Need a little help from my friends
Donation protected
Friends and family,
Many of you know that I have shifted a lot of my time and energy to focus on fighting poverty both locally and in Nicaragua. I have travelled to Haiti, Rwanda, and Nicaragua and experienced been able to observe the ugliness of its hold on people. On my most recent trip I was walking down the street in a dump town called Cristo Rey in Nicaragua, and saw a boy crying on the side of the road. I knelt down to see if he was ok. He turned to me and buried his face in my neck and just held on tight. After nearly half an hour I asked him his name. He told me it was Antony. Instantly the kid stole my heart. I have since figured out a way to get him regular medical attention, an education, and hope for a future through a family in Nicaragua who I work with.
Locally I have helped to spearhead efforts to teach poverty awareness with youth, gather food and donations for families here who are without, and have even in the last year opened my home to 7 people who needed a place to stay for an interim. These people have become family. We as a group make weekly trips to the beach to bring food, blankets, and sometimes just a listening ear to a homeless community who is anything but the stereotype. Fathers, husbands, mothers, sons, who all feel caught in an endless cycle that never ends up in their favor. A situation that leaves little room for hope.
I feel like these opportunities have not only taught me incredible life lessons, but left me with a responsibility to leave an impact wherever I go. Currently, I am raising funds for travel expenses, specific projects both in the US and in Nicaragua, and even trying to assist with others efforts globally (Haiti, Rwanda, Nepalm, etc). I believe that there are several people who would love to help, but are not in a place to be in the thick of it. If you feel like you could help even a little, I would greatly appreciate it.
Many of you know that I have shifted a lot of my time and energy to focus on fighting poverty both locally and in Nicaragua. I have travelled to Haiti, Rwanda, and Nicaragua and experienced been able to observe the ugliness of its hold on people. On my most recent trip I was walking down the street in a dump town called Cristo Rey in Nicaragua, and saw a boy crying on the side of the road. I knelt down to see if he was ok. He turned to me and buried his face in my neck and just held on tight. After nearly half an hour I asked him his name. He told me it was Antony. Instantly the kid stole my heart. I have since figured out a way to get him regular medical attention, an education, and hope for a future through a family in Nicaragua who I work with.
Locally I have helped to spearhead efforts to teach poverty awareness with youth, gather food and donations for families here who are without, and have even in the last year opened my home to 7 people who needed a place to stay for an interim. These people have become family. We as a group make weekly trips to the beach to bring food, blankets, and sometimes just a listening ear to a homeless community who is anything but the stereotype. Fathers, husbands, mothers, sons, who all feel caught in an endless cycle that never ends up in their favor. A situation that leaves little room for hope.
I feel like these opportunities have not only taught me incredible life lessons, but left me with a responsibility to leave an impact wherever I go. Currently, I am raising funds for travel expenses, specific projects both in the US and in Nicaragua, and even trying to assist with others efforts globally (Haiti, Rwanda, Nepalm, etc). I believe that there are several people who would love to help, but are not in a place to be in the thick of it. If you feel like you could help even a little, I would greatly appreciate it.
Organizer
Tony LaMantia
Organizer
Fort Myers, FL