By Andrea Del Pinal | Communication and Development Coordinator
Dear friends,
Together, we ALMOST raised enough funds to support 8 youth in attaining a well-rounded education in 2016!
We are very excited, not only because we are close to reaching our goal, but because we started to welcome new individuals into our family. Becoming a participant at CasaSito is a rigorous process that begins with an application. We start our search for well-deserving young people by visiting different communities and schools in Sacatepéquez, Alta Verapaz, and El Quiché. We also announce over the radio! Once a student shows interest, they fill out a 4 page document, write an essay, receive a home visit, and - finally - are interviewed by the scholarship committee. The scholarships are awarded based on academic performance, youth’s motivation to get an education and succeed in life, parental support, and financial need. The scholars that meet or exceed CasaSito’s requirements are able to renew their scholarship.
We also just finished our debate club for 2015! This club is designed so that participants learn to build, defend, break down arguments and speak in public. They go through an intense 12 week preparation with one of the best lawyers in Antigua. This year’s debate club just ended! We are inspired! We saw our participants become open minded individuals who respect and aren’t afraid of other points of views. One of the hardest challenges they faced was debating for a stance that went against their own beliefs, and during the debate finals, everyone gave their best performance. The topics were: “Money is the way to measure success" and "Would it be worth it to kill a person who lives an indifferent and mediocre life if, for doing so, you would earn US$10,000,000 to invest in education, health, housing, and nutrition projects in the poorest communities of your country?" Each debate team had to prepare for four debates as they did not know if they would debate for or against the topics, until the day of the final. The rigorous debates proved Leonel Vásquez and José Portillo the winners of the Shelley Cup. Each one was awarded a brand new laptop! The finalist defended their assigned stance with passion backed up by analysis and research.
We are very proud of our young people! They are examples of perseverance and determination. Please keep tuned in as we tell you more about our activities and progress.
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