The School Walls Are Going Up!

The children in the small mountain community of Bejucalito are very excited as they see the walls of their new school going up.



Currently, each grade is taking turns attending the small school (which is a tin shack) because there is not enough space to accommodate all of the students. Director of Feed The Children Guatemala, Efrain de los Rios, says, “When I visited the children of Bejucalito this week, I could see the excitement in their eyes as they gazed across the yard to watch the construction workers – knowing that soon they will have a new school where they can all attend at the same time. This is the project of their lives and they will never forget this gift. Thank you FTC Canada for investing into the future of these children.”



FTC knows that without education children cannot succeed. It is very exciting to be making a lasting impact in this Guatemalan community, where the gift of education will be received by many generations.

FTC Canada, with Christian love, compassion and integrity, responds to the needs of Canadian First Nations children and their families. We assist by providing food and supplies, home improvements, children’s programs, and youth life skills training, with a view to creating for them, a positive and more meaningful future.

Providing Food & Supplies…
FTC procures food and other essential supplies to be shipped to First Nations communities. FTC Canada works in collaboration with partner organizations in Sioux Lookout, Ontario that provide warehousing, workers, air transport, and important community connections so that FTC can reach the most families.

Operating children’s & youth programs …
Because of the many hardships facing children and youth living in northern Ontario's remote First Nations Communities, FTC Canada provides structured summer day camp programs. By training and mentoring the youth to serve in their own communities, FTC is helping them develop important life skills for their future.

Opportunities to become involved...

• Send one child to summer day camp for 5 days - $150
  
• Send one staff member to camp - $500
  
• Purchase one week of camp supplies - $750
  
• Fly 1000 lbs.of food to one reserve from Sioux Lookout - $1,000
  
• Ship one truckload of food to Sioux Lookout from Southern Ontario - $3,000

Join our Camp Team...
FTC Canada is looking for summer camp staff -Download Camp Staff Application

For more information contact:
Karen Ward
First Nations Program Coordinator
1-877-382-2262 ext. 232
karen@ftccanada.org

Please mail financial donations to:
FTC Canada
P.O. Box 30
Guelph, ON N1H 6J6

A Well & School for Communities in Guatemala

In the western world, we often take for granted what children and families in developing countries simply do not have access to. Poor sanitation and contaminated water contribute to illness, infection, and even death. It is also a sad fact that many communities do not have schools, so most of the children do not receive an education. The children pictured below are forced to walk 4 kilometers over the mountains to get to a school and so most of the younger children cannot make the trip.




Each year during their medical team trip, FTC Canada embraces additional projects in direct response to the community needs in that area. Last year in Honduras, 25 latrines were constructed, and a well was installed in a community where more than 400 families enjoy fresh water today.




In Guatemala, FTC is currently installing another well that will benefit more than 1,500 people living in a rural community. A little further up the mountain, the children in the community of Bejucalito, are receiving a school of their own. The ground has been cleared and construction has begun.




A dedication ceremony is planned for both projects on Friday February 22, 2008.FTC Canada’s President Ken Dick will be in attendance.

FTC's Medical Team Is Getting Ready To Travel

FTC’s medical team is excited about leaving for Guatemala on February 23, 2008. Most of the team members traveled to Honduras with FTC last February, and words cannot capture their thoughts as they prepare themselves to once again bring hope to humble families trying to exist in some of Guatemala's poorest neighbourhoods.



Last year, it was amazing to see how a firm handshake from a Canadian doctor, or the touch of a cold stethoscope on a small brown chest could actually lift the human spirit. A little compassion goes a long way in places where is none, and each day people left the mobile medical clinic with a renewed light in their eyes.

This year, we are very pleased about the addition of a dentist and a dental assistant so that we can run a dental clinic as well. We anticipate treating over 3500 patients during the five days of clinics, in areas where there is very little medical/dental care.

Medical team members have been collecting items to ship to Guatemala this month in a container that sails next week. Items like small toys, warm hats, gloves, tennis balls, underwear, blankets, children’s vitamins, and food will be distributed at the medical clinics each day. Simple acts of kindness from the team, will give these Guatemalans the opportunity to catch their breath and receive the courage they need to go on.