Since I started Make Money Your Way last July, I’ve committed to donating 10% of my blog income to support children’s education in my village. As mentioned in a previous update, I provided two scholarships to the top middle school students so they can attend high school 150 miles away for the next three years.
The estimated cost for boarding school is about $2,500 per child per year, totaling $15,000 over three years. My goal is to earn $150,000 from blogging to cover this. Here’s the income breakdown:
– 10% of July’s income: $404
– 10% of August’s income: $253
– 10% of September’s income: $297
– 10% of October’s income: $357
– 10% of November’s income: $269
– 10% of December’s income: $462
– 10% of January’s income: $329
– 10% of February’s income: $634
– 10% of March’s income: $195 (since I donated $300 to Charity:Water)
– 10% of April’s income: $459
– 10% of May’s income: $697
– 10% of June’s income: $756
Total: $5,112. Plus, $2,550 from reader donations and two old laptops. Thank you!
To date, I’ve spent $4,066 on supplies, uniforms for the new school year, boarding school tuition, and buying laptops for my computer literacy project. I have $3,596 left.
Boarding School Kids
I paid April’s $478 tuition a bit late because the school didn’t provide March’s receipts timely. The kids have a parents’ meeting next week to get their grades for the first quarter, but I can’t attend due to the distance and time. I think the $50 gas would be better used on the project. I plan to visit the school soon as it’s on my way to Guatemala City. I gave $45 to one of the kids for transportation back home instead of a costly day trip. They are currently set with tuition funds, unless unexpected expenses for uniforms or supplies arise.
Total costs for tuition and board from April to June: $1,535.
Computer Literacy Project
Currently, there are four laptops in the village. I opted not to give them directly to the school, as they weren’t being properly maintained. Instead, I provided them to a local girl to set up an internet café near the school. She teaches computer skills three half-days a week and rents out the laptops as an internet café during other times. This arrangement has been highly effective, with 50 kids enrolled in sessions of 4-6 kids each.
To sustain this, I pay her $25 per week for teaching. She handles the electricity costs, and I cover the internet. In April, the internet expenses were about $80, but the costs decreased in May with the purchase of a $100 wifi modem. June’s costs increased due to higher data downloads while the kids were on break.
Total costs from April to June: $716.
Book Reading Project
The reading culture here is quite limited, so I purchased comic books and fairy tales to encourage reading among kids. The girl who teaches computer classes noted that the children read very slowly and miss parts of the story. We started with easy, engaging books like Spiderman and Disney characters. Thanks to a $300 donation from a friend, I bought more books, including popular comics like Tintin and Astérix. There’s also a growing interest in learning English, so I plan to find some basic English reading books as well.
Total costs from April to June: $340.
I have $1,305 left. Thanks again to everyone for supporting my blogs and making this possible!