Member News

In Need of a Car!

One of our food box clients is desperate for help with a car. She is only getting voicemail with no reply from St Vincent de Paul on repeated calls and has tried other resources without success. She is a mother with young children and no family or friend support. The children will soon be in separate schools with complicating factors regarding the bus. She has a driver’s license. There are other extenuating circumstances which make the situation urgent.

Please email Jocelyn Bonner if you know of other resources and for the client’s contact information.

Thank you for Sponsoring Janeth Selene

Dear Friends of the Eugene Southtowne Rotary Club,

We are forever grateful that you have chosen to sponsor Janeth Selene, thank you! Included you will find the progress report written by their youth coordinator Maricruz who is the individual who perhaps has the closest connection to your student. Together in partnership we work together to help our students see the value of education and together we encourage and support them to fully take advantage of the opportunity to be the first in their families to graduate from high school and the university.

Once again, thank you for being a Sponsor, for writing to your Becarios, for loving them long distance, for investing in their wellbeing and for caring about them. Your generosity is making a huge difference every day for each one of these Scholars, mil gracias!

Don’t hesitate to reach out to Dora Zúñiga at dora@projectamigo.org or 608-345-6769 with any questions you might have.

Volunteers Needed for CardioStart Loading

Sunday, January 19th. At 1pm crew from the Ukrainian Foundation will arrive at the Delta warehouse to help transfer boxed medical supplies over to the International Way warehouse. At the International Way warehouse they will be preparing twenty pallets for sea/land container shipment to Ukraine. Three or four Southtowne volunteers would be a big help. Monday, January 20th. At 10am at the International Way warehouse we will be loading 10 pallets for container shipment to an orphanage in Zambia. Two helpers would be welcome. Call John Pfanner 541-852-3529

A Message from Rwanda English Project

I’m reaching out with an urgent plea. Our funds are critically low, and without additional support, most instruction will cease by the end of February.

Currently, we teach spoken English to 1,065 student teachers across four teacher training colleges and over 200 public school teachers in 22 schools. Staff in these colleges are also being prepared to teach DISE, allowing us to expand next year to serve 12 of the 16 training colleges and more public schools in Bugesera District.

Over the past year, I’ve focused on securing funding and preparing local staff to sustain the project in three years. Despite writing three grants (two denied, one pending) and reaching out to education leaders, funding remains a challenge. Recently, the Director General of Education and the World Bank recognized our impact, but I’m still awaiting responses from my follow-ups. Excitingly, I’ve discovered AI platforms that could match us with potential sponsors and will continue exploring this.

To reduce costs, I’ve had to drastically cut support days for coaches and managers. Previously, the project operated at about $5,000/month, covering payroll, travel, and accommodations. With just $8,000 left, we can only continue limited instruction to complete our study and posttesting without immediate funds.

Your support is critical—whether through donations or ideas for securing funding quickly. Together, we’ve created opportunities for thousands of Rwandan students and educators.
Thank you for standing with us.

Best regards,
Deborah

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