First
the Good News
Soon after issuing our red alert we began a huge fundraising campaign.
Within two months we had successfully raised nearly $40,000,
but were well short of the $378,000 needed. With a deadline soon
approaching to either make an offer or let the forest fall, it
was clear we would not make it. It was time to let it go and
accept whatever fate befell this incredible forest corridor.
Just days before I was to call the Bello family (owners of the corridor) to tell
them the Global Classroom could not purchase their prized forest, we received
a call from a past donor pledging $200,000. My knees went weak and I literally
had to sit down. Following the offer of this amazingly generous pledge, a member
of the same family offered a $30,000 matching grant. Suddenly we were in the
running to acquire the last remaining stand of old growth forest in the Monteverde
region. Plus, we would expand the Aula Global reserve by over 300%, allowing
us to enter the forestry program and begin receiving annual payments from the
government. Our reserve would now begin creating its own income.
With over $250,000 in pledges and funds now available to us over the next year,
I knew we could do it. The road would be long, but looking at it from a purely
business perspective, I knew it could be done. In matching our new team of highly
motivated/trained volunteers with the remaining funds needed, it was as close
to a guarantee as we were going to get. We went for it.
I flew to Costa Rica and offered the Bello family a $135,000 deposit. We then
began negotiating a payment schedule for the rest. The bargaining was tense,
but in the end the family agreed to offer us a zero interest private mortgage
for the remaining amount of $243,000, to be paid over a two year period. We in
turn agreed to their request of a payment schedule consisting of three large
payments to be made August 31, 2004, March 2005 and October 2005.
In November, our expanded team of fundraisers, and volunteers hit the road running.
Covering all the bases, they whole- heartedly took on tasks ranging from fundraising
to youth programs, service projects to expeditions. Two of our new volunteers
even traveled to Costa Rica to help install our new solar system at the Aula
Global research station (which they eventually purchased and gifted to the reserve).
GCR volunteers really took the reigns and have led us into an exciting new phase.
Friends of GCR offered their help in many ways. Many hosted slideshows and arranged
meetings with possible donors. GCR volunteers spread the word which dramatically
increased the number of lectures and dinners we would attend. We also held power
meetings, brainstorming sessions and even led a few jungle walks for those wishing
to learn about the forest which they are helping to protect.
Excited by the large donations and matching grant, many donors came on board
with offers of donations and pledges to be made in 2005 to help us match the
$30,000 grant. We now knew the March 2005 payment was in the bag!
With the $135,000 down payment made, the August payment of $75,000 covered and
the challenge grant of $30,000 met, we had only one payment left to make and
16 months to do it. We were on the home stretch.
Now the Not-So-Good News
A few weeks ago, GCR volunteers were notified that the $75,000 donation
expected to arrive in time for our August 31st payment, and the $30,000
matching grant that was to be applied toward the March, 2005, payment,
are likely to be withdrawn. Suddenly we are faced with a very serious
situation. If we do not make the August payment we default and lose
our deposit, and the forest. The news is certainly not good, but
we are not beaten. Not yet anyway. What was looking like the well
manicured terrain of the home stretch, suddenly went vertical on
us. We are now faced with one very steep mountain to climb! It seems
daunting but we have little choice. Failure is not an option.
Though the mountain looms over us, there have been many amazing moments. A single
dollar bill arrived in an envelope from a young child who loves hummingbirds.
One person donated their entire social security check. That is one twelfth of
their annual income from Social security! In just one short month we must secure
over $50,000 in donations just to make the August payment. We are down but we
are not out. We must trust that somewhere out there, something or someone will
shine down upon us.
In an amazing show of dedication and will to succeed, many GCR volunteers tirelessly
took on huge roles in finding funds. A few of our volunteers have literally relinquished
their personal lives, forgoing paying work to fundraise full time. Volunteers
are now spread across 5 states in a constant search of support. Many of us have
been doing nothing but outreach and fundraising for many weeks now.
Since the beginning, I have been working full on to find the funds to replace
the money lost. The pressure and stress has been enormous. For me, this is not
just a situation of saving some forest. I am also fully aware of the huge negative
impacts this could have directly on our reserve, not to mention the impact on
future funding possibilities. For more than a decade now, thousands of hours
of work by hundreds of students and volunteers have gone into creating Aula Global.
In less than a month, it could be irrevocably damaged and the Bello forest lost.
Though we have had minor set backs in the past, we have not met with any major
failures. I have personally counted every penny that has been given to protect
this forest and I intend to do everything in my power to protect them.
Putting all trips and paying work aside, I have pulled several all nighters and
logged over 25,000 miles. Together we have presented dozen’s of slide shows
and lectures, attended conferences and forums and held dozens of meetings. In
a strange run of events, I was even invited to do an on camera audition for a
reality TV show, with the winner taking away a million dollars! Combine this
with the efforts of nine other volunteers doing their own marathon attempts at
fundraising it is clear we are still in the running to succeed. Having such a
great team of talented educators, guides, fundraisers and visionaries is indespensable
to the GCR. The down side is that during this crisis, all trips and programs
have had to cease, which means we are not out in the field with students, changing
lives and doing what we love.
Sticking with our vow that 100% of all donations will go directly to the land
purchase, all volunteers trying to save the forest (and the $135,000 down payment)
have been taking on considerable personal expenses, time commitments and sacrifices.
When I find myself straining under the weight of this unexpected challenge, I
just step back and look at the dedication and enthusiasm shown by GCR volunteers
and I am suddenly uplifted.
The upside to all the outreach has been that many foundations and private supporters
have expressed interest in helping us in the future. Our problem comes in that
most have already made their charitable contributions for 2004 . Others have
already pledged large amounts to support their favorite presidential candidate
and feel they must wait until next year to consider giving large sums of money.
The loss of the pledge and matching grant could not have come at a worse time.
In the past I have always broken down the fundraising numbers into small units.
As I prepare to send this newsletter I know we have close to 1500 people on our
mailing list. If each of these people made a $100 donation we would be back on
the home stretch. Or better yet, if each of our readers found just 10 colleagues,
friends, relatives or classmates to pledge just $25 each, we would save this
critical forest corridor, sparing Aula Global. This seems so manageable, but
requires 100% participation. With the state of the world as it is, how can I
convince so many people to work together? As each person reading this newsletter
sets it down without responding, the weight is shifted to fewer and fewer people.
With less than a month before we default, if we do not find a lot of funds, either
through hundreds of small donations, or a few very big ones, we are in serious
trouble. I am appealing to all of you out there to send donations, suggestions
and prayers.
I know that many of you are on the fundraising mountain with us and have been
for years. If you can offer us a hand by giving us a little boost up with a modest
donation, please do so right away. If you are in a position to toss us a life
line by making a sizable donation, we are ready to accept.
In writing these final words I am cast back to 1990, when I was trapped in a
storm high in the Himalayas. Having successfully smuggled several monks out of
Tibet to spare them from being killed or jailed, I began suffering badly from
a severe case of cerebral edema at 22,800 feet. Knowing I was dying, I sent the
monks on ahead to safety. I knew I was going to die alone upon that frozen mountain.
Then I thought of all the people I had met while traveling. I was living with
the poorist of the poor but getting so much from them. I vowed if I ever made
it off the mountain, I would return home and start a program to bring students
to meet these amazing people. I then began to fade. But hidden somewhere in the
storm came a miracle. I did return home, and I did fulfill my promise.
It was there in the Himalayas, against all odds that the Global Classroom seed
was planted. I continue to be changed in profound ways by monks, farmers, fisherman
and scores of other villagers that share thier lives with me. Since the Global
Classroom was created, thousands of lives have been changed. Aula Global Reserve
has been the hub of an amazing wheel of self discovery and personal growth for
so many. We must save this forest and Aula Global Reserve. Even now, I believe
that somewhere in the chaos of this unexpected storm there lies a miracle. We
have a great team doing the hard work in the field, we just need to meet the
right people to ensure we succeed. This is our plan of action:
•Double
the amount of rain forest slide shows we give per month
•
Arrange more private meetings with potential donors
•
Find nine people/organizations willing to give three donations of $10,000
over
the next 15 months. These donations would coincide with the remaining payments:
August 2004, March 2005, and October 2005.
•Seek a new source for a matching grant of $40,000 for the August payment.
•
Secure a private loan to complete all remaining payments. This would
avoid defaulting which would mean losing the land and the money already invested.
The donor would
then be reimbursed through a pre-negotiated schedule.
Ways You Can
Help
• Become a team leader
Commit to finding 10 people or more to
donate a minimum of $25
• Logistics coordinator
Host one of our exciting, colorful rain forest slide shows
in your home and invite all your friend and family.
•
Create a search and rescue team
Set up meetings for us with potential large donors that may
want to partner with us in preserving this amazing old growth
forest and insuring the continued success of Aula Global.
• Be an angel of light
Make a tax deductible donation of $25,000 or more.
• Be an angel of mercy
Help us find an individual or organization that will grant
us a zero interest loan of $200,000.
And Then There Was Light!
We are happy to announce we now have electricity at Aula Global reserve! With
the help of GCR volunteers, our research station now has lights to cook, read
and work by. Many thanks go to Gail Burrington of Solar Edge in Enfield Connecticut,
for giving us generous price reductions, donated items, and of course her expertise
in the needs of a remote solar installations. Just hours before a GCR volunteer
was due to board a plane for Costa Rica, Gail was willing to meet with her
in frigid temperatures to pull together a 68-watt system that would suit our
needs.
Gail started with four SHR-17 shingle-style panels. These six-foot long solar
panels resemble and act as roofing shingles. They were just what we needed as
they were able to be rolled up, packed in a small box and checked as regular
baggage. Plus, no worries of broken glass when they arrived in Costa Rica. An
added bonus is that when installed they lay so close to our porch roof that they
are virtually invisible. Also packed in the box was a 10-amp Sunwise charge controller,
Delta lightning arrestor, combiner boxes, catastrophe fuses, LED lights and a
small load center. All we needed now was a solar-friendly 12-volt battery, which
would have to be purchased in Costa Rica. Finding this battery was our biggest
concern as solar systems are quite rare in Costa Rica.
Waiting for us at our hotel in San Jose was a message from Valerie McCaffrey
and Dave Leib, two folks I met last fall at a slide show I gave in Bisbee, Arizona.
They were now in Costa Rica hoping to meet up with us to visit our reserve and
help us out. Living “off grid” using a solar system they installed
in their own home, they were most helpful. In less than two days we had all the
components needed except for the battery. Luckily, in Valerie’s free time
while in San Jose, she had managed to find Rolando, a distributor of gel-cell
batteries. Much to our surprise, Rolando was willing to deliver this battery,
free of charge, to an obscure bus station in San Jose to be sent up to Santa
Elena. The following morning it arrived and all 96 pounds of it was carried into
the reserve on the shoulder of Israel Mendez, our tireless local helper. (OK,
so he was a little tired after that trek.)
With the help of many different hands, the entire system was installed and we
are now up and running. No longer do we need to carry out our video and laptop
batteries every two days to be charged. With the use of a 12-volt auto adapter
students can type away all day long when doing research. Many thanks go out to
Gail, Valerie and Dave for their time and generous donations.
Youngsters Experience the Wet and the
Wilds of Aula Global
April vacation was long in coming for a group of
5th and 6th graders from Rowe Elementary School in Western Massachusetts.
A colorful array of fundraisers were implemented by the students
ranging from selling baked potatoes, a quick game of cow pie bingo
and even raffling off a beautiful rainforest quilt designed and
made by the students.
Arriving with the students at Aula Global was 3 days of heavy rain, clouds and
mud. Being the rainiest “ dry season” in 40 years these folks got
more than their share of rain in the rainforest. It did not seem to dampen spirits
too much.
There was never a dull moment at the research station. The students days were
filled with soggy jungle hikes, lots of card games, some journal writing, helpful
cook crews and even a hilarious collection of skits to keep us old folks from
getting cabin fever. Finally the rains abated and they got down and dirty planting
several Aguacatillo trees. They even had time to build some quetzal houses that
will be placed throughout the forest.
After all their hard work they traveled north to Rincon de la Vieja, a huge volcano
near the border of Nicaragua. Leaving the cool wet forests of Aula Global behind,
they entered a tropical dry forest teaming with life. Throughout the trip the
students enjoyed many silly experiences with monkeys, had some close encounters
with exotic birds and even found some unidentifiable insects.
A half day of hiking over ancient lava flows brought them to a waterfall straight
out of a Hollywood set. Emerald waters set against luscious greenery welcomed
the hot hikers as they entered the refreshing waters for a swim. The students
really showed what they were made of when they hiked to the summit of the volcano.
With stunning views of Nicaragua and her massive lake and islands, it was a day
to remember. This is no easy hike and has turned back many seasoned hikers. With
an average of 10 clear summit days a year, they were blessed with near perfect
weather. An excellent end to an amazing adventure. We look forward to hosting
more Rowe students in the future.
Aula Global reserve may be small, but it is incredibly rich in biodiversity.
While visiting Costa Rica in March, I was told there had been only 2 confirmed
sightings of the endangered Three-wattled Bellbird in the 11,000 hectare reserve
of Monteverde. Aula Global weighing in at a modest 200 hectares, had 7 confirmed
sightings, including 2 juveniles and a female.
I was fortunate to have a video camera in hand to capture great footage of a
female and a male perched in a dead tree only 50 meters from the research station.
The following day we witnessed and heard two juvenile males learning their very
complicated call. It was a hysterical display. The Bellbird call is a bizarre
sound to begin with, but these two really made a mess of it. Imagine a tone deaf
adolescent boy in the midst of a radical voice changing growth spurt trying to
sing an opera.
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