Steven and Leeann visit and help with our Squeeze-By Budget!

Steven, Fran and Leeann after our lunch meeting at the Zocalo, Oaxaca

We finally have a budget that will allow Fran to finish school!  We are seeking people who can commit to a small monthly amount to help cover what we still need:  $56.26 per month for the next 4.5 years.  $10 per month, or even $5 would really help!

Greetings friends!
First a little catch-up on how Fran has been doing.  She is still among the top 2 or top 5 in her class depending on the week, and that is out of 30 students.  One of her most valuable learning skills is her willingness to ask questions when she doesn't understand, and to connect with her teachers.  The professors at this institution do the opposite of coddling their students!  They ask students to leave the class if they are behind on their homework, or if they yawn.  They are not allowed to take notes, so the students must understand and be able to discuss the material in class.  That means they are going to fail if they don't ask questions and speak up -- the prof assumes that they understand everything perfectly unless they indicate otherwise.  So Fran speaks up all the time, and is often asked to come to the front of the class to explain problems to the others.  If the teacher gives 20 pages of homework, Fran completes all of them -- as opposed to other students who may complete 3 or 4.

Her weak subject was investigation (research) and methodology, but not any more.  She met with this professor for 3 hours recently, consulted a few times with Marisol, and is now on-track and enthusiastic.

Budget!

Numbers are not my strong suit, so when Leeann and Steven showed up from Oregon I jumped at the opportunity to get their moral support on creating a budget that will get Fran through the next 4.5 years to her engineering degree.

THE SQUEEZE-BY BUDGET REVEALS THAT WE NEED TO PLUG A MONTHLY HOLE OF $45 IN ORDER TO SQUEEZE BY.

We currently have the donors that are providing rent free accommodations (me), and 2 regular donors providing a total of $75/month, which almost covers her food bill.

Here's the Squeeze-By Budget, faithfully copied out by me on a restaurant placemat...

Monthly Budget for Fran: (current exchange rates)

$250 pesos / $18.92 dollars                        Pro-rated tuition ($3,000 pesos per year, payable $1,500 in
                                                                   July and January)  NOT ACCOUNTED FOR
$1000 pesos / $75.70 dollars                     Transportation (COVERED for the next 3 years by a grant)
$1000 pesos / $75.70 dollars                     (Minimum) Food COVERED
$500 pesos  / $37.34 dollars                      Materials and small Expenses NOT ACCOUNTED FOR

$2,500 pesos ($207.66)

NEEDED TO CLOSE THE GAP: $56.26 dollars PER MONTH (Tuition + Materials)

Therefore, we are hoping to find donors who will commit to a small monthly donation to make up part of this gap.  Of course, one-time donations are always welcome too, and I will be able to reduce the gap.  Also, remember that this is a SQUEEZE-BY budget -- it doesn't include clothes, any entertainment, or (God forbid) medical expenses should they arise.  It's also possibly short in the food department, as this also includes toiletries, toilet paper (ha!) and laundry soap.

Please consider a donation, and perhaps you have one contact or friend who might also be interested in helping.

Donations can be made by going to this site:

 http://franciscaeducationfund.weebly.com/donate.html 


THANK YOU ALL!
LORENA AND FRAN