SCHOOL SUPPLIES (Dan H.)

DanHolohan

bit the dust on Friday and they didn't know what to do. Meghan told them that she'll be able to pay for a new one, thanks to the generosity of the Wallies.

You guys are changing the world by doing kind things such as this. Bless you.

Still accepting donations through PayPal if anyone else can help. Thanks.

DanHolohan

My daughter, Meghan, teaches English

in a tiny village in the mountains of Costa Rica. She's a volunteer member of World Teach and she's been living with a family in this remote place since January. She'll return home in December. We visited her there last March and met the people. I've included some photos of the school. There are only 45 students. It was a crazy experience because the kids gathered around me and kept touching me, as if I were an alien. Turns out they have never seen anyone as big as me in their lives. They kept asking Meg how much I weigh (thankfully, she just said, "A lot!")

In the photos, that's Meghan walking up the road to her school, which has just four rooms. They told her that they could build another room on the school for her English classes if they had $2,000. Really puts things into perspective, doesn't it?
Meg told me that the school needed to raise money for supplies (there are no text books at all) so they asked each family in the village to donate $6 each year. None of the familes could afford the six bucks.

She also told me that they raised money recently to have a local artist paint a mural on one of the school's walls. They wanted to have another done, but they can't afford it right now. The cost? $26.

Hard to believe, isn't it?

I asked is we could help and Meg said she would put together a list of things that the school need. I thought that I would post it here to see if any of you would want to buy some of this and send it to Meg in Costa Rica. Here's the list, stuff we take for granted, but things that they find nearly impossible to obtain under their circumstances:

A stapler and staples

Notebooks

Construction paper

Pencil sharpeners (the kind you hold in your hand)

White and colored paper

Glue

Scissors

Puzzles

Leggo

Coloring books

Erasers

Pencils and pens

Paper clips

Chalk

Masking tape

Story books (there are none)

Markers and crayons

Colored pencils

Post-It notes

Index cards

Blackboard erasers

Folders

Soccer balls

If you'd like to help, please pick an item or two and e-mail me at mailroom@heatinghelp.com and I'll tell you where to send it.

leo g_13

I see

that Scott Milne donated his dog! :O~

Actually Dan, my partner has moved to Costa Rica, on the Pacific NW of the coast. Where is this village located? He is supposed to be back here for bit in the next couple of weeks, so maybe I could get him to take some stuff on his way back.

Leo G

To Learn More About This Professional, Click Here to Visit Their Ad in "Find A Professional"

Empire_2

Empire Mechanical Co.

Please send address for supplies to be sent. I cant get the office help to use it so I'd be glad to help with whatever We can give. It's for a good cause.

Mike T.

DanHolohan

Thanks!

Meghan Holohan

200 metros detras del Bar Mirador

San Joaquin de Corralillo de Cartago

Costa Rica (no postal codes there)

You have to use the U.S. Postal Service. No UPS or FedEx in this place.

For those of you who don't speak Spanish, that first line in Meg's address reads, "200 meters behind the bar." I found that delightful. The "bar" is a tiny grocery store with a cooler. This whole place consists of a church (the priest comes once every six weeks), the bar, the school, and a soccer field, which doubles as the village square. The soccer goals are pipes. No nets. That, and the little houses. That's San Joaquin.

Meg's family owns a small finca, which is a coffee farm. They do all the work by hand. The father is also the provider of Bimbo Bread (it's like Wonder Bread). He drives a hour and a half each Monday to the city to get the bread. The people in the village then buy it from him.

I sent him a Leatherman tool (the best one) after I got back home. Meg said he nearly lost his mind when he saw it.

The things we take for granted.

If you choose to send something to them, it would be wonderful if you could include a photo of where you live, and a few words. These people live their entire lives in this village.

Meg took Giselle, her C.R. "sister" to the movies in San Jose last week. Giselle is 24 years old and had never been to the movies. She was amazed at how the seats went up and down, and she couldn't figure out where the sound was coming from. Afterwards, she asked Meg is the place had a gift shop. She thought she was in Disney World. This is a photo of Giselle with the neighbor's children. Never been to the movies.

By the way, these folks have never heard of the Internet. They were astonished by my digital camera and couldn't believe what I was doing when I was taking photos. Also, they can't understand what HeatingHelp.com is because none of them have ever considered the concept of heating. It was a tough one to explain.

Isn't the world delicious?

Carl PE

Hey Dan!

What do you think about setting up a paypal account and have everybody donate a buck or two?

I think we could raise the $26 for the mural, and probably a few hundred for the textbooks in a very short time.

DanHolohan

Great idea, Carl.

I'll look into it. Thanks.

DanHolohan

To make a donation through PayPal, just click here. Thanks!

I'll forward all contributions to Meghan and she'll make sure the kids get what they need. Bless you.

Carl PE

Done.

Who's next?

DanHolohan

Thanks, Carl

I also just got donations from Tommi Gilliam and Gerry and Ruthe Jubinville. Bless you all.

DanHolohan

And thanks

to Steve Scott!

JimGPE_3

I'm in!

Keep it goin', fellas!

In the future, Dan, no fair posting photographs - who can resist those little kids!

DanHolohan

You should see 'em in person.

Thanks, Jim.

DanHolohan

And to

John Starcher and Bud Goodman of TheSheetMetalShop.com. Hearts of gold. Thanks.

EJW

Dan

will put something in the mail this weekend, a soccer ball for sure. Soccer is pretty big there. EJW

DanHolohan

Thanks.

Meg called last night and she was chuckling over how the kids were playing a team from the next village. The other kids had uniforms, and so did Meg's kids, but their uniforms that Meg's kids wear are made up of random parts. Not one kid matched another kid on Meg's team, and most of them didn't even match themselves from knees to shoulders. It didn't dampen their spirit, though. She said they were just happy to be playing. She also said that the school has just a few pairs of shin guards and the kids are constantly stopping to pass them off to other kids on the team who are being kicked more than they are. Sweet, isn't it? The things we take for granted.

DanHolohan

Thanks to

Larry and Suzanne Weingarten for their wonderful generosity.

George_10

My sweet lady and I

are going shopping this weekend for items on your list. We are both touched and pleased to help.

The thought of young minds not being able to learn is an anathma to me. We just pray our box will arrive safely to your daughter.

You certainly are "paying forward" yourself and through your family. It makes me smile to think of these children and how our small contribution will be received.

There is a special place in heaven for folks like you and your family, Dan.

George Hunt

Carl PE

wait.

The "Gilliam" one was me.

Also, I thought you could use a morning bttt.

DanHolohan

Ahh.

Sorry about that!

DanHolohan

Thanks for the kind words, George.

> are going shopping this weekend for items on your

> list. We are both touched and pleased to help.

> The thought of young minds not being able to

> learn is an anathma to me. We just pray our box

> will arrive safely to your daughter.

>

> You

> certainly are "paying forward" yourself and

> through your family. It makes me smile to think

> of these children and how our small contribution

> will be received.

>

> There is a special place in

> heaven for folks like you and your family,

> Dan.

>

> George Hunt

DanHolohan

Thanks for the kind words, George.

These people are so appreciative of anything they receive. Bless you for caring.

DanHolohan

And to

the Firedragon. Thanks, George!

BillW@honeywell

Count me in, too!

I'll make a stop at Staples or OfficeMax next week, and send some goodies direct. Should I send them to her address or to you? Those kids are adorable. Reminds me of the time my shipmates built some desks and benches out of spare lumber and we delivered them by boat to some no-name hamlet in Vietnam for their school which had been trashed and looted by the VC.

DanHolohan

It you could send it directly to Meg it would be great, Bill.

The address is above. Thanks so much!

DanHolohan

And

Patrick O'Neill!

DanHolohan

And

Bill Fries. Thanks so much.

PJO_7

Donation made...

and the soccer stuff I have will be sent. We also have some old children's books that need a new home.

When I get the team bag (as discussed) that will be sent, too. If Meg can measure the goal size I can get a net,too. Is that possible?

Take Care, PJO

DanHolohan

Big thanks

to Jim Bennett!

Plumdog_2

priorities

The Feb. before last the wife and I traveled to Kingston Jamaica with a great outfit called Food for the Poor to get a feel for the way things are in other parts of the world. We toured a part of town where families lived in corrugated sheetmetal and flattened oil drum shelters and borrowed electricity by way of an extensive maze of bare wires twisted together and draped from one wet metal shanty to another. We saw a gorgeous little four year old girl sing Jesus Loves Me This I Know. Her mom had died two weeks prior from aids. A short distance away were Fortified Mansions on the hill.

Plumdog_2

Anyway; your daughter must be a wonderful person Dan. After seeing what life is like in other parts of the world you come away with a different perspective, for sure. Tweaking out the last 3% of fuel savings on a snowmelt system just seems so bizzare as to be ridiculous.
Food For The Poor builds houses for these people at 2000 bucks a whack with donations and uses less than 10% for administrative costs. Wonderful I think.

DanHolohan

Big pictures

Thanks for seeing them.

DanHolohan

Amen.

Empire_2

Dan Question?

My beautiful wife is a Rebate Queen and we have excess stuf like phones, surge protectors, extension cords etc... Will this help or no? I dont want to send anything they cannot use..We also have pump anti-bacterial hand soap, Lysol "Neutra-Air" Air spray-anti bacterial. I aslo have a almost new DVD Player if it can help. Fully functional!!!
Mike T.

DanHolohan

Thanks, Mike.

But I don't think so. This village is pretty simple. In fact, the only hot water Meg's family has comes from the shower head. It's an electric heater that plugs into the wall. Larry Weingarten, in his terrific DVD, "In Hot Water" descibes this thing as being like running your bath water through your toaster. Pretty Third World there.

DanHolohan

Thanks to

David Coulombe and Gary Didier for their caring generosity.

You never stand so tall as when you stoop to help a child.

Meg Holohan

Thank you so much!

Sorry it has taken me so long to thank you for all of this amazing help. I only get to a computer about once a week.

All of this help is going to make a huge difference at our little school. We have to be really inventive all of the time because we don{t have much to work with, so this is going to help so much. They are going to be amazed at your generosity!!!

Last week was Nutrition Week, so the pre-K, kindergarten, and 1st graders dressed up like fruit and paraded down the road. It was so sweet! I will send pictures as soon as I can. (It is a little difficult to find an internet cafe that can help with putting pictures online!)

I recently did a project with my kids because I am teaching them the clothing vocabulary. My 5th and 6th graders had to cut pictures out of my magazines and label the clothing. All of a sudden the other day, one of my 2nd graders came running down the hall screaming, ¨Teacher!!!! All of your brothers and sisters are on the wall!!! You have so many!¨
I had to break the news that Julia Roberts and Usher are not related to me. He really thought that all gringoes were related!

These kids find joy in the simplest things. Thank you for your amazing support. I will definitely keep you updated on how we are doing in San Joaquin.

Meghan

Larry Weingarten

Meg

This village is going to remember you and your good works for a LONG time to come. Its good. ;~)

Yours, Larry

Jimmy Gillies

Soccer balls.

Dan,
What lovely kids, I had a wee word with my own kids and they said we must get them footballs (soocer balls).
I'm sorry to say my Pay Pal account will not work? Have you an alternative way of donating?
Through HeatingHelp.com??

We all take our nice lifstyle for granted, we have got to help!!! Just look at the smiles on these kids faces!!!
Regards.
Jimmy Gillies (Scotland)

Jimmy Gillies

Dan.

I just bought some bricks, I hope this is an OK way to donate?
Kind regards.
Jimmy.

DanHolohan

You're brilliant!

Thanks so much, Jimmy.