Help my students grow a brighter future in rural Colombia!

Matthew Lemay is organizing this fundraiser.

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Hi everyone!

I’m currently living and volunteering in Fúquene, Colombia, at a school called the Instituto Técnico Comercial de Capellanía (ITCC). I've been here for almost 2 years now and have been warmly welcomed into the school community. Our school has 1,200 students between first and eleventh grades, with students coming from all over the nearby municipalities. I’d call ITCC the heart of our rural community and see so much potential here.

The economy in Fúquene revolves around agriculture but in the past few years long droughts have made it harder for families to count on stable incomes, making agriculture and staying here in the community a less attractive option for students once they graduate.

Our school specializes in teaching entrepreneurship and business skills. Students in 10th and 11th grades develop projects centered around business ideas, contributing their studies in accounting, administration, legislation, and human resources.

Between the identified need for more innovative approaches to agriculture and our school's desire to provide students with opportunities to build businesses they can connect to through hands-on work, we’ve set out on a project to build a vivero (plant nursery) at the school!

This vivero will be much more than just a garden. It’ll be a place where:

Elementary school kids learn about plants, sustainability, and responsibility through hands-on activities.
High schoolers use it for their entrepreneurial projects, managing planting, marketing, and sales.
The whole community benefits by learning and sharing best practices in greenhouse production.

But to make this happen, we need your help. We’re raising money to build the vivero and buy necessary materials. We've already found contractors who will help us with the construction and the mayors office is helping us clear the land and install water tanks! I'll personally manage every dollar you donate to make sure it directly supports our students and our project goals.

This project has already brought the school and community closer together and fostered a lot of enthusiasm among students, parents, and teachers who are eager to get involved. I can’t wait to see the impact it will have on the school for years to come.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to keeping you all updated on our progress!