Garage sale to raise funds for Guatemalan women

PACIFICA -- Worries about jobs and education plague every family. Without education, finding employment is difficult, and without employment, affording education can be impossible.

During a trip to Guatemala in 1991, Pacifica resident Kay Sweeney saw firsthand how this dilemma affects women there when she met Carmela Paz Val, who could not afford $30 a month to attend school.

Guatemalan public schools are free, but books, uniforms, paper and transportation are not provided and are often too expensive for families to afford.

"She was at her wit's end," Sweeney said. "She wanted an education."

Six years later, Sweeney formed a nonprofit to help ease that burden. The organization -- Kateri Tekakwitha Fund and Mission: Guatemala -- will hold a garage sale Saturday to raise money for its cause.

In addition to providing money for women's education, Sweeney's group helps female artisans sell their work.

"They make beautiful things, but everyone makes them, and tourists won't pay what they're worth," said Sweeney, whose nonprofit now sells such handiwork as fabric, crocheted hats and ceramic ornaments in the U.S.

"This way the money goes back to them," volunteer Betty Casey said. "We buy the material from them, and they make it and have their businesses."

The Kateri Tekakwitha Fund has helped 27 women through junior high and high school, some even through a university. This year the fund is assisting 18 women with their education goals. The organization and its supporters hope to raise $1,000 on Saturday.

Paz Val received a degree in anthropology from the University of San Carlos in Guatemala City. She returned to work for the Kateri Tekakwitha Fund in 2005 as a scholarship coordinator when Sweeney returned to the U.S.

The garage sale takes place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at 844 Crespi Drive in Pacifica. Donations can be dropped off April 1-4.

For more information, contact Betty Casey at 650-359-4114. The group's items are also available for purchase at http://www.mission- guatemala.org/index.html.

c2008 ANG Newspapers. Cannot be used or repurposed without prior written permission.
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.