On A Mission To Change Lives With Travel Bloggers Without Borders
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Last week we were giving away money, and this week we’re asking for you to give a little back. The Expeditioner is participating in the first annual Travel Bloggers Without Borders fundraising campaign. Beginning December 16, The Expeditioner, in partnership with the Integral Heart Foundation, a Guatemala-based charity focusing on childhood education, is seeking to raise $10,000 to provide education for 55 children in Guatemala for the 2014 academic year.
Overview of the Integral Heart Foundation
The Integral Heart Foundation is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit that serves resource-poor families in the villages surrounding Antigua, Guatemala. The foundation seeks to cultivate a love of learning in children. In addition to helping children, the foundation works to enable mothers to find stable jobs away from the fields, ultimately helping to improve their long-term earning potential.
The Integral Heart Foundation’s Goal
Many children in Guatemala have no access to intellectual stimulation, spending their formative years on their mothers’ backs as they pick coffee or firewood in the mountains, and many begin their lives of menial labor at three or four years old. Guatemala has the lowest rate of child literacy in Central America, and it is estimated that over 50% of the indigenous population is illiterate. Without access to nearby schools, many families are not able to educate their children.
The Integral Heart Foundation is working to deliver a safe atmosphere for education, cleanliness, laughs, and love, and an environment where children are able to just be children while simultaneously being also being stimulated. While these children are being taught the fundamentals of reading and writing, they are also learning to appreciate the value of maintaining personal hygiene.
Potential Long-Term Impact
This project has the potential to shift these children’s perception of education from complete unawareness to a profound and lasting love. This shift in perception will be multi-generational, as these children will pass on their love and respect for education to their children. The Integral Heart Foundation’s appreciation for culture and the educational advancement of children of such a young age will help foster these children’s hunger for knowledge that will aid them in every stage of their future development.
How to Help Today
The goal of the first annual Travel Bloggers Without Borders fundraising campaign is to raise $10,000, or $180 per child, to provide tuition for 55 children to attend school during the 2014 academic year.
Being a global citizen means appreciating what one has, while also looking for ways to help those to whom life has not afforded the same opportunities. This is your chance to do something tangible. Donate whatever you can, whether it be $100, $50, $20, or $10. Every single dollar goes a long way to support a child’s education. Please be generous and help us meet our goal of sending 55 children to school for the 2014 year.
Please click here to make your donation today.
By Matt Stabile
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Matt Stabile is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of TheExpeditioner.com. You can read his writings, watch his travel videos, purchase the book he co-edited or contact him via email at any time at TheExpeditioner.com. (@TheExpeditioner)