2015 Annual Report

A Report on the Accomplishments of SEPA

For the Fiscal Year, 2015/16. (3/1/15 - 2/29/16)

Prepared for the 6th Annual Meeting of SEPA

Copal AA La Esperanza

1. SEPA provided $18,000 to the community of Copal AA La Esperanza which was applied to the operation of the middle school, grades 7,8,9, and the two year college preparatory course. 75 students were enrolled in the two programs.

2. The Weaving Guild of Lorain County provided $1500 in scholarship aid to Copal AA. This money was transmitted to Copal AA through SEPA.

Santa Elena Veinte De Octubre

3. SEPA provided $7,000 for scholarships so that sixteen students could attend middle school and high school. Of the nine students that will be attending middle school, two are young women and seven are young men. Of the seven students who will be attending high school, three are women and four are men. SEPA provides $350 per year for each middle school student and $550/year for each high school student.

4. The director of the school and one teacher receive a yearly stipend of $540 for school supplies. The director of the school receives a monthly travel allowance of $327 that pays for travel food and lodging to attend meetings four times a month in the office of the Educational Ministry in Coban, which is 31/2 hours away from Santa Elena.

5. SEPA also provided $ 316 for special projects in Santa Elena. The director of the school attended a special training program that cost $216 and $100 was spent on a program that provided a pair of shoes for 50 elementary students.

Human Rights Accompaniment

With the Organization NISGUA

(Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala)

6. SEPA supported Sarah Johnson, a human rights accompanier and a 2015 graduate of Oberlin College in the amount of $3,180.

7. SEPA paid monthly dues to NISGUA in the amount of $2,400.

The Oberlin College Student Organization OSSGUA

(Oberlin Students in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala)

8. SEPA provided $3,000 to the student organization, OSSGUA, to help finance their “Winter Term” Delegation to Guatemala.

SEPA's Annual Meeting was

Sunday, April 3rd

(Meeting Minutes)

Thanks to all who attended the Annual Meeting and heard such an excellent presentation by Zia Kandler.

If you missed it, click on underlined

items to view details.

Co-Presidents: Mari Kuroda and Sue Simonson

Vice President: Kathy Spencer|

Secretary: Betsy Bruce

Treasurer: Bill Fuchsman

Members at Large: Elizabeth Aldrich, Barbara Fuchsman, John Gates, Lori Taylor

  • Annual report given by John Gates
  • Speaker: Zia Kandler Zia talked about her 2015 project in Central America. She helped conduct an oral history project in Guatemala with women who are resisting a gold mine in their communities. You can read many details of this project by going to this website. (site is in Spanish and English)

Zia was born in Germany and raised in Pittsburgh, PA. She now lives in Ohio and is graduating from Oberlin College in May 2016. She is majoring in Environmental Studies and Comparative American Studies with a minor in Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies.

Fall of 2016 she will be traveling to Guatemala to work as a human rights accompanier with NISGUA.

You can help support Zia as an accompanier by going to this cloud funding website.

  • Elected Slate: