I received this email from my friend Eleanor who’s been in Guatamala for the last 3 months. Her email is eleanorh [at] gmail.com. Read the letter and get in touch:

Hi everyone,

This past weekend I turned 25, which brings many great privildeges, namely renting cars and adopting internationally. Since I don’t have need or intentions to celebrate by either of the above means, I thought I’d acknowlege this milestone in another way: by throwing an-un-birthday party. The beauty of this is that you don’t even have to leave home or your computer. Don’t have to mingle with my friends, don’t have to buy presents, take a shower, or even get dressed.

Rather than actually buying me a drink, or coming out I”m asking that everyone send me money instead! Please help me raise money for a girl that I met this summer while I was in Guatemala. Being a fan, or more of an addict, of education I am trying to raise money to help send an 11 year-old girl named Lucky to school. Luz Christa is her actual name, but she goes by Lucky (or Lou-Key, as they pronounce it in Guatemala). She was abandoned by her parents and has been raised by her grandparents in a rural community in the mountains, between several coffee plantations. I met her because I ate all my meals at her home while I was studying in the mountains. The community that she lives in is very impoverished as the men have not been able to find work for several months due to the falling price of Guatemlan coffee on the international market. Most of the men leave home at 4am to search for work as day laborers, and the women get up at 3am to make breakfast for them. The tortilla making starts then and doesn’t stop until bedtime.

Lucky has been supported by her grandparents, but next year she will go to junior high and in Guatemala, schools are no longer free once you reach the junior high level. Lucky’s grandparents feel that they are too old and poor to support her any further and want her to find work to support herself. Where she will find work, I do not know. Most young girls get married after their family’s can no longer support them. In fact, Lucky has a 14 year-old “aunt” named Olivia who lives with her family. Olivia married one of Lucky’s uncles and now lives with the family.

Lucky is the top student in her class, and has been offered a scholarship to pay part of her tution, but will still need to replace her income potential in order to continue attending school.

The long and short of it is that I’m hoping you will all be kind enough to help me raise money for her. I have a paypal account so if you want to donate money to me I can make sure it gets back to the school in the mountains who can provide her with a monthly stipend. My paypal account is the same as this email address. As a struggling grad student myself I understand that it’s not always do-able to donate, and especially not to every cause, but if you do feel like donating- know that no amount is too small. Think of it as virtually buying me a drink Heck, maybe I’ll have a drink for every donation Lucky gets!

All the best,

More pics on her Flickr Set