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Winter 2018 Winter 2018

Winter 2018

In This Issue

Letter from APUFRAMInternational

Letter from APUFRAM

Letter from Fr. Emil Cook

New AI Board Member

Graduates and Scholarships

Prayers

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Quick Links

APUFRAM International

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Dear Reader,

I am writing to request your assistance in supporting an excitingnew initiative by APUFRAM International aimed at furthering thedreams and goals of several bright young students in theDominican Republic and Honduras. This initiative is to fundraiseenough financial resources to award scholarships to APUFRAMstudents who have excelled during their years at APUFRAMschools.

Current Situation

APUFRAM is able to provide education up to high school level.Once a student has gone through APUFRAM's schools, in mostcases, it's up to each student to figure out whether he/she cancontinue their education or stop with high school. This is aheartbreaking situation for many students because the educationsystems in these countries do not take into account any merits. Forexample, most of the students graduate with a 4.0 GPA, and theyhave excelled in other areas such as technology, arts, and sports.

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Volunteer

Justice for Priests andDeacons

MissionAPUFRAM

International isdedicated to

supporting the visionof Fr. Emil Cook and

APUFRAM: helping thepoor help themselves

through Christ-centered education atsites in Honduras and

the DominicanRepublic.

Stay Connected withOther VolunteersPast and presentvolunteers are asking tostay in touch with thosewho have made a lastingimpact on their lives.Write us to get back intouch with old friendsand stay connected.

Follow Us on Twitter

Follow APUFRAMInternational on Twitter!

Visit us: @ApuframInternat

Instragram account:ApuframInternational

AI Scholarship

The APUFRAM InternationalScholarship is an

international, collaborativeinitiative that aims tocombine cross-culturaleducation with spiritual

leadership and a heart forservice to others.

However, there are no scholarships nor government or private loanprograms for students to continue their education.

Once they graduate high school, the inevitable question comesup...what to do now? What do I do with a high school education ifthere are no college opportunities? Several of these students decideto leave their countries in search for better opportunities. Whilemost of them leave to come to the United States, some of them goto countries such as Cuba, Panama, and Costa Rica. This situationleaves the home country with what's known as a brain drain, andthe cycle is constant where young, high school educated andtechnology savvy people leave their home countries. Theinvestment made in these young people, while not lost, has gone tocountries already enjoying higher standards of living.

It's Personal

Once I graduated from APUFRAM in Flores, Comayagua, in 2001,my opportunities were limited. In a way my choices were simple:go back to my home village and harvest coffee during harvestingseason and work as a day laborer during the non-harvesting season,or find a way to continue college-level education in Honduras'political capital (Tegucigalpa). There were no family members whocould provide me with housing or tuition and expenses (eventhough combined this would have been less than $600/year at thattime). All I knew was that APUFRAM owned a building, and if Itraveled early enough to Tegucigalpa, I could lay a mattress on thefloor, and my need for housing was met. This was in a small roomsuitable for one person, but it was home to five of us. As far astuition, books, and transportation, I used skills learned atAPUFRAM and sold paintings and customized souvenir pens.There were days when I could not attend school and didn't haveone full meal since there wasn't enough money from my sales.After two semesters I had the opportunity to legally travel to theUnited States. I learned English and graduated with a bachelor's

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Scholarship recipients willhave the opportunity to

share their faith andtalents as they work

together with APUFRAM toprovide services that assist

in the educationaladvancement of other

students in the system.This scholarship hopes to

provide applicants with theopportunity to continue

their studies with APUFRAMwhile leading others

through their example asthey live out the messageof the gospels. It is ourhope that scholarship

participants will continue todemonstrate the valuesintrinsic to God, Work,

Study in their words andactions as part of their

lives of service while theyearn a degree from a

postsecondary institution.

To be awarded ascholarship, students mustbe in good standing withAPUFRAM, maintain a 3.0

grade point average, enrollin a recognized university,

provide evidence offinancial need, and

continue to live out andsupport the APUFRAMmission. Additionally,students will provideservice hours workingalongside of APUFRAM.AI will provide a $1,500

annual scholarship to coverthe cost of room andboard, textbooks, andother associated fees.

To donate, pleasecontact us at

www.apufram.org

Shopping online? Using

degree in business and a master's degree in accounting. I now serveas the Finance Director for a small community in the Chicagolandarea, and I haven't skipped a meal.

How does this scholarship work?

Amounts fundraised will go to the Scholarship Fund; scholarshipawards will follow the same principle APUFRAM follows: God,Study and Work. This means that scholarships will be madeavailable to APUFRAM students who have excelled in theirstudies, their work, and their behavior while at APUFRAMschools.Additionally, potential recipients will be asked to apply for thescholarship, must meet certain requirements, and will be requiredto work with APUFRAM a certain number of hours prior to eachsemester. It's estimated that the cost to attend University is $1,500per year. The goal is to raise enough money so that all graduatingstudents who wish to participate will be able to do so.

On behalf of APUFRAM, I ask that you support this initiative andstop the brain drain in the Dominican Republic and Honduras byproviding a helping hand to those who wish to stay in theircountries and be part of moving their countries forward.

Sincerely,

Kevin Bueso

APUFRAM Beneficiary (1997-2003)APUFRAM International Board Member

Letter from APUFRAMAPUFRAM, Flores, Honduras

Dear Friends,

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Amazon.com? Searching the netfor information or services?Help us raise funds by

using Goodsearch.com asyour search engine and

raise money for APUFRAMevery time you search orpurchase anything online.It's easy to sign up andstart donating to help

APUFRAM help the children.To learn more and to get

started, go toGoodSearch.com and sign

up with APUFRAMInternational as your

favorite charity. Every timeyou search or shop onlinewith Goodshop, money willbe donated to APUFRAM

International.

Using Amazon.com? Go towww.smile.amazon.com andselect APUFRAM International as

your favorite charity, andAmazon will donate .5% of your

purchase to APUFRAMInternational.

Many of your favorite onlinestores are participating. For a

complete list, visitGoodsearch.com.

Visit Our Sponsor

Bird ProjectExpansion

Fr. Emil is looking toexpand the bird

project to includepeacocks. He is

looking for companies

We hope 2018 is a year full of blessings and peace for yourhomes. We hope you reach all your goals.Thank you for being part of this noble cause of bringing hope tofamilies without the proper resources in Honduras and theDominican Republic. Recently in Honduras we had our country-wide elections to elect the president, congressmen, andmayors. These elections have not been well received by certainsectors of the population, which has resulted in protests andriots. Thanks to God this situation is settling, and we are goingback to normal.

We recently had a group of volunteers from Sioux City, Iowa,and their trip went very well without any issues.APUFRAM staff is preparing to welcome the students back fromtheir school year break as well as other beneficiaries, such assingle mothers and kids who will be attending APUFRAM schoolsfor the first time.

We are finalizing the construction of an additional building atour Santa Ana Girls Boarding Home; it will accommodate 40additional students. We are most grateful to a generous donorwho has made this project possible.

We continue working towards self-sufficiency by investing inagricultural projects. Currently, we are in need of some farmingequipment, such as a lawnmower/mulcher and a harvester. Wecontinue repairing our buildings and we invite groups to visit usand help us with this work.

Thanks to God we are moving our projects along; we ask foryour help to continue with this work of solidarity. We hope Godrewards all your work, and we thank you for being part of theAPUFRAM family.

In Christ Jesus,

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that are willing to shippeacock eggs to

Honduras. Anyonewho has informationthat might be helpful,please contact us at

www.apufram.org

Miguel BuesoExecutive DirectorAPUFRAM

Letter from Fr. Emil CookFLORES, VILLA DE SAN ANTONIO, COMAYAGUADear Friends of APUFRAM,

Greetings to you and your families in the New Year of 2018! Ipray that all is going well for you and that the weather is nottoo cold. Here we had some unreasonably cool weather forabout three weeks. Everyone here was in light jackets andcoats. Hopefully, we will not get a really cold front again. Thatwas the coldest that I have ever seen it.

I want to get this note out to all of our friends and supportersin the New Year. We look forward with optimism to this yearas a year of hope. There are many great things we want toachieve this year. We also want to keep our friends updatedon what is going on here.

Christmas came and went by so quickly for us, it seems. Wehave a lot of plans and hopes for our mission here in theNew Year. We have a lot of new initiatives for our farm sitesand also new bird projects. The students working on thesenew projects will learn a lot in those areas over and abovewhat they will learn in the classroom. Also, we areconstructing new living areas for the girl students here inFlores. We should be able to receive about 40 more internalgirl students than we had last year.

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We are planning to expand a number of our projects likebees and birds. We just finished an area for computerswhere the students can use them to complete their schoolassignments in the evening. Also, we are planning a numberof spiritual retreats for our students and for our staff this year.The head of our Dominican Republic mission was here, andwe hope to welcome a teaching group in May and expandour projects there as well.

We just had a university group here from Iowa for ten days orso. They just left. There was some concern about the politicalsituation, but when they left they said that there wasabsolutely no problem, and they were very comfortable. Wehope that the political situation will settle down soon. Wepray that all the groups planning a mission trip will not bediscouraged.

The school year has just begun for the students, and we lookforward to even more students this year. We pray that thepoor will take advantage of our help in education. We want tohelp as many people as we can, and we hope that they willuse their education to make Honduras a better place. Themaking of Honduras better is making Hondurans better.

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I want to take a moment to mention many of our supporterswho have died in 2017. I would also like to inform all of ourfriends that I say a Mass individually each morning for allthose who died, and we also pray daily for the specialintentions sent to us. For the most part each Mass is said fora particular person. I also say Masses twice a month for all ofour friends, living and dead. Each day our boys and girls prayhere for all of you.

I will bring this to a close for now. Please take care ofyourself and keep us in your prayers.

Love, joy and peace,Fr. Emil Cook

APUFRAM International Board Welcomes Will Mason!

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Will Mason began his journey withAPUFRAM in 1994 at the age of ninewhen his father was stationed nearbywith the U.S. Army. He continued totake annual trips for the next nineyears until he moved to Hondurasimmediately upon completing highschool.

While there he served for two years asa remote site director in La Barca. Willprimarily worked on agriculturalprojects and as a translator for medicalteams. While in Honduras he met andmarried his wife, Karla, and they nowhave four children.

Will currently lives in Mobile, Alabama, where he works closelywith the maritime industry and is obtaining a B.S. in AgriculturalSciences at Oregon State University.

Will brings a unique perspective to the board with his experiencesliving in Honduras and working closely with APUFRAM and theHonduran people. He shares his wife's love of the country and thedesire to help Honduras through education.

APUFRAM International welcomes him and is eager to beginworking together!

Congratulations Graduates!!!

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We wish you blessings and great success asyou move forward and begin the next chapter

in your lives. Some of the graduates will beattending the university to advance their

studies. To donate to the AI Scholarship fund orto sponsor a university student, please visit the

website using the link below.

To sponsor a child, visit our website at www.apufram.org.

Visit our website

Please pray for the children of Honduras andthe Dominican Republic and our faithful

sponsors.

"Make us worthy, Lord, to serve othersthroughout the world who live and die in

poverty or hunger; give them, through ourhands, this day their daily bread, and by our

understanding love, give peace and joy."Amen

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