The Playground Project is Complete!
On Tuesday, May 19th, 2009, New Dawning Christian School celebrated the opening of their new playground. It was a wonderful day complete with special guests, music, and delicious food.
The five pieces of play equipment are a huge hit with the children. Just as important as the new equipment is the safe play-yard. New brick walls and fencing enclose the yard... something the school has wanted for years.
THANK YOU to the many people that helped make this dream a reality!
Mar. 2009: We met our goal of raising $5,600 for this Project. Praise God! Final payment was sent and the Playground will be completed next month.
We sent $1,040 towards this project. This project is almost complete... one more month! The fence is built, the land is clear, and the playground equipment is ordered. What a blessing it will be to soon see the children playing.
Feb. 2009: We feel blessed to have fund-raised raised $1,100 in January for the Playground Project. A total of $3,900 has gone towards this project so far.
Jan. 2009: We sent another payment of $800 towards this project. We are praying for an early Spring-time completion.
Dec. 2008: We sent $2,000 to start building the playground! As you can see, much more than just a playground is being built. The changes being made to the land will improve the functionality of the school property for generations to come.
Here are a few pictures of the progress. Please consider supporting this project. Thank you!
Oct. 2008 - Ever since we stepped foot at New Dawning Christian School in the village of San Juan La Laguna last May, we knew that Guatemalan Harvest has a purpose there! God spoke to our hearts and told us to focus our efforts on the school and their children.
Soon, the children of New Dawning will have a chance to laugh and play like many other children throughout the world. We have started fundraising for the Playground Project and by this time next year, New Dawning Christian School will have a brand new playground, thanks to people like you.
Founded in 1991, New Dawning is a private Christian school for children pre-school through Grade 9 with approximately 250 students. The majority of students are able to attend due to sponsorship programs offered by non-profit organizations (primarily Children of Lake Atitlan and World Hope International). Many of the school children have ambitious goals of becoming teachers, nurses, and the like. The average family in this village earns about $75 a month, so they are familiar with a difficult life of labor and doing without.
The people of the village, along with non-profit organizations, have worked hard to purchase land for the school, build school buildings and restrooms, as well as provide the educational tools necessary for the school to run.
Currently, New Dawning has no playground at all. In fact, the entire village of San Juan La Laguna has no playground. We feel that the children of the school, and the community as a whole, will benefit from the addition of a playground.
When we visited the school we stood in the exact location where the playground will be built. It is a beautiful large open space, shaded by trees, and the playground will be a perfect fit!
The estimated cost for the Playground Project was $6,700. However, the final cost will be $5,600. The price includes fencing (to protect the equipment when school is not in session), five pieces of playground equipment, all the necessary supplies (bricks, iron, wire, cement, sand, and rock), and two months wages for bricklayers/workers.
We are asking for your help to bring this project to life. Any amount is appreciated. If you would like to donate, please go to our You Can Help page. Thank you for your consideration in supporting this project! Every donation helps... $10, $20, $30... any amount. We will update this site weekly with our fundraising progress.
As of Mar. 27, 2009, we have raised $5,600 - fundraising complete!
Here are some pictures of Colegio Cristiano Nuevo Amanacer (New Dawning Christian School) prior to the starting the Playground. You can see a new school house is also being built. To the left of that building is where the playground will be. You can also see one of the current classrooms and some of the children.