April 2, 2011
Sue O’Riley
Rural Literacy Project: update and request for your support:
Since leaving my teaching position at Williamstown Elementary School to commit myself fulltime to international service work, I have lived and volunteered in many places. Home has been Iringa, Tanzania, Seattle, WA, 3 different locations in Ecuador, Peace Villages, Venezuela and mutiple visits to Belize and Guatemala, to support existing sites and develop new ones. Currently, I am living in Norfolk, VA a new grandmother to my most wonderful 4 ½ month old grandson, Zinedine Owen.
This will soon change as I have recently accepted the position of co-director for SONATI in Leon, Nicagua. The SONATI project uses proceeds from their hostel and vegetarian cafe to offer free educational programs to the local residents and to develop ecological sites and reserves managed by community members. The mission is to empower local students with the tools and knowledge to take action in their communities and become a voice for environmental change. The vision is to bring this sustainable model to multiple sites in strategic locations throughout Nicaragua before moving onto other Latin American countries.
I ask for your support as I redirect the focus of RLP in this new collaboration. Nony, the founding director of SONATI, is a visionary and a dedicated educator. I spent last week on-site in Leon and I am very impressed with the work that is being done there. Nony and I have already begun the process of formalizing a USA based NGO and are currently advertising for board members for our international board of directors.
In June I will move to Leon and work with Nony, local teachers and guides to continue and expand the programs there. I am very excited to bring my cultural exchange and literacy focus to SONATI. I am confident that our combined efforts will have a clear, positive impact and make the kind of difference that encourages both Nony and myself to continue working as international service workers.
I ask for your support as I begin my efforts with SONATI. I will be working purely as a volunteer for the first months, with only a possibility of a small stipend once I arrive on-site in June. With your support I can comfortably commit myself to the intense efforts that will be required to bring our mission and vision to a reality.
Any amount will be greatly appreciated and I assure you will be put to good use. Please send donations to Sue O’Riley, 819 Colonial Ave, Norfolk, VA 23507
Sinceremente,
Sue O’Riley
google.sites.com/site/ruralliteracyproject/home
Updates and more specifics on past and future RLP activities can be found at http://ruralliteracyproject.blogspot.com
see also SONATI.org
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