Project Amigo (P/A)is a charity that supports students from Colima in rural western Mexico so that they can create their own educational opportunities and better their quality of life.
The town of Colima is located in western Mexico about 3 hrs south of Guadalajara. This is the sugar cane growing region of the country. The sugar cane has been harvested for years by migrants from the poor southern provinces of Mexico. These migrants and their children, up until P/A started about 33 yrs ago, left after the harvest to follow other crops. Because the migrants were not from the province of Colima their children received no education.
Project Amigo offered these migrant children their 1st opportunity to go to school. The camps these children lived in before P/A had no running water, sewage or electricity. The huts had and still have corrugated metal roofs with dirt floors. P/A over the years has been able to install community toilets, running water and some electricity. They have also provided primary school teachers, now provided by the state of Colima, and school supplies. The result; the migrants have put down roots so their children can get an education.
P/A has developed a scholarship program for these students primarily funded by Rotarians. The top students receive grants to cover all their primary and secondary student cost, ranging from $600 to $1000 for a school year. The very best of these students are able to attend the University of Colima which is 30+ miles from their camp. The college grants are $4000. The students board at a P/A built dorm a short walk to campus
There are 9 graduates of the P/A program who will enroll this year at the University. Each student agrees to maintain GPA of 8.5 and provide a minimum of 10 hours of monthly community service.
Our District Grant will fund 5 laptop computers for these students, who have never had a lap top of their own, for their studies. Historically 93% of these students will graduate from university. Of all the Rotary development assistance programs I've witnessed around the world this program rates at the very top.
Dick Stevens
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