During 2017 we plan to expand our elderly program with income schemes for them. A few years ago we handed out medicinal plants and avocado trees which are now bearing fruit and providing income to buy medicines and much needed extra food. By expanding this program with fruit trees, herbs and vegetables yet more disposable income will be available for them. Coupled with the sustainable income plans we are introducing for the families we hope that parity in the sharing of food in the household will be met, rather than the elderly going without.
On top of this, many of the children are looked after by their grandparents as they have no parents, who have either died or have left home to find work elsewhere. This extra burden can be helped with these new schemes.
The third Seven Continent Charity Challenge gets underway in Guatemala on Tuesday 21st March 2017 to raise funds for project costs and employment opportunities for our graduates, as mentionned above,climbing Volcano Tajumulco, the highest point in Central America. There are more events planned throughout the year in different countries including England, Ireland, Australia, Canada and the United States so if you want to get involved in Guatemala on 21st March or other events, please do contact us on the link below and you can use this page as your fundraising page. Alternatively, if you want to donate to the cause, please donate to this page!
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Everyone here at Phoenix wishes you all a very Happy Thanksgiving this coming week. There is also another reason to be extremely thankful thanks to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation who have generously provided $500,000 in matching funds for the unprecedented Global Giving 50% matching day on Tuesday 29th November where donations of up to $1,000 per donor per organization will be matched by 50% whilst funds last. In addition to this huge matching opportunity, all new recurring donations made from 29th November through December 31st will be matched at 200% up to $100, on the fourth donation!
How would this help our elderly program? To start with we will be able to increase our numbers of fruit trees and medicinal herbs that we plan to distribute in 2017. We will also be able to expand our sustainable family income schemes, like Plan Moo and Plan Pollo, whereby the families and the elderly can receive extra income for much needed supplies.
Every donation always helps us to help them, so please do dig deep this coming Tuesday 29th November and help us match their futures with the same generosity shown by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation in conjunction with Global Giving.
Thank you
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We are seeing that with the introduction of the sustainable plans in the communities the elderly are seeing more benefits. With the added income in the family there is more available money for medicines for the grand-parents and those families in Plan Moo, the elderly get out of the house more to feed to the cows!
Our plans over the next two years are to increase the Plan Moo herd by 75 cows. Our Plan Pollo scheme currently covers 20% of all project costs and we would like to raise this to 30% during 2017. In Honduras we plan to bring in Plan 10, which umbrellas various sustainable plans including tilapia, coffee, vegetables and chickens, divided into ten groups in ten different communities to spread the rish and the benefits.The benefits for the families involved in the schemes is obvious, with many children continuing their studies into secondary school and college thanks to the income they receive though also, as mentionned before, for the elderly generation.
We are planning to introduce a fruit tree scheme by giving a fruit tree to each family of the children in the school, which will provide fruit for the elderly too. Some years ago, we gifted avocado trees to the grandparents and they are now providing a healthy income, as well as extra food, to the elderly. Every little helps and the more we can make sustainable the better for the future of the families, the communities and the countries themselves.
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It has been a fantastic few months in Guatemala. One of the areas we have been focusing on this year across The Phoenix Projects is the implementation of sustainable plans, including cows, chickens, weaving, fish and small businesses. Here in Guatemala we have started Plan Moo (cows), Plan Pollo (chickens) and Plan Corte (weaving). Not only do these provide income for the schools’ running costs for years to come they also provide much needed employment in the communities as income from the plans is reinvested into future plans and also shared between the families and the school. We employ almost 60 people full-time directly across Phoenix and the plans increase this number to almost 200 which is phenomenal for the local economy and obviously the families as they now can provide for their families with an over-riding pride that they did it for themselves.
The plans are designed so the elderly can benefit from them too, bringing their experience with weaving and livestock into play and using the proceeds of the plans to buy medicines and other food.
Thank you all for your generous support in the past and hopefully in the future – all your donations are helping to build a fantastic and sustainable future for the communities in which we work.
Cheers
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On 30th April the children and the local teachers took part in the second Phoenix Seven Continents Charity Challenge to raise funds for local sustainable income plans which will not only provide income for local families to be able to help with their children’s further education costs, including college and university, though also to help sustainably cover our schools’ costs including local teachers salaries, daily food and fruit, school materials etc. This month, to get our Global Giving friends involved in the Seven Continent Charity Challenge, we would like to put all donations to this page towards sustainable income plans. A warm thanks in advance.
Sustainable plans aren't new to many of our elderly generation who have received food, fruit trees, egg-laying chickens, cows, seeds and medicinal plants over the past years. This year, many are enjoying avocados which were planted a few years ago which allow them to sell the in the market to be able to buy medicines and other food, as well of course, eating them. As this year progresses, we plan to add more fruit trees.
Many thanks and have a great May!
Cheers
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