Changes at Saludos Niños

For the last 20 years, we (Sheila and Brian) have been the Co-Chairs and Founders of Saludos Niños. We spent months each year living in Guatemala where we worked with friends and volunteers building the classrooms, bathrooms, bookcases, kitchen shelving, and play structures of this school. During our time in Canada, we managed the school from a distance and raised money for the coming year. We’ve loved every minute of it. However, we are getting older and we’re now at a stage where we need to take a step back and reach out to partners to keep the project going. 

Sheila Posing with the Staff

A New Collaboration with Mayan Partners

At this time, we’d like to announce that we have entered a collaboration with Mayan Partners, a California-based charitable organization with whom we have already been working, particularly during the last 3 years of the pandemic, when we were unable to travel to Guatemala. This partnership is excellent because:

• Mayan Partners currently supports the colegio (middle school) in Panyebar and has been involved in the community for more than 15 years. 
• Mayan Partners is committed to ensuring that Saludos Niños operations continue smoothly and in the same way. They can move money to the community.
• The current staff will all remain in place and student selection will continue to be made by our teachers from the neediest in the Panyebar community, regardless of religion or politics.
• Mayan Partners is well known by our staff, and members have lived in the community and speak Spanish.
• We (Sheila and Brian) will continue to raise funds for the school and remain an important part of Saludos Niños.
• Our transparency in reporting the activities at Saludos will continue to be documented through the webpage, blog, and Facebook page.  

A Recent Visit from Sheila and Brian

We recently visited Saludos Niños for the first time since the pandemic. We were greeted by happy kids and all the teachers, past and present. It was a wonderful reunion. The whole school has been repainted, inside and out and the flowers along the living fence were in full bloom. Just beautiful. We've included a number of photos from our visit in this post.

Smiling Saludos Niños Kids

Brian Posing with Staff

Brian & Sheila with the Kids

Learning Activities

Classroom Decor and Weekly Menu 

Sheila and Rosario

We Look Forward to Your Continued Support

We are thrilled with this new collaboration and sincerely hope that donors will continue their support of this much-needed early learning and nutrition centre in Panyebar. 

Brian and Sheila Reuniting with Staff and Kids

Sincerely, 

Sheila and Brian

A Visit from Mayan Partners!

In our last blog post, we brought everyone up to date on the latest activities at Saludos Niños, including a visit from Mayan Partners. Ann Moriarty, one of our Board Members, was along for the visit and has provided us with a firsthand account of her rewarding experience. See below for the details. Thanks, Ann!

"A group of 11 of us from Mayan Partners in the San Francisco Bay Area, visited Panyebar for the first time since the pandemic. We arrived in town on June 24, 2022. The children and staff of Saludos Niños and Colegio Bethel, the middle school, welcomed us with firecrackers and dancing. How good it was to be back! Saludos Niños is thankfully in good shape. Sporting a new coat of bright green paint, the classroom building looks great.

Juana Garcia, the director, had asked for paint for one of the play structures. As we didn't have enough time to do the job ourselves, the women took over and finished it after we left. The new paint mirrors the other play structure - kids identified the paint as primary colors, red, yellow, and blue.

Another ask was for a recipe for homemade playdough. We found a simple recipe online with easily obtainable ingredients (except for cream of tartar, which we brought) and together made up a batch. I also brought corn starch and we made oobleck, though I'm not sure how appropriate it is for preschool kids to explore (my middle school teacher hat was on, ha).

One of our group, Leanne, read "The Rainbow Fish" to the children and they all made fish together.

I accompanied Rosario on her visits to families with water filters. Keeping tabs on how well the filters are holding up and how well they're being used is important. One woman said that hers was broken. Rosario quickly took the filter apart to show her a washer in the bucket that had loosened. Easily fixed, the filter was once again functional. 

Nutritious and tasty meals are still a hallmark of the program. Maria, the cook, does an amazing job - she is tireless! The meal calendar is on the wall (and reminds me of the cafeteria lunch calendars I received when I was in elementary school. No pizza, though!). Financial donations make this possible and the women source the least expensive freshest local foods. 

Saludos Niños continues to fill an essential role in Panyebar. In North America, we take preschool for granted, but that is certainly not the case in Guatemala. The children are smart, the teachers loving and capable, and the possibilities for growth and learning abundant.

Thanks for your part!"

- Ann Moriarty

  Saludos Niños Board of Directors

Dance Performance & Water Filters - July 2022 Update

Welcome to Summer at Saludos Niños!

In this post, we're sharing photos of some of the latest, exciting activities at Saludos Niños.

In late June, Saludos Niños hosted a group of visitors from Mayan Partners - a non-profit organization that works in the Guatemala highlands and supports the neighbouring Panyebar Middle School. The Saludos Niños students performed a dance routine for the visitors using music provided through the Magic School Bus program. Dancing is a fun activity for the children and, combined with other activities, helps them stay healthy and fit. The routine was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

Once again this year, new and replacement water filters were distributed to the Mums of children in the program. A presentation was made to the Mums explaining the proper care and use of the EcoFiltro filters. Fourteen new filters and twelve replacement barrels were distributed. A massive thank-you to Laura Massey from Wakefield, Quebec, Canada, who funds the filter program yearly with proceeds from her "Yoga on the Bridge" classes. 

If you live in Wakefield, Quebec, and are interested in attending a fundraising yoga class, click the link for more information. We'd love to see you there!

Latest Happenings at Saludos Niños - February 2022

In our January post, we announced that Saludos Niños was once again open for the start of a new school year. Now that classes are well underway, we wanted to let you all know that things are off to a great start and to provide you with an update on the latest happenings.

Staffing Change

Lucy has left our Saludos Niños teaching staff to pursue other ambitions. The other 3 classes have been restructured to absorb her former students. We wish Lucy all the best in her future endeavors and are so thankful for all that she did for our school.

Aracely's 2022 Class

Delores' 2022 Class

Juana's 2022 Class

Fresh Teaching Supplies

Our teachers have stocked up on classroom supplies for the new school year. 

Teachers unpacking the new supplies in Juana's freshly painted green classroom

School Improvements

A new metal climber and slide have been installed. As you can see in the picture, it's a hit with the kids. 

Juana spent part of a weekend with her son and daughter repainting her classroom to her favorite bright green color. It looks so nice and fresh and bright. 

Kids playing on the new playground equipment

Valentine's Day Activities

The kids enjoyed having their faces painted as part of their Valentine's Day activities. 

We're looking forward to other activities that this school year will bring and to keeping everyone updated via this blog and our Saludos Niños Facebook Page.

New School Year - Saludos Niños 2022 Update

We are happy to announce that Saludos Niños is open again this week for the start of a new school year.  The kids and teachers are thrilled.

In 2021, we were fortunate not to have a single child sick with COVID-19.  We are hoping that Saludos Niños will be blessed with good health again for 2022.  

Last Fall, Sheila, and Mateo prepared a shipment of donated goods for the children including books, toys, clothes, shoes, etc. The donations are being shipped by SUDEN from Quebec City (Canada) to Guatemala and on to Panyebar.

Wishing all of our supporters a very Happy New Year.  If you'd like to make a donation, please visit our donate page to learn how.  Every donation goes directly to our program!

Recent Damage to Saludos School & Repair Progress

Panyebar recently experienced extremely heavy rains and driving winds, causing the adobe walls of several classrooms to crumble.

Repairs are underway now that things have dried out.  The workers have removed the roof and are rebuilding the top of the walls and adding new support beams. 

Classes at Saludos are closed for 20 days during the repairs.  What a year it has been, but our Saludos staff in Panyebar are quick to solve each problem and keep us up to date with pictures and messages.

We will share more pictures once the repairs are complete and classes resume.

March 2021 update. Water filters funded by Wakefield Bridge yoga classes.

Water filters ( 17 plus 6 replacement barrels) delivered to Araley's classroom until mothers come to pick them up.

Rosa who delivered the water filters does mini presentations to just a few mums at a time (Covid restrictions).

Mums need to know how to assemble and use the filters before they take them home.

Rosario receives  a small payment from each mum before the filters are given out.

This is important so that each family has an important commitment to the care of the filter.

 Special thank you to Laura Massie who for several years now has raised the money for the water filters through her yoga classes at the Wakefield covered bridge.

 Mum preparing to carry filter home.

School's In! Back to School at Saludos Ninos

School's In!

Great News!  It has been decided that class enrolment at Saludos Ninos will take place from January 11 - 13, 2021 and classes will resume within the next week.  Both the kids and their parents are eager for the return to class and a more 'normal' routine.

Looking Forward To Welcoming Back These Smiling Faces!

Teachers Helping the Community

If you've been keeping up with our posts, you know that Saludos Ninos was closed down in March 2020 when Guatemala realized that COVID-19 was a threat to their citizens.  Luckily, due to the quick and decisive actions by decision makers, Panyebar has remained safe throughout the pandemic.  

Early on during the pandemic, our teachers bought food, cooked and served meals to the Saludos Ninos families.  When the Mayor decided that this was no longer safe, our teachers helped sort and distribute groceries. We were fortunate to work with 'Mayan Partners', who have supported poor families in the village throughout the pandemic.  Our teachers continued to received their salaries during the lockdown, which helped them and their families as they worked to help others. 

Teachers Cooking, Sorting & Distributing Food 

Support from Wakefield, Quebec

Here in Wakefield, friends and donors have continued to support Saludos Ninos by participating in virtual music venues and shoe + eye glasses drives. 

When local restaurants closed down, 'Le Hibou' opened their empty dining facilities to us and other vendors to display and sell crafts and hand-made goods.  This allowed us to sell some of the Panyebar jewellery and Guatemalan handicrafts that we would normally sell at annual craft shows.  

Beautiful Handicrafts For Sale at Le Hibou

Thanks to the incredible efforts of Laura Massie, who holds Yoga classes on the Wakefield bridge to support the purchase of water filters for Saludos Ninos, our families had access to clean drinking water throughout the pandemic, which proved all the more important this year with the kids out of school. 

We are so proud of our community here who cares about their residents, businesses and charities, resulting in far reaching benefits for other less fortunate communities.

No Annual Guatemala Visit

Unfortunately due to the pandemic, Brian and I are not able to return to Guatemala at this year.  However rest assured that we are able to send money to Saludos Ninos and our staff is diligent at sending pictures and keeping us up to speed on what is occurring week-to-week in the community and at the school.

Donations

If you would like to make a donation to Saludos Ninos to help with our efforts this year, please visit our website at https://www.saludosninos.org/donate.  Every donation counts and is especially appreciated during these difficult times.

School Still Closed - Saludos Niños Fall 2020 Update

The global pandemic continues to have an effect on daily life in Guatemala and on the community of Panyebar.  Unfortunately, schools in  Panyebar including Saludos Niños remain closed.  We are hoping at this point that it will be possible for Saludos Niños to welcome kids back in the New Year.  Let's keep our fingers crossed!

Thankfully, with help from the Mayan Partners non profit organization, the families of Saludos Niños and other families in need in Panyebar continue to be provided with groceries.  Bulk orders of groceries are delivered to the village and helpers, including our teachers sort and package the food for pick-up by Moms.

We are excited to announce that barrels of donated items from Canada have arrived in Panajachel, a town on the northeast side of Lake Atitlan.  As soon as inter-community travel is deemed safe based on # of COVID-19 cases, the barrels will be shipped to Panyebar and distributed to the Saludos Niños families.

With rainy season in full swing and no kids in the yard, vegetation growth continues to take over the school yard.  We've recently had all of the vegetation cut back once again and as you can see in the recent before and after photos, the yard is clean cut once again.  Areas of the yard that were often dirty/muddy due to so much wear and tear are now lovely and green.

If you'd like to help support Saludos Niños during this challenging time, there's a great opportunity to do so by doing your online holiday shopping (or any shopping!) through 'Flip Give'. When you shop online at participating retailers (Home Hardware, Indigo, Gap and more), a percentage of the purchase goes to Saludos Niños!  Click on the link below to learn more!

A Quiet Summer @ Saludos Niños - August 2020 Update

Like much of the world, Guatemala is still under a fairly strict lockdown and movement within the country is limited. Schools - including Saludos Niños - are still closed.  We understand that at this point, classes are suspended until sometime in August. The President of Guatemala may extend that suspension until later in the year.  Thankfully, there are no documented cases of COVID-19 in Panyebar right now.  We miss these faces!

Although the school is still closed, the teachers are keeping busy.  The Mayor of Panyebar is helping to buy groceries for needy families and our teachers are distributing those groceries to the families of Saludos Niños.  They are also awaiting an ‘ok’ from the Mayor to resume cooking take-out meals to give to the families.  Our teachers continue to be paid during this time.

With the school closed, no activity in the yard and some heavy rains, the yard and our school have suffered some damage and over-growth.  A tree branch fell on the bathroom, causing damage to the roof.  A landslide caused our tire-retaining wall to collapse.  As you can see, the yard had turned into a bit of a jungle!  Thankfully, our staff have coordinated to have all of the damage repaired and the vegetation cut back.  The school looks as good as new - as you can tell from the before and after pics.

Saludos Ninos and our staff are doing everything we can to keep the school in tip-top shape and help the families of our students in Panyebar.  It’s a difficult time for our school as we’ve been unable to run many of our usual fundraising activities due to the pandemic.  If you’d like to help us out during this time, please visit the ‘Donate’ page on our website.  Every donation helps!

What's New at Saludos Niños - May 2020 Update

In our last blog post, we announced that Guatemala had shut its' borders and restricted outings and gatherings due to COVID-19.  With Saludos Niños closed to students, our teachers put all their energy into preparing nutritious meals to hand-out to the families of our program.  

Since that last update, our teachers have continued their excellent work and are busy preparing and handing out meals to families.  Each day, Mums come by with their own containers, which our teachers fill with delicious, nutritious meals for the whole family.  Teachers have been wearing masks and gloves to do their best to protect everybody from the virus.  We are so proud of all their hard work.

It's also important to mention that Saludos Niños distributed another 19 water filters to families of the program earlier this year.  This means that all kids and their families have access to clean drinking water at this critical time.

Food delivered, stocked and moved to each of our programs

A nutritious and delicious variety of food on offer!

Teachers organizing & providing take-out food to the Mums

The school closure has also been a good opportunity to make way on maintenance and yard projects.  A new play structure for the smaller children and a new and improved front entrance door have been painted and installed.  An exciting new edition to the yard is a large raised-bed garden, located directly across from the kitchen.  The garden will be used to grow vegetables on site, which will be used as part of the healthy meals prepared for kids daily.   

Lots of progress on new yard projects

All of us at Saludos Niños thank-you for your support and for interest that you show in our program.  We'll be sure to keep you posted with future updates as regulations related to COVID-19 evolve.

If you're not already following us on social media, visit our Facebook Page and give us a 'like' and a 'follow' so that you can get the latest news!

Closed due to virus. Teachers,feeding students and families.

Guatemala is all shut down but our amazing teachers have found a way to get out, buy and then prepare nutritious food for the mums in our project who are then able to come by and pick up ,in their own containers ,  these meals to feed their families during this crisis.

Ann Moriarity ( òne of our board members ) and MAYAN Partners ( who are assisting with salaries) were able to get the local mayor inside to permit this  and they are helping us to pay for this program while it continues. This enables these most vulnerable families to continue to eat. What an  incredible team of special women make up Saludos Ninos!!

February 15th 2020 update

Working on valentines cards

 Distributing water filters to Student families

 Fun in the school yard. Goodbye to Rachelle, beloved volunteer 

February 13th update. Medical team arrives.

Children are photographed for medical records

Cesy has a newly painted classroom.

Names, photos, dates on med forms for today's clinic.

Doctors from Guatemala

Medical team of volunteers