By Mark O’Neill
For the first time since Covid-19, the Amistad Canada Board of Directors were able to meet in person in San Miguel last month. It was a packed agenda including reviews of annual audit reports on each of our Mexican NGO Partners. Good news: all passed with flying colours! The Board also approved new Partnerships with two other local NGOs:
As of April 1, Canadians will receive CRA tax receipts for donations to the Amistad Canada Fundación Comunitaria Don Diego A.C. Prepa Pro Project. It supports a permanent high school equivalent program for students who are in circumstances that prevent them from attending traditional school. Prepa Pro is a joint program with the Guanajuato State Education department combining internet study with classes in Don Diego. The program aims to register 17 students in the first semester and graduate at least 40 per year by 2024. A donation of 11,000 pesos (about $800 CDN) supports one student for a year by contributing to teachers’ salaries and computer equipment.
As of June 1, 2023 CRA tax receipts will be available for donations to the Amistad Canada ProMusica A.C. Youth Orchestra Project. It will provide the young musicians, many who live far from San Miguel, with scholarship stipends of about 15,000 Mexican pesos ($1,100 CDN) per player per season to ensure they can afford to attend all rehearsals and performances.
Caminos de Agua A.C., which became an Amistad Canada Partner last year, has now identified the community that will benefit from Canadian donations to the Clean Water Access Project. San Marcos de Begoña is a village of about 800 people just a few miles southwest of San Miguel de Allende. Working with the residents, Caminos de Agua will install multiple rainwater harvesting systems, each providing participating families with a lifetime of safe water.
The Amistad Canada Board also began work on our new Five Year Strategic Growth Plan. The result will be presented at the 2023 Annual General Meeting (June 20 on Zoom, details TBA).
Amistad Canada is a registered Canadian charity working with 16 Mexican NGOs to improve health and education for Mexicans in need, twelve in San Miguel and four elsewhere in the country. For more information: www.AmistadCanada.org
* Mark O’Neill is the President of Amistad Canada
