April 2010

First, thank you to Vladislav Vitalevic for volunteering to help us get our website back up and running after large technical problems.

Thank you also to our donors in the U.S. who continue to support us as we move into our fourth year of operation! Special thanks go to the Anne Martin Joyce Charitable Foundation for kicking off our fundraising for 2010 with a generous donation. We also expanded our fundraising in Peru with a raffle at the end of 2009. Many thanks to everyone who bought raffle tickets, to raffle organizers and ticket sellers, and to the businesses and professionals who donated the prizes. Detailed information about raffle collaborators is at the end of this update.

Our scholarship recipients experienced many successes during the second half of 2009.

RONALD officially finished high school! Ronald had dropped out of high school at age 16 and decided to go back to school thanks to the support of PMB. After two and a half years, at age 20, he is now a high school graduate and is working to save for future studies to become a chef.

Two of our students gained entrance to San Marcos University (UNMSM), one of the most prestigious universities in Peru and one of the hardest to enter, after two and a half years of PMB support. MONICA has begun studying social work and OSCAR is studying microbiology and parasitology.

We have added a long-term component to our educational fund, through which PMB collaborators will provide guidance and support to our former beneficiaries while they complete their education.

Continuing PMB educational fund beneficiaries CARLOS and RAFAEL are doing well. Rafael, who is preparing for the university entrance exam in engineering, has been showing improving test scores and will be taking the university exam in the upcoming months. Carlos, who studies graphic design, is the top student in his class and does amazing work. Check out his work - most of it drawn or painted by hand! - at ALBUM BY CARLOS.

Read more about the PMB educational fund under Programs / Educational fund.

Other PMB news is that we recently participated in the Latin America and Caribbean Development Marketplace, held by the World Bank. Together with our collaborator PRISMA, we presented our youth micro-business project and were selected as finalists. PMB collaborators David Díaz and Patty Arana traveled to Bogotá the week of April 12 (Thanks to funding from the World Bank) to present our project. Unfortunately, we weren't selected as winners... but it was a great learning experience for David, Patty and PMB!

In other news, we held graffiti workshops together with PRISMA from August to October 2009. Thanks to workshop facilitators Joe Sarria and Nitza Vizcarra for volunteering their time and to Nitza and her San Silvestre classmates for providing ALL of the workshop materials. Together with the workshops, participants also attended a graffiti competition to gain ideas for their future work. See photos from workshops at GRAFFITI WORKSHOPS.

Finally, what is PMB doing now? We are currently in the process of selecting new scholarship recipients and planning upcoming activities for 2010. How can you help? By continuing to support us as you’ve done for the past three years. Just go to HOW TO HELP on the website.

RAFFLE THANKS! Thanks to raffle organizers and ticket sellers Andrea Phillips, Biviana Goto, David Díaz, Gisselle Polo, Jennifer Zarzar, Kareen Fox, Katherina Sanchez, Lupe Merino, Marcelo Tarazona, Mijail Garvich, Nitza Vizcarra, Pamela Girano, Patty Arana, Patty Miranda, Roxana Lescano, Sonia Aparcana, Ugo Valdivia and Yeny Tinoco. Thanks also to the businesses and professionals that donated prizes: Hotel La Estancia Sur, Ica (http://www.laestanciasur.com), Photographer Daniel Bengoa (http://www.altocontraste.com.pe), Painter Elsa Valenzuela (elsavale14@gmail.com), Arábica Espresso Bar (arabicaperu@gmail.com), Andes Films (http://www.andesfilms.com.pe), Photographer Gabriela Valenzuela (a20046203@pucp.edu.pe) and Gwen Lee.

July 2009

Once again, THANKS to all who have given to Planting Magic Beans since the last time we wrote. Very special thanks go out to a few people. THANK YOU to the Anne Martin Joyce Fund for the very generous donation. And THANK YOU to Holly Scheib and Paul Wisneskey for donating the laptop for scholarship recipient Carlos. Your donations have been an ENORMOUS help.

Thanks also go to Osagie Atohengbe for all of his volunteer assistance getting the website up and going again. If you need assistance with website or anything else IT-related, please check out Osagie's website: http://www.techworxs.com.

We are now SEEKING DONATIONS for a YOUTH MICRO-BUSINESS project, Reaching for the Castle of Your Dreams, which will unite PMB’s different lines of action. Given the crisis, our funding from the United Nations has not come through. We are hoping, however, to do a smaller version of the project WITH YOUR SUPPORT. We will kick off workshops in August thanks to the support of a group of students from a private school in Lima. And we hope to keep moving forward with the donations we receive.

We of course understand that everyone is facing economic challenges right now. Any amount can help and we promise to make it go a long way! Giving a small amount each month is also another way to give. Just to put things in perspective, so far PMB has carried out all of its activities – including over 120 workshop or project sessions and 8 cultural outings that have benefitted over 150 young people and long-term educational support for 5 youth – with only $5,000!

June 2009

We have been focusing on our scholarship recipients over the past few months. Carlos was named the top student in his class at his graphic design institute. He has been putting his drawing and design skills to good use and the donated laptop has improved his ability to excel. Ronald is just months away from graduating from high school. He continues to study hard and we are planning a celebration in the very near future. Monica, Oscar and Rafael continue to study over 12 hours a day at their respective pre-university academies. They all plan to take the university entrance exams in September and October of this year.

We held summer workshops in February and March in a new community in the north of Lima, Juan Pablo II. The workshops were a joint collaboration between PMB and our parent NGO here in Lima, PRISMA. The workshops included Taekwondo and handicrafts, both of which were facilitated by young volunteers. The summer closed with a big finale - a Taekwondo performance by youth with black belts, an exhibition/sale of the handicrafts made by participants, and a smoking prevention workshop - as well as certificates and prizes to motivate the young participants to keep working hard and investing in their futures. THANK YOU to David Diaz from PRISMA for ENORMOUS assistance and support, to Andrea and Cinthia Phillips, Enrique and Natalia Buitron and Michael Silva for excellent workshops, and to Maximo Buitron, Irma Cruzalegui and Roxana Lescano for ALL of their support during the workshops.

Also, we went on a cultural outing with youth from both of the communities where we've worked - Pampas de San Juan and Juan Pablo II - in June. We saw a play about the history of Peru at Maguey Teatro. Everyone enjoyed this entertaining event. Learn more about this community theater by following the link and THANKS to Maguey for the discounted tickets:
http://www.magueyteatro.org

MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ABOUT ALL OF THESE ACTIVITIES BY FOLLOWING THE LINKS ON THE WEBSITE!