Ana in Guatemala- Fundraiser #36 Response

Post by Katja:

This is the report for fundraiser #36 for Ana in Guatemala. Her family was in need of a wardrobe and Ana needed a bed and new clothes.
On the last day of last year John finished off the fundraiser and Ana was able to receive the things as a belated birthday gift (her birthday was at the beginning of January). There were 18 people, who helped me with this fundraiser and we were able to send $350 to Ana's family. Yay!
Ana was able to buy 1 wardrobe, 1 single bed, 3 pants, 3 blouses, 1 sweater, 1 pair of shoes and 6 underwear.

Here are the beautiful photos of my happy Ana with the things that she purchased with our money.

Ana's letter (written by her sister) is as follows:
"Ana greets you with much love wishing you are in good health along to your dear family and the people around you. She thanks you for the single bed, for the jeans and the blouses and for the pair of shoes, and the underwear and the sweater she was able to buy which were of great support to her. She says so long to you with much love and a huge hug."

Thank you so much to everybody who helped with this cause! I wouldn't have made it without you!!! A special thanks to John, who finished off the fundraiser, to Heather G. for creating the fundraising page and of course for Heather M. for getting everything started and going!

Fundraiser for Ana is Complete! Thank you!!

Just in the nick of time, John completed Ana's fundriaser!  Now she will get her bed in January!  Yay!  Thank you all for helping Ana to get a good night's sleep!

Only $50 more needed!!

http://www.firstgiving.com/wardrobe4ana

We only need $50 to complete Ana's project!  If we can pull this off in the next 3 days, she will get her bed, dresser and clothes in January!  If you can help Ana, please visit her fundraiser using the link below.  Even $1 helps!!  Thanks so much!

And the Winner for Day 12 is...

Maria and Roland!!  Katja writes:  "This time I also used random.org like some of the others did. There were 74 raffle tickets as follows:


Sara 1 - 5

Amanda 6

Maria and Roland 7 - 31

Inga 32 - 36

Steve 37 - 61

Heather 62 - 69

Jim and Mack 70 - 74

The winning number is 20 = Maria and Roland! Congratulations!

A big thank you for everybody, who donated for Ana's fundraiser! It's so great to see how many people already helped.

Katja"

On the 12th Day of Christmas...

This raffle is for Ana in rural Guatemala again. The prize consists of the following Germany /Christmas themed items:

- 1 dark-blue mug with a winter motive (bought at a Christmas market in Cologne)
- 1 rubber duck, which is dressed as a clown and is holding a beer and the Cologne Cathedral
- 8 cork coasters with pictures of Germany / Rhine river
- 1 bar of Lindt Christmas chocolate (with almonds, cinnamon and coriander)
- 20 tea bags of winter tea (fruit)
- 5 tea bags to make mulled wine
- German lebkuchen (gingerbread)
I might also include some postcards of Germany for those who wish them.

Ana's fundraiser is here: http://www.firstgiving.com/wardrobe4ana . For every $1 you will receive one raffle ticket. You have until December 13th at 10PM CST to get in on this raffle.

And the Winner for Day 2 is...

Katja used this tool http://javascript.internet.com/games/lottery-numbers.html to pick a winner and the lucky number is 7 = Sara. Congratulations to her!

Sara, make sure to e-mail you address to Katja and tell her which 3 sets of stationary you would like. Enjoy!

On the 2nd day of Christmas...

This raffle is for Ana in rural Guatemala. She would really like to have a bed for her own, as well as some new clothes and shoes. Her family is also in need of a wardrobe. Ana's fundraiser is here: http://www.firstgiving.com/wardrobe4ana . For every $1 you will receive one raffle ticket.

What you can win is a choice of 3 Diddl letter papers. I have 5 different ones and you can choose the ones you want out of these. The letter paper is DIN A4 size, which is slightly larger than the normal size of a sheet of paper in the USA. These are a great gift for a sponsor child (hint, hint, write me a letter!) or for yourself!

#1: contains 8 single sheets of writing paper, 4 envelopes and a sheet of stickers
#2: contains a writing pad with 4 collectible cards
#3: contains a writing pad with 4 collectible cards
#4: contains a writing pad with 6 collectible cards (Scratch'n Sniff Pad = the sheets smell if you rub them)
#5: contains a writing pad (also Scratch'n Sniff Pad)

Ana will have her 10th birthday at the beginning of January. Wouldn't it be a perfect gift for her if this fundraiser would get funded in time for her birthday?

This fundraiser raffle will go until 9PM CST Dec 3. Good luck!

A Letter from Ana Gabriela in Guatemala

A post from Katja:
A few days ago I got another letter from Ana, together with the questionaire, which I sent her with my first letter. I'm really amazed that she got my mail and that I already got her answer. I didn't expect to get an answer from her so quickly. It's always so exciting to get the first reply letter! And it's so great to learn more about Ana through the questionaire!
Here is her letter (written by her sister Marlyn again):
"Dear sponsor! Ana Gabriela tells you that she and her family are in good health and she is very grateful for the picture and letter you sent her. I tell you that Ana studies at the school in the second grade and I tell you that she likes to play with her cousins and they play ball and play with her dolls and they play about food. Ana likes to read and write, but she is unable to read because she is too young. I close with huge hugs and kisses. Marlyn Sucely and Ana Gabriela!

In the questionaire I learned that Ana likes the colour pink, rabbits, roses, riding a bicycle, dolls and the spring. She wants to be a teacher when she is older and she also wants to see Germany.

Note from Heather:
Katja said that she wasn't sure what the last part of the questionnaire said because she was using a word by word translator (CI usually does not translate the questionnaires that a sponsor sends). She attached the questionnaire, and this is the rest of it that I translated for Katja:

"Her biggest wish is that you will continue to be her sponsor.
She gives thanks to God and to you for being her sponsor and she asks God that you will continue to be her sponsor for a long time. And that you are a very pretty person for sending her that pretty photo to get to know you better, even though it is only through photo. That God will help her keep the photo safe and protected wherever she goes. She sends you many thanks and a big hug and a kiss. That God will watch over you."

Katja's Sponsor Child Ana and her Family

A post from Katja in Germany:
This is Ana and her family. They seem to be really poor, because the house looks very simple. I grew up in an old farm house and Ana's house looks to me like the houses where you used to put working materials. It's unbelievable for me that they live there.
I already told the family that I will do my best to help them with the things they need, but that it is much money for me and that I need to find friends who help me with the money. So it will take some time until I have the money. I think it is important for them to know, that it is not that easy for me to send them the money, because they might feel bad that they are needy. I don't want to be the rich person for them, but prefer being a friend who tries the best to help them.

First Letter from Ana to Katja

Post by Katja:
I got my first letter from Ana! I'm so happy to hear from her!

Here is what she wrote:

"Hello dear Ms. S.!
I hope you are doing healthy along to your loved ones. I tell you that in my free time I like to play with my cousins and I also tell you that I pass to the second grade at my community school. I am very happy and I thank God and to you for sponsoring me. I thank you and may God bless you, I close with huge hugs.
Ana Gabriela"

The letter was written by her 14-year old sister Marlyn Sucely. Ana also drew something for me.

Meet Katja's 1st CI child!

Some of you may know Katja, and some may not. I met her through our shared sponsorship of CUS children. She ordered some necklaces & bracelets for her CUS children. Then, she has participated in helping with our fundraisers, even though she was not a CI sponsor...

Well, after viewing everyone's great experience with CI, here on this blog, she has decided to sponsor with CI!!! This is her first child with CI (though she sponsors with other organizations as well).

Here is what Katja wrote regarding her new sponsorship:

Ana Gabriela from Guatemala. Her birthday was yesterday and she turned 9 years old.
Ana lives in Rural Guatemala together with her parents and her older siblings, who are 16 and 14 years old. The father is a Daily Worker and earns approximately $65 a month and her mother is a Homemaker.
The family lives in a little house, which has one bedroom and a kitchen where they cook with open fire. The house is made of concrete blocks and has a roof out of corrugated metal and a dirt floor.
Ana Gabriela helps her mother with running errands, washing the dishes and sweeping. She likes playing with dolls, painting, singing and dancing.

I thought about my new sponsorship for some days, because I wasn't sure which country to choose and which child I should pick. But after some days I noticed that every time I passed Ana's photo, I was happy that nobody has already picked her and that I somehow felt as if she would already belong to my family. Her photo was so small and not a portrait so that I could hardly recognize her face, but she caught my eye just from the first time when I passed her photo.
I'm very happy to have her in my family now.

Ana Gabriela will has a fundraiser coming up- slot #39!