Volunteer Petén

Newsletter July 2010

September 2010

Summer is quickly coming to an end, and I want to thank all of the wonderful volunteers that worked with us in August.  In August, we had (and still have now) an amazing group of volunteers who have been working every morning, afternoon and evening with local children in the library and in schools.  This amazing group includes; RK working with elementary and secondary schools, Jessica with the marching band, Roni with dance groups, Stacy in the library, Marin in the schools, Ana teaching English, Steph focusing on education, Tiffani in the park, and Cloe in the schools.  In terms of work, August has proved to be the most productive month, and I have never seen so many volunteers working around the clock on different projects.

In August, we also took another amazing field trip with the School of Natural Resources to Rio Dulce and the Caribbean Sea, to visit with another school called Ak’Tenemit. It was a great trip and truly an eye opener for our students and volunteers.  Miriam and I are still putting in 10-12 hour days in the Natural Resource School, doing our best to create positive change in the education system.  The first year students worked on a project to hang up pollen traps for scientific research, and second year students worked on creating ecological signs for the beach front.

Next month we will be winding down our school year, and I will be traveling back to the States at the very end of October to work on fundraising and to talk about our project.  If you or your institution would like a presentation, I will be free the first couple of weeks in November for talks.  The presentation won’t be a pretty picture about the current state of Guatemalan society or its future, but my understanding of the problems facing Guatemala has more than doubled than last year, so I have a lot of observations and insight.

So thinking on to 2011…we are now accepting applications for full time Teachers to help us out from January – June.  Teachers need to be completely fluent in Spanish and have a university degree.  We will cover airfare, room and board.   Oh…and to all potential donors for next year…we will need a little help to sponsor teachers.  2011 will be the key year for our education project, and I want to make sure that we do everything we can to push this idea forward.  So we will be looking for a 2-3 teachers for next year.

Visit us at www.volunteerpeten.org  for more information or contact us at volunteerpeten@hotmail.com for any further information about the school for natural resources.

  Click here to donate

 Thanks to all your help and support for our program, and we will continue our work here in San Andres and keep you informed of our goals and accomplishments.

Matthew R. Peters
Director

 

Photos from 2010!!

News from San Andres

Our mayor came back after taking a break for 3 months...I don't think that anybody noticed that he was gone.

 

Funds needed for 2011

If you haven't already...JOIN the Volunteer PAYTEN club!!!  Join the dozens of volunteers that have made a commitment to helping our projects in the Petén.  We desperately need your support to help us fund community projects in 2011 which include management  and protection of the Nueva Juventud Ecological Park, environmental education and general educational programs in local schools, and sponsoring our New Natural Resource School here in San Andres.

If you would like a flyer or newsletter sent to you with more information on how to donate, please send me your home address (volunteerpeten@hotmail.com).

 

Past volunteers please respond!

I am currently revising and adding all new information to this website for 2010 and I am BEGGING all past volunteer that have digital photos of the project, park, San Andres, or whatever to send me some of your favorite photos via email. Please send photos to volunteerpeten@hotmail.com or better yet visit our FACEBOOK page. (click here.)

ALSO, any past volunteers are highly encourage to come and visit San Andres and the park to see all the progress since we started in January 2002. 

 

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Contact information:

Telephone: (502) 5711-0040 / 5496-2276

Email: volunteerpeten@hotmail.com

Parque Ecològico Nueva Juventud

San Andrès, Petèn,

Guatemala, Central America

Volunteer Petèn