The Mission Takes A New Turn

Greetings to each of you and on behalf of all of our staff, partners and board of directors, we would like to thank you sincerely for your interest in the Children of the Dump project.

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Renovate "Feed The Children Bus":

The “Feed the Children” bus was purchased at the beginning of the charity in 1998.  The design and painting of the children on the outside of the bus was done by Marcela Lepe, the daughter of the famous Puerto Vallarta painter Manuel Lepe.    Although the name was later changed to the “Children of the Dump”, the bus continued to be identified with the charitable efforts of our organization around the entire Puerto Vallarta area.  The bus was used to transport the children from around the dump on field trips to hotels, restaurants, businesses and other venues where the children were given the opportunity to see the “other side” of Vallarta, where they could work and earn a good salary if they would only stay in school and study math, English and computer.  The bus gave the children and the charity a sense of identity and was a common site traveling around the area.  As we begin to restart the field trip programs, the bus becomes an important tool, not only as an efficient means of transporting 60 or 70 children, but also as a symbol of the opportunities available to these children in PuertoVallarta.

            The “ Feed the Children” bus needs complete overhaul.

1. New motor
2. New transmission
3. Upholster seats
4. A/C unit
5. New windows
6. New paint inside
7. New paint outside by Lepe

            Estimated cost $8,000 US

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Construction of School of Champions Campuses

a.)  MAIN CAMPUS:

Since the beginning of the School of Champions after school program, we have concentrated on grade 3 through 6 from the local primary schools.  When these student graduated from grade 6 and went on to secondary (middle) school, we lost track of them as they were no longer in our program.  We could only hope that they continued their studies in English and computer skills but the reality is that the secondary school does not have more than a token program in either English or Computer.  We have wanted to include them in the program but the limited space and hours affected our ability to include them in the program.  The solution is to increase the classroom space so that they can come to our school during daylight hours, from 4 to 6 pm.

            Construct two small classrooms to accommodate 25 students each.
-    construction costs including tile floor, windows etc.
-     air conditioning
-     furniture
-     teachers
-     food and transportation

Estimated cost $80,000US

b.)  VOLCANES CAMPUS:

When we started the School of Champions this past school year, 2007-2008, we were pleasantly surprised when 20 students from Volcanes showed up the first day ready to enroll in the program.  We decided to bus them from the Volcanes area which is at least 20 minutes further inland from our school campus.  The next day there were 30 students ready to ride to the school and by the third day there were more than 40 children, many more than our two vans could accommodate.  So we asked the Volcanes Primary School Principal if we could use her classrooms from 4 to 6 pm each day for our after school program.  Since 80 of 200 students enrolled in the school were interested in our program she agreed and we started the next day giving English and computers classes to the children. However, this school has been plagued by problems not the least of which is that someone steals the electrical wiring that feeds the school .  This has happened on two different occasions which has caused havoc with our computer classes.  Also, we are reluctant to bring more equipment to that classroom because of the very real possibility that it to will be stolen.  This area is the poorest area of the five barrios that we operate in, but will be the fastest growing area in the next few years because of the relatively low cost of land .  The solution to our problem in Volcanes is to build a smaller version of our main School of Champions campus in Magesterio.  This will not only give the Volcanes children the same quality of educational facility that we have in our main campus, but will also allow us to expand the enrollment as the population in the area grows.

     Construct 2 story, 2 classroom building in Volcanes area.
-     Air conditioning
-     2 large bathrooms with showers
-     Tile floor
-     Basketball court
-     City to donate land
    
Estimated cost  $300,000 US

Expand Enrollment At School of Champions - Main Campus:

During the time that the School of Champions has been open, the enrollment in the  
     primary schools in the area has increased dramatically forcing many of the schools to
     start a second shift.  The School of Champions has not been able to offer classes for
     these students because of various constraints, mostly financial.  Starting this January, 
     we plan to open the school to these “2nd  Shifters” from 10 am to 12 pm each school
     day.  These children deserve the same opportunities as all of the children in the areas
     surrounding the dump.
           
2nd Shift Primary Program -  60 children

1. new teachers
2. additional food
3. additional transportation

Estimated cost  -  $ 2,000 per month