Friends of Guatemala (FOG): Annual Report 2017

FOG’s primary activity during 2017 was raising and distributing funds for our scholarship program.

Scholarships and Fund Raising

In 2017, FOG members donated over $13,000 to fund 35 grants for students, who are nominated and mentored by current and returned Peace Corps volunteers (PCVs). These scholarships directly funded by members’ donations are called Category 1.

All members are entitled to nominate students for the scholarship program.

The FOG scholarship program was originally intended to support students at a critical time between primary school and high school, when financial constraints force many students in rural Guatemala to drop out. In recent years, based on the expressed needs of the volunteers and the students they sponsor, we have expanded the scope to include scholarships for students in high school and those seeking professional training.

Also, our Category 2 program provides administrative support to current and returned volunteers for their own fundraising efforts. This year, with FOG’s help, RPCVs raised more than $ 62,000 from friends and family to support an additional 49 students.

Guatemalan families of limited resources typically make the difficult choice of sending only their sons to school, while their daughters must work to help support the family. FOG scholarships help to address this inequality of opportunity. About 70% of the 84 scholarships that FOG awarded in 2017 benefitted young women.

Over 28 years of continuing service, FOG has raised over 1.3 million dollars to benefit children and communities in Guatemala.

Outreach and Legacy Activities

FOG’s web site: continues to be popular with members. The site provides pictures and profiles of recent scholarship students. It also increases visibility and access to our organization, providing for on-line membership and donations.

FOG continues to collaborate with University Archivist, Susan McElrath at the American University (AU) Library. This year FOG facilitated the delivery of a collection of “letters home” from member Margaret Fiedler, who served as a nurse in the 1980s.

FOG is currently working with Peace Corps Headquarters to gather historical materials for a planned US Embassy celebration of Peace Corps 55th anniversary in Guatemala.

Moving Forward

Over the coming year, FOG intends to:

  • Review/revise our By-Laws to better reflect current priorities and practices,
  • Develop strategies for making better use of new tools available to us for on-line communications, and
  • Reach out to the larger Guatemala RPCV community to strengthen our membership.

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Prepared by Meg Rice

March 12, 2018