INTRODUCTIONMuch has happened since we last were able to share our news with you. We are delighted to let you in on some very exciting news and h o p e t h a t y o u fi n d i t a s heartwarming as we do. Please forward this newsletter to your friends and family so that all can rejoice in the good news!

FUNDRAISINGThe Fund Raising activity in Santa Monica California in July enabled us to continue supporting the 14 youth in our program and gave us a much needed push of enthusiasm towards covering our future needs. We are particularly grateful to Viva Tomlin, Guity Rouhani and Latifeh Haghighi for their wholehearted support, as well as all the people who have made contributions to this cause.

One of the many joys of our program with youth, is to see them blossom. Some of you may remember the photo of Sulma Rodriguez when she first joined, having just been sent home by her teachers who said she could not keep up with the other children. A f t e r a y e a r o f h o m e s c h o o l i n g s h e v e r y reluctantly, because she had been forced to think she was a failure, went back to seventh grade. She was hard pressed to keep up but she

had the basic skills and with the right encouragement was able to successfully complete her year. So far in this year at the end of her 8th grade she has become total ly confident, has worked hard and seen the rewards, she is among the top of her class! She not only has kept up her studies but was selected as one of the best soccer players of her neighborhood and will represent her Department (State) in national soccer championships.

HIGHLIGHTS

ADMINISTRATIONWe are delighted to welcome Andrea Castiblanco to our team; she will lend us her particular skills to the task of making our a c c o u n t s s i m p l e a n d straightforward. We will be asking her to assist in getting o u r N G O t o fi l e f o r T a x Exemption in the U.S., so that a tax-deductible receipt can be given to our donors.

SULMA SARAHI RODRIGUEZ Bottom, second from right to left with a blue soccer uniform

BUENAVISTA YOUTH PROGRAM

THE OXFORD CENTER NEWSLETTER / OCTOBER 2011

O x f o rd C e n t e r becomes part of Local Education D e v e l o p m e n t Committee

by Donald Drysdale

• • •

This committee brings together community leaders, teachers, students and parents. Their goal is to assure that every child can attain his /her right to education and organically improve the quality of the School. One of the greatest challenges is the lack of funds to pay three new teachers this coming school term starting i n F e b r u a r y 2 0 1 2 . T h e government pays for only part of the school staff; therefore this year over 100 children were denied access to education in Buena Vista neighborhood because new class-rooms could not be opened. Even though many were left out, others were crowded into classrooms with 52 students.

Badi Ponce, a recently graduated elementar y school teacher

applied for a position at the local school and was told: “We need you. The children are waiting to be given a chance to return to school. The problem is we cannot pay you. We also cannot pressure the parents for more money when they barely are able to feed their children”. Last year the parents were able to gather

$80 per month to pay an extra teacher. However, the teacher could barely cover her transport fare with that amount. The goal is to pay each teacher a salary of $400 a month. This year the E d u c a t i o n D e v e l o p m e n t Committee has asked the Oxford C e n t e r t o h e l p w i t h t h e fundraising activities.

INDEPENDENCE PARADES

Dunia Maldonado Dressed in a Period Dress

During the month of September, all Central American countries celebrate their Independence, so most schools organize parades of different kinds to foster the feeling of freedom and independence. Two of our sponsored youth, Dunia Maldonado and Zamantha Varela were selected to participate in a ‘Period’ Dress parade of their High School.

GALLERY OF ACTIVITIES

Youth Participating in a leadership training workshop . Kenia Maldonado, Sulma Rodriguez and

Alexandra

Participation in extracturricular study actuvities with other youth from the community of Siguatepeque focused on community service, selft-empowerment

and reinforcement of reading and writing .

Angela Rodriguez, participating in 15th of September Independence Day parades, playing the snare drum

for her school “Enma Romero de Callejas”

• • •

M a k i n g a fi n a n c i a l contribution to Oxford Center has never been easier. By visiting our oxfordhn.org page you can make a contribution of any amount with just a few clicks of the mouse. If you would l ike to become a sustaining donor and sign up for regular contributions that option is there for you. Every penny makes a difference for

these children who without your help would not be the shining stars that they are. Make your contribution by following the link below today!    Click here to visit our oxfordhn.org page

Make a Contribution to Oxford Center

NEW ONLINE NEWSLETTER

The Oxford Center has created a blog to keep our friends and family better informed, with more stories, more pictures and more immediate updates. If you are interested in checking it out please follow the link and keep checking back for more news!

Visit: issuu.com/oxfordhn