Summer 2020 Update
A Letter from Intern Evelyn Mishel
Evelyn Mishel finished her internship in June. Below is a letter she wrote about her experience.
"I want to thank you for the opportunity you have given me. I have developed various abilities. The most important patience and to be more affectionate and more understanding."
​
"The teachers gave me the opportunity to speak with the junior high girls about self-esteem. One of the girls got up and thanked me for the talk that I gave. She shared with everyone that she did not like herself, but, thanks to my talk, she liked herself a little more.
"It was an honor to talk to the girls and for them to put such confidence in me. To be with them in this stage and to be the adult that I needed when I was a child. It was more than a pleasure."
​
"Perhaps I am not the best teacher on the planet, but to know that I have already made a footprint, fills me with pride and satisfaction. I thank you for the opportunity to grow as a professional and as a person."
​
More about the intern program:
New Focus for Kateri Fund
Over the past five years you will have noticed that more and more staff time and donations have been directed to assisting high school graduates to find a first job. In every part of the world getting in that first door can be very challenging. Our experience in the Internship program reveals that 75% of our interns go directly to a job of their choice after completing an internship. As we told you in
our last update, the Fund sees a great opportunity here and the Kateri Fund will be moving more of their attention to this facet of our work.
​
Fortunately, we already have Carmela in Guatemala who is having much success in preparing the graduates for the workplace, in supporting them as they transition from students to employees, and in locating challenging place for the interns to work.
​
This year, despite the challenge with the COVID-19 pandemic, Carmela has found job experiences for five new interns. Josefina, Janovelt, Deysi, Odalia, and Jennifer joined Mayra and Evelyn who were already in the program. We will highlight these interns in future Updates.
Candelaria Sut Meets the COVID-19 Challenge
Candelaria Sut, the manager of the Kateri Fund women's groups in Santa Clara la Laguna and Chumanzana assessed the effect of the pandemic on the women in our program. It was obvious to her that because of the travel restrictions, they were unable to do the things they usually did to sustain their families. This left them without food and other necessities. She contacted the U.S. office and asked for help. Her proposal was to provide a 100 pounds of corn for their basic food, tortillas, and a bag of other basic products. The Fund approved her plan and through the local leaders, she was able to provide the much neeeded support to the women and their families proving our motto "Everything is Possible with a Little Help from a FRIEND."
