At least 10 students in the village of Cristo Rey in Cayo who want to attend high school can’t because of financial difficulties. That is why the Winsom Foundation has jumped in and is trying to help. They are throwing a grand fundraiser on Saturday which they are calling the night of lights – and the foundation’s namesake – Winsom Winsom told us all about it.
Winsom Winsom, Founder - Winsom Foundation
“A lot of light spinners, fire spinners, dancing, barbecue, games, a lot of different things and the special attraction is sculptures made by children with artists and the largest one is 12 feet and then we set them on fire. So we’re doing a lot of different things. This is to raise money for the foundation for the scholarship program. In Cristo Rey a lot of the children have the basic things they need, so they have a lot of stuff; they have their food, clothing, housing, loving parents but the extra bit of going on to high
school is very expensive for children.
I started doing art programs with them in 2004 and in 2007 when I found that a lot of the kids couldn’t go on to high school because of the lack of funds I started the foundation and as I have read many times that if you believe in what you do then you should put your name to it. So that is one of the reasons my name is on it.
I think there will be around ten kids from the village who want to go to school and need the money to go to school and there may be more. And some are full scholarships and some are part scholarships. We have kids in schools already and we have to keep them there. When we give scholarships we give it for the full four years as long as they are doing the school work and giving back to the community.”
Keith Swift,
How much are you expecting to raise?
Winsom Winsom,
“I heard your question and I just ignored it because I don’t put a limit because then when you put a limit you limit yourself to that and I am open to the universe and whenever the universe wants to poor down, I may not make the money on that day but maybe other people will see what we are doing and say hey this is a great cause to support and some multimillionaire may be out there and say I need to get rid of that and they will send it to us. So it is not just a short term, how much you make in the whole time.”
A few notes are that it is being held in Cristo Rey in the Cayo District. The night of lights starts at 6 pm and entrance is free. A bus will leave from Holdy’s Restaurant in San Ignacio on Saturday at 4. Raffle tickets are also available for the chance to win a weekend getaway to San Pedro for two. The price per ticket is $25. For more information visit WinsomFoundation.com.
