Greetings
from Edmonton, my new home. This is a personal e-mail and not related
to my artwork. I apologize if this is an inconvenience to anyone
receiving this newsletter.
I
have recently returned from Paraguay and I never imagined I'd have to go
back to the home of my childhood under such sad circumstances. On
July 27th, my father, Michael Rudolph, was killed after being hit by
a drunk driver while riding his bike on a Sunday morning, despite
perfect safety precautions. He was 62 years old. He still had so many
plans and there were so many things he still wanted to do.
Dad
was born in Germany, but spent the past 33 years in Paraguay working
as a dedicated teacher and educator in Paraguay. In addition to the
classroom teaching for which he always prepared with much
thoroughness, he loved theatre and he greatly extended the school's
library. He also enjoyed mentoring young teachers. He loved
travelling and hiking, he sang in the church choir and he played the
oboe in the community orchestra. But most of all, he was the best Dad
in the world. He was a most wonderful, smart, curious, patient, and
generous person.
For
the past three years he changed his career direction and he started
working for an NGO (Pro Comunidades Indígenas) for which he'd been
volunteering for the previous 15 years. In short, the NGO's mission
is the empowerment and strengthening of indigenous communities, to
educate them about their rights, to aid them in claiming their
rights, and to ultimately help them become more independent and
self-sufficient.
The
Idea
I
wish for my Dad's work to go on in some way, and after discussing
this with my family and friends, we have decided to set up an
endowment fund in Dad's name. We believe that education is a
fundamental right and the foundation of a stronger society.
Therefore, the endowment fund will be set up to pay tuition for
underprivileged indigenous students, so Dad's legacy in education and
his work with the indigenous communities in Paraguay will continue.
Education in Paraguay is not free, yet at approximately 175$ per year
comparatively cheap. To
set up the endowment fund, I am asking you for donations.
Some of you knew my Dad personally, some of you didn't, but any small
amount will help us to create a well-functioning fund. The endowment
fund will be set up to generate interest with currently high interest
rates in Paraguay. The registration costs for a foundation in Paraguay are approximately 2000$. To ensure the sustainability of the foundation, the capital fund created by the donations will not be touched after the start-up costs have been covered, and the scholarships will be paid solely from the interest payouts.
The
Goal
We
have decided to start on a somewhat informal scale. Once we know how
many donations we have received, we will be better able to gauge the
scale of this foundation. The goal is to then form a board
to manage the funds and outline the scope of the project. There are
several interested members already, such as my mother, myself, and
family friends who live in Paraguay. Until the formation of the
board, my mother and I will be responsible for the collected funds.
We are planning on registering the fund as a charity in Paraguay.
Since we are currently not registered yet and we expect the process
to take up to two years, we are unable
to issue donation tax receipts at this point.
For all donors, we'll send periodic updates about the fund and the foundation.
How
to donate
You
can easily
donate via paypal by clicking on the button below, which will
re-direct you to a webpage from which you can safely make the
donation. If
you would rather pay by money wire or by cheque, please write me an
e-mail (contact@miriamrudolph.com) and I will send you my bank information or mailing address. I
will collect donations from North America and Europe in a Canadian
donations account and then transfer the sum to our donations account
in Paraguay, which we have already set up. I thank you kindly for
your support.
Warm
regards,
Miriam
Rudolph