja was one of the most rewarding experiences of her life, and she absolutely fell in love with the adorable students.  Zhitong would wake up at the crack of dawn every day during her week in Pacaja because she was so excited to see the children -- that's quite an accomplishment for a person who thinks 11am is "early."  She really hopes that she'll be able to make a difference in the lives of Pacaja's students!

Angelica was the wonderful director of the international volunteering program in which Erin, Liz, Stephane, and Zhitong participated.  She is such a warm and caring woman, and anyone can tell that she loves organizing projects to help her native Guatemala.  Angelica was the principal of a Guatemalan high school before she became involved in international volunteer exchanges.  Prior to the directing the Xela program we enrolled in, Angelica served as a coordinator for AFS Intercultural Programs and worked with a local organization to help at-risk children.  Angelica recently started her own volunteer organization, Kindred Volunteer.  If you are interested in visiting the beautiful Mayan city of Quetzaltenango while helping the local community, please visit her website!

Orlando was an administrator in our volunteer program, and recently joined Angelica to work on Kindred Volunteer.  He knows so much about Guatemalan history and culture, and really enjoys sharing stories about his country.  Orlando was a very knowledgeable tour guide whenever we went on trips around Xela, and everyone benefited from his information!

So that's us in a nutshell!  Hopefully we are now more than just anonymous bots behind your computer screen.  Also, thank you so much for your contributions!  We have raised over $400 in just a few days!