Puerto Vallarta, Mexico – “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime” is a quote taken to heart by the International Friendship Club (IFC). Put simply, we believe education is vital to children in Puerto Vallarta and we do all that we can to promote it.
A couple of weeks ago, the club’s Education Committee decided how to support various educational projects in town.
The Volcanes Kids Education Project (VKEP) celebrated its tenth anniversary last year. Ten years ago Volcanes was one of the poorer colonias in town. Many of the families were led by single-family moms who could barely read and write. Their kids almost always left school at age fifteen to get a job and “university” was a word that was unknown and unattainable. Now, thanks to the efforts of Art Fumerton, his wife, the teachers, the staff, and generous financial supporters, VKEP can celebrate that eight “kids” from Volcanes hold university degrees and thirty-five are enrolled in university.
Attendance at VKEP is voluntary. The kids come only because they believe in education. We do too. IFC has supported VKEP since its inception in 2011.
The Huichol Scholarship Fund (HSF) was started in 2018 with seed money for university scholarships invested by IFC. This year HSF will be receiving more financial support so that a few courageous children can leave their homes and families, high in the mountains of the Sierra Madres, and attend university in cities like Tepic and Guadalajara. Kids who make this sacrifice will return to their communities, later, as healthcare workers, engineers, architects and business managers and will fight for the rights of their indigenous nation.
The seniors from the British American School will operate a community outreach program this year. They will be involved in cleaning up, landscaping and planting shrubs in a city park that, otherwise, would receive no TLC. IFC will help with the associated costs for this.
Over at the American School of Puerto Vallarta, their seniors will continue to purchase books for low-income elementary schools, train their teachers how their students can best utilize the books, and provide reading-promotion workshops.
Have you ever listened in rapt attention to a talented orchestra? Ever walked in “the second line” in a parade in New Orleans? If so, thank a musician.
Most musicians have benefited from musical education. Children who learn music increase not only their math skills, attention and concentration, but also physical coordination, discipline and teamwork. And many of them become skilled musicians.
IFC is very supportive of musical education in P.V. This year, as in previous ones, we will be helping ALAS Escuela de Canto and I Am PV. Both of these organizations bring joy to the participants and to their audiences.
There is great pleasure in knowing that the International Friendship Club enables hundreds of children to live better lives, thanks to receiving our help with their education.
Written by John Warren of the International Friendship Club.
The International Friendship Club is a registered charitable organization in Mexico listed as Club Internacional de la Amistad de Puerto Vallarta A.C. It is located at the northeast corner of the Rio Cuale Bridge above the HSBC Bank, Colonia El Centro, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, 48300. Phone: 322-222-5466. Website: ifcvallarta.org Email: info(at)ifcvallarta.org
