Fran's Future Comes into Focus!

Dear Friends!

After five years of very hard work and help from a small group of devoted donors, Fran's future is beginning to come clear. Because it is obvious to her professors she has been set on a course more difficult and in the end more remunerative once she has her master's. That is, working in the laboratory, identifying various diseases and fungus's that attack the crops of larger growers. In this case, she is looking at a fungus she collected from the passion fruit farm in Morelos.

Her graduation here in Oaxaca is still set for February for those who would like to come. I don't have the details yet, but will send them out soon. Graduation presents, of course, are welcome.

After that, Fran will likely go beyond the requirements of her graduation and write a thesis on her work. This, she has been told, will increase the chances of her acceptance into grad school. She is looking at two opportunities to complete her thesis while working to support herself -- one in Guanajuato and the other here in Oaxaca, where she has found a school that offers both a Master's and Ph.D. in her field. This is a developing situation.

But for now, Fran seems to have found her path to a good career that suits her interests and will support her. And we all look forward to her graduation in February!
Affectionately from Oaxaca,
Lorena & Fran

THANK YOU!

Dear Friends,

Thank you for responding so quickly! Fran got what she needed and will be able to pay for her visa on time. You are wonderful!

Just so everyone is aware, (and I apologize for having to follow my THANKS so quickly with another appeal) Fran now has only one regular donor who is holding up her tent until her graduation in June 2019. 

So I need to start asking that a few more people step up with small monthly donations until that date. Any amount will be of help -- ten, twenty, thirty dollars would make a big difference.

If you can commit, we can talk about how to get your money directly into her bank account either by Paypal or a bank transfer.

--Lorena and Fran

News Flash 1

Fran at the end of a wonderful day spent with friends.

Hi Friends,

Fran is still enjoying her Christmas break from school. She'll be going back on January 29th! We will have some more definite news soon, but wanted to share that she will be getting her Mexican passport this Tuesday. She is going for the 10-year passport!  There's a chance she will be getting a visa to visit the United States either this year or next, but many details have to be worked out. Meanwhile, if the Trump era throws too many obstacles in her path, she realizes that she can visit other places, like South and Central America, Spain, Canada.

She has been doing consistently well in her studies and last semester was no exception. She has more than she needs to get into graduate school.

Another big pieces of news is that she had to decide before the beginning of the next semester whether she was going to pursue organic or non-organic agronomy. She said between 20 and 30 students chose organic (herself included) and the majority, about 80, chose non-organic.  What decided her was not me, though I did my best. What decided her was her father, who has never used any kind of pesticide on his orchards or crops in their village, so his advice was to forego the poisons!  An amazing man. He was the one who told his daughter to leave the village and go out into the world to make something of herself. And she certainly has.

Only 1.5 years to go until her degree!!!!

OK, signing off for now!
Stay tuned.