Rosalba Icaza, researcher at the ISS, launched a donation campaign at the ISS after the earthquake in Mexico in early September. This campaign raised 1300 euros. The money will go to a community-funded high school in Oaxaca, Mexico. Icaza started a similar campaign in collaboration with Erasmus University College on Thursday to raised additional money for this school.

Funded by the community

With big funding projects, you don’t always know exactly how your money will be spent. That was why Icaza decided to launch a targeted project after the earthquake struck in early September. “I decided to raise money for a heavily hit secondary school that I’ve been in contact with myself since 2008. That’s how I knew that the money would be in good hands. “

The high school affected by the earthquake receives very limited state funding, and most of the financial support comes from the community. “Women from that community make and sell food to maintain the school financially. However, due to the earthquake, they lost almost all their means for maintaining the school. ”

“There is a lot of unemployment in Mexico, and the school receiving the money will lead students to work in the community,” says Icaza. “With the money they have now, they can rebuild and replace their cooking utensils and ovens, but more is needed. They also have to take photographs so that donors can how their money is being spent.”

Follow-up

Icaza considered the 1300 euros she raised with the project to be a relatively high amount for such a small institute as ISS. “It’s also in the ISS DNA to help people around the world. In the sixties and seventies, ISS was a safe haven for defenders of democracy persecuted in their own countries. ”

There will be a sequel to this fundraising campaign. The EUC and ISS have come together to plan for a follow-up project with even greater scope. “The first project was for emergency relief, but more help is needed. We want to involve the entire EUR community in this new project so we can collect even more money for our targeted donation campaign.”