Funding our Education Center for 80 Kids in 2018

Human rights are the basic rights and freedoms that belong to every person in the world, from birth until death. They apply regardless of where you are from, what you believe or how you choose to live your life.

Since September of 2017 we have been collaborating with the Guatemalan Human Rights Organizaton (GHR)(Institución para el Procurador de los Derechos Humanos https://www.pdh.org.gt/), a governmental institution that seeks to promote and defend Human Rights in Guatemala.

We have had the pleasure of the full support of Virginia Soledad Pellecer, who is the GHR coordinator and educator for the county of Sacatepequez, where our Integral Heart Family School is located. 

She began giving monthly classes at our school last year to the 30 teenagers who attend our Critical-Thinking program.

But this year, Virigina is becoming an even greater part of our family. She is coming in now on a weekly basis and teaching not only the teenagers but to the little ones as well. She has also started giving talks to the parents of our students.

In these lessons the students are learning to:
• develop an understanding of what human rights are
• appreciate the relationship between rights and responsibilities
• analyze who is responsible for upholding human rights
• appreciate the meaning and significance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• apply the concepts of human rights to their own lives

Virginia has told us that she loves coming and we love having her with us. The kids are learning not only about their individual rights but also about their duties towards other people and including animals and the environment. We feel really grateful for this new addition to our Integral Heart Family.

And as always, a big thank you to all who are helping us to create and sustain this environment for growth, respect, education, compassion and sharing. 

Without all of you this would never be possible.

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you!

(Please see additional photos before with descriptions)

Greetings from a warm and sunny La Antigua Guatemala, and all of us here at the Integral Heart Learning Center.

This year at the Integral Heart Family not only means the beginning of a new school year, but also a new beginning for all of us, students and staff alike.

We have rearranged our class schedules to accommodate the new students who were invited in by their peers, and the developments in our teaching-team are clearly making a big difference to everything that is happening at our school. 

Even the walls are brighter, painted with colors, decorated with flowers, happy posters and dedications of gratitude to our donors, cute puppy posters, new lighting, a great new garden with palms, plants, and flowers.

You might think that all of these are just make up, external changes, but they are not. The energy and love that is living and breathing at La Academia is so obvious that you can feel it as soon as you cross the doorstep. There is brightness, lightness, and again, a love that you can perceive. We can tell already because our students are inviting all their friends to join us so they can also experience learning, growing and emotional, physical and psychological safety.

Although we spend the same number hours together, for some reason this year, there is more time for creativity, art, sticky fingers and laughter. That also includes interactive and playful readings in our new library, thanks to a wonderful and dedicated supporter. 

In the photos you can enjoy some these moments with our little ones.

Thank you all who make this possible.

With a smile in our hearts and our own sticky fingers we say goodbye to all of you until the next newsletter and please don´t forget to smile.

Much love, The Integral Heart Team.