Laps for Learning 2019

Laps for Learning 2019

After a hiatus from the pool to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, I am swimming again. The itch and smell of the pool chemicals never changes but my determination to raise awareness and funds to educate individuals has never been stronger.  

I hop in the pool knowing that the combined efforts of swimmer and donor provides hope, skills, and a brighter future to individuals who just need the opportunity for education. They want to learn, they want to be self-reliant, they want to provide for their families, in short, they want to succeed.  Laps for Learning provides necessary funds to accomplish these goals through education.  I have met individuals who have received scholarships through Laps for Learning and know that their lives are better, their futures brighter and their hope for self-reliance attainable.

2019's Laps for Learning swim will benefit the country of Guatemala, specifically the facility of Sikaab'e.  Sikaab’e is a state of the art technical school and it is the only one of its kind in the Polochic Region, providing education and training for farmers and high school students ages 14-18. 

Increased education and vocational training gives the locals the opportunity to stay in their communities, find better employment, or create businesses. Appropriately named, Sikaab’e means “Seek Your Path” in  Q’eqchi’, the native language and encourages entrepreneurship and innovation. 

The school was built by 19 students studying masonry who received their INTECAP government certification as masons. The second cohort graduated 19 people in culinary skills. 

Trades offered include masonry, welding, electrical, culinary, hospitality, carpentry, and mechanics.  A host of agriculture certificates are offered including animal husbandry, family gardening, crop rotation and diversification, cardamom and cacao production, and sustainable forestry.  

Sikaab'e is a major initiative in Guatemala for CHOICE Humanitarian, a 501(c)(3) organization. It is a vital element in the CHOICE model of development, insuring the elimination of extreme poverty through education, training, leadership capacity development and economic growth.

These are specific goals developed by CHOICE Humanitarian in collaboration with their in-country team and the people of the communities served. The communities are invested in Sikaab'e because it is their center.  Commitment to the mission of Sikaab'e is demonstrated in the continuing growth in the number of graduates and the improved standard of living and quality of life.

Will you join with me in supporting the mission of Sikaab'e by donating today?

You can contribute to this year's swim by clicking on the link below. Please include Laps for Learning on the NOTES section of the payment screen. 

www.choicehumanitarian.org 

If you prefer to pay by check, please mail your donation to: 

CHOICE Humanitarian 

7879 South 1530 West #200 

West Jordan, UT  84088.  

Please include Laps for Learning on your check's memo line.

Thank you for joining with me in assisting those who want to be educated in order to provide a better life for themselves, their families and their communities. 

Your donation is tax deductible.  CHOICE will send you a letter of receipt for use in your tax records.  THANKS!!!!

Laps for Learning 2016

I am grateful to all who have donated to assist in providing educational opportunities to children in Nepal.  In partnership with CHOICE Humanitarian, Laps for Learning funds provide scholarships to children who otherwise would not have the opportunity to attend school.  Often, families in rural villages cannot afford to send their children to school.  Through the efforts of the in-country leadership of CHOICE Humanitarian, these children receive scholarship to their local schools and are no longer limited by the lack of their family's financial resources.  These children often become the leaders of their class and later their communities.
On behalf of these children, their families and communities as well as CHOICE Humanitarian, I thank you and hope that you will continue to support worthwhile efforts that make the world a better place for all God's children.

A wise man once said that it is not enough to be good, we must be good for something.  

Thank you for your goodness, thank you for your good works.

Children with their teacher in the village of Gandaki, Nepal with Nancy Lane Waterfall & 

James Schwartz, volunteer and EMT.  2016.

NAMASTE!

Nepal Earthquake Relief Fund, Laps for Learning 2015

After the devastating earthquake in Nepal on April 25, 2015,  I  learned that the school we helped build with Laps for Learning donations is one of only a few still standing and usable.  Grateful for this news but with so much destruction I determined that Laps for Learning 2015 could not wait for the usual summer/fall swim challenge, I needed to jump into action NOW!
CHOICE Humanitarian set up a relief fund that allowed individuals like me to organize individual fund drives that would be combined with other funds to produce a significant monetary resource for relief.  Through the donations of generous individuals and businesses who recognized the need to act affirmatively and 'do something now!', this fund provided not only physical relief for the suffering but also encouragement and hope.  In a very short period of time, over a million dollars was raised!
My son Ryan Waterfall and I were able to contact hundreds of family, friends and associates from across the United States and together we raised almost $10,000.  These funds have been utilized for the purchase of tents to house school children thus providing some normalcy to their lives and provide them with a safe place, away from harms reach.
CHOICE Humanitarian's Nepal In-Country Director, Bishnu Adhikari's greatest concern was for the children and providing them access to school.  He was aware of too many cases where children were taken from their families by human traffickers and sold in neighboring India.  School kept them safe as well as educated.
Thanks to the many generous donors who supported our fund and made the overall CHOICE Humanitarian relief fund a huge success.

Many thanks to all who contributed to the Laps for Learning 2014 fund raising campaign for education.  The total amount of $7,516 is a wonderful reflection of those who contributed and will be such a boon to Rita Lugogo of CHOICE Humanitarian as she directs, organizes and funds projects to increase educational opportunity and supplement existing programs in the Samburu district of Kenya.

As of this date, Laps for Learning has raised almost $43,000 since its inception in 2006.  We may be small, but we still make a difference. . . .THANKS!

As I receive updates from Rita and CHOICE, I will post them on this blog as well as Instagram and Facebook.

I am very grateful to all who support education and thankful for the opportunity to assist in the work of ending the cycle of poverty.  Thanks for joining the fight!

Laps for Learning 2014

  

Laps for Learning 2014 focused on the funding of education for children of the Samburu District in Kenya.  Samburu District is a very poor area where children often grow up without access to schooling because of family poverty and the lack of local funding for teacher salaries, facilities and materials.  

Investing in a child's education is a gift for a lifetime of hope, opportunity, better understanding of the world and the development of leadership skills that ultimately contribute to community growth and improved quality of life.

 Laps for Learning 2014 donors raised over $7,500 

to make this hope a reality.

Thank you for your generosity and your vision of a better world, for everyone.

Partnering with CHOICE Humanitarian,  Laps for Learning 2014 will provide the key to unlocking the doors of opportunity, personal growth and development as a vital element in the quest to end the cycle of poverty now.  

Be watching for more updates regarding the use of your charitable dollars here:

www.lapsforlearning.blogspot.com.

Your charitable contribution DOES make a difference!
THANKS!!

Nancy Lane Waterfall

Eight Years of Making a Difference

2014 marks the 8th year of Laps for Learning with a mission of providing educational opportunities for children and young adults in the developing world. Eight years of logging hours in the pool, writing letters, sending emails and drafting blog posts to raise awareness of the need for better access to education for the world's poorest.  Through the generosity of donors, over $35,000 has been received and utilized to educate and bless the lives of hundreds of children around the world.  Laps for Learning is making a difference in ending the cycle of poverty.

Removing the barriers of poverty begins with education.  Developing leadership skills through the process of education provides the basic foundation for upward mobility and improvement in the standard of living.  These improvements promote better health, better understanding of personal capacity and abilities, and empower the individual with the tools necessary to succeed.

Education is the key to a better world for everyone.

Please join with me in support of the mission of Laps for Learning 

by making a donation today.

Your tax deductible contribution will benefit the children of Samburu district in Kenya as part of CHOICE Humanitarian's continuing work to end the cycle of poverty.  This will be achieved with capacity development and community growth through education, leadership training, and community-based decisions.

The CHOICE model is unique, effective and most importantly successful.  Charity Navigator gives CHOICE Humanitarian an overall four star rating for excellence.  I am pleased to partner with CHOICE in providing the enduring gift of education to children in the poverty stricken district of Samburu.

I hope you will decide NOW to make a generous donation in support of Laps for Learning by clicking on the link below.  Please note Laps for Learning on the comment line.

http://choicehumanitarian.org/donate/

If you prefer, you can mail your donation to: 

CHOICE Humanitarian

• 7879 South 1530 West, Suite 200,
• West Jordan, Utah 84088
• 
  

Please make checks payable to CHOICE Humanitarian, memo line: Laps for Learning

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION TO PROVIDE 

THE ENDURING GIFT OF EDUCATION

Elizabeth Stuart , Deseret News     Published: Saturday, Oct. 8 2011 

Warner Woodworth, a global social entrepreneur who has spent 30 years consulting for international NGOs observed:"The white man used to come in saying, 'We'll make the decisions. We'll bring the money, the tools, the John Deere tractors. You just do what we tell you."

 "There's a big shift in thinking. Aid work is becoming more of a collaboration and a partnership.  The real way an NGO becomes high impact is if it's owned by the indigenous people," Woodworth said.

Many in developing countries lack education and leadership skills, he said. But educational opportunities are improving and investing in teaching these skills could be a nonprofit's best investment.

"We can help them with that," he said. "We can train them. And the more and sooner the work is owned by the people, the more successful it will be."

Laps for Learning pushes forward its mission of education as the key to capacity building, leadership training and ultimately the successful creation of a productive village through education, collaboration and trust.  Working together on both sides of the equation produces an amazing solution to end poverty.