Lets Get Together Dec. 9th!

Hi-

I've been talking with several local Ann Arbor area people about our work in Guatemala and I've found a lot of interest in staying in contact with the country and the cultures of this beautiful, largely indigeneous country.

I have heard from travelers, ex Peace Corps workers and a lot of families who have adopted children from Guatemala who want to maintain a meaningful connection with the country.   

My wife Karen and I have invited Steve Mullaney of the Asturias Academy, a nonprofit school in Quetzaltenango (aka Xela, pronounced Shayla).  Steve will be here Dec. 9th at 7:00 pm to present their work with low income kids in Xela.  The venue is the Friends Meeting House at 1420 Hill St Ann Arbor, MI 48104-3106.  Please feel free to call me, John Barrie at 734.668.4811 for more details.

The Astu­rias Aca­demy currently ser­ves appro­xi­ma­tely 300 stu­dents from var­ying back­grounds: indi­ge­nous, non-indigenous, poor, wor­king class and middle class. The Academy’s curri­cu­lum is based on the popu­lar edu­ca­tion theory of  Bra­zi­lian edu­ca­tor Paulo Freire, in which sys­tems of injus­tice are con­fron­ted and trans­for­med on the basis of all as teachers and lear­ners. The Aca­demy has two main mis­sions: get ALL Gua­te­ma­lan chil­dren in school, and break cyc­les of poverty through education.

The school also has a strong ecological theme to their teaching.

This is a get to know you meeting.  Donations to the Asturias Academy will be accepted but we really want to see the Ann Arbor/Guatemala community get together for educational and cultural purposes a few times per year.

If you are interested in attending, please email me, john(at) apptechdesign.org

If you would like child care please be sure to call me ahead of time so I can arrange for some high school students to help out.

We will be serving simple refreshments, tea, juice and cookies.  If anyone wants to help out with snacks please contact me.