Aura's House April 2005 Newsletter

Hi Everyone.

We're at it again! Aura's House is excited to announce our newest project: a home for the Rojas family in Honduras. Two of the children, Heidy (7) and her sister Maria Rosa (10) are sponsored by Children International. Currently ten family members are renting a one-room shack but the Honduran government has granted them and several other needy families their very own plots of land. More details.

The Rojas family was recommended to us by Children International when we asked them to find a family who most needs a new house. Of course, building a house on your own is almost impossible when you have ten mouths to feed on just $240/month...which is why we are asking you to help!

You may remember that on October 26, 1998, Hurricane Mitch devastated Central America. The Rojas family lives in San Pedro Sula, which was directly in its path. The city underwent major damage and more than 60,000 people became homeless. Hurricanes are a constant threat in that part of the hemisphere; it is our goal to build the Rojas family a new home to not only improve their standard of living but also to stand firm during the rainy season.

Please visit our new and expanded site here and make a 100% US Tax Deductible Gift today to help Heidy and Maria Rosa. Any amount helps, even $1. It was the combination of many small donations that helped us raise $5700 for our original project in Guatemala. You'll also still be able to keep track of Aura Hernandez and her family as their new brick home is built. Thanks as always and please spread the word!

Best wishes ,
Kristen Palana and Anastasia Yecke

See Heidy and Maria Rosa Rojas' Current House

Meet Anastasia Yecke, Our New Collaborator

Anastasia Yecke grew up in a variety of locations across the United States due to her father's job in the Marine Corps. Her love of traveling brought her to Mexico to live as an exchange student, to Athens to study during her second year of college, and to a grand total of 46 countries on six continents during her almost four years with United Airlines.

After being laid off during the dot-com crash in 2001, she left San Francisco for SE
Asia where she and a friend backpacked for three months. She eventually moved to Miami in 2002 and now works as a national Account Executive with an advertising agency. Last October she helped raised funds to print 100 large-format posters encouraging people to sponsor children through Children International; they are posted around the City of Miami in her company's unsold ad spaces. She sponsors three girls through CI and went to visit one of them this January in the Dominican Republic for her 15th birthday (see pictures here.)

She is excited to work with Kristen on the newest Aura's House project: a home for the ten members of the Rojas family.

A few fun facts about Anastasia and Kristen who run this site:

• They are both 28 years old, and born in August (a Virgo and a Leo).

• Anastasia found out about Aura's House from a Craigslist posting. She was the first "stranger" to donate to the site, back when it first started. Kristen and Anastasia then met in person when Anastasia had a business trip to New York City last summer.

• Both like donuts, are both vegetarians, like to adopt helpless cats but aim not to become 'crazy cat ladies', and are ridiculously enthusiastic and idealistic people. It's a good thing. :-)

$297 Raised as of April 1, 2005

Thanks for checking out our newsletter. Don't forget to visit the site at: aurashouse.com