As most of you know, I am currently serving as an English Education volunteer with the United States Peace Corps in the Republic of Moldova. For the past few months, I have been coaching 2 teams of students from my village's school for the Odyssey of the Mind competition. This is an international critical / creative thinking competition that you might have heard of before. Both of my teams (one team is made up of seven 8th and 9th graders and the other is seven 11th graders) placed at the national level and have been selected to compete in the EuroFest competition this April in Belarus. I am incredibly proud of their hard work and achievements!
Unfortunately, Moldova has been listed as the poorest country in Europe, and as a result of this poverty and lack of resources, making this trip a reality for my students will be difficult for me...especially on a Peace Corps volunteer's "salary". Many of my students have at least one, and in many cases, both parents working abroad in order to support their families. These families do not have the disposable income to fund a trip like this and while the school and village administration might be able to contribute a small amount towards this endeavor, I am going to have to find the majority of the funding for this experience on my own.
I have not yet received all of the information about the cost per student for this trip, but at this point, I know we will be responsible for the following amounts:
$150 per TEAM for registration ($300 total for both of my teams)
150 Euros per STUDENT for accommodation and food during the competition (about $203.55 per kid)
Plus the cost of transportation to and from Belarus (still to be determined) and food on the road
So far, even before adding the transportation and incidental expenses, we are looking at a total of over $3,000.
With that said, I am asking your for your help in making this trip a reality for my students. This trip will provide a unique and valuable experience for 14 students who truly deserve this opportunity. Any little bit will help, and will be greatly appreciated. If you are able to give any amount of money to help the funding of this trip, please contact me (either on facebook or at abgraham85@hotmail.com).
Thank you so much and I hope to hear from you soon.
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