Nuevo Reto (Spanish for “New Challenge”) is a youth transition home that provides education, shelter, food and basic necessities for children. Nuevo Reto serves about 25 children between the ages of 5 and 20. Pastor Jacobo Castillo and his eldest daughter, Ada, are the primary contacts for our primary 2018 service project!
Although specific travel dates have not been determined, we will be traveling to Guatemala in 2018 for the Grand Opening of the Nuevo Reto Community Library! This library will re-purpose existing space onsite at Nuevo Reto. It will include bookshelves, tables, and chairs that are built by the young men living there at the workshop where they receive vocational training. (The lumber and supplies will be funded by Guatemala Service Projects.)
Ada shared with me a photo that shows the finished space for the initial library:
We will also be purchasing bean bag chairs, desk lamps, and a computer and printer there, fueling the local economy. We hope to donate 500 Spanish language books, with most coming from the United States in checked luggage, and the balance purchased in or near Guatemala City.
Guatemala Service Projects will also be purchasing paint and brushes so that a library mural can be painted. The muralist is Ada Castillo, and her artistic services are being donated.
Additional donations to Nuevo Reto will be in the form of equipment and supplies for their vocational projects, both woodworking and cooking!
Another professional donation comes in the form of a database application for maintaining library inventory and check-out system for library loans. This donation is a gift on behalf of Jennifer Demar of DemTron (who happens to be President of Guatemala Service Projects!)
If you would like to help with the funding of this project, please visit our donations page!
The “right” opportunity arose when I learned about a travel opportunity for adoptive families which would include volunteer work and cultural sightseeing. Being members of that team had a profound impact on me, Lillian and Andrew. Not only were we able to make a real connection to our son’s birthplace, but we met incredibly warm and generous people, all of whom we now consider to be a part of our “family.” In addition to the volunteer work I shared with the Team, I also was able to “give back” by performing as my alter ego, “Farfel the Clown” at a barbecue for children of The Backyard School. It will remain one the proudest and happiest memories of my life.