Matènwa Community School

Children and teachers engage in hands-on education, critical thinking, and mutual respect.

Institute for Learning

Teacher training for schools seeking to find a more effective way to teach.

Mother Tongue Books

Empowering children to become literate by reading and writing in their native language.

Women’s Leadership Fund

Seven Matènwa graduates are now continuing their university education—fully supported for the year—thanks to this community.

Creole Gardens

Students cultivate organic produce, practice environmental stewardship.

Summer Camp

Inspiring meaningful exchanges that strengthen community ties and inspire collaborative learning.

Art Matènwa

Nurturing creative expression by supporting women artisans.

Community Outreach

Help students and families care for elders and build lasting food security.

College Scholarships

Matènwa grads who've earned full-tuition scholarships need your help to cover costs like housing, meals, books, and more.

Support Matènwa programs

As our present pushes forward in difficult and uncertain ways, survival holds a multi-layered definition that is unique for each of us. Self-preservation is not only in mask-wearing and hand-washing, but also in finding our center and remaining hopeful amidst the chaos.

I’m writing you to invite you to pre-order Ways to Survive, a meditative handbook of poetry and paintings, intended to nourish ones inner spirit, created by the Vice-President of our Board, Donna Haig Friedman and her long-standing Turkish friend, Berna Kahraman.

You can see their book and its story at: www.waystosurvive.org For a better reading experience, use a laptop or a desktop computer.

All proceeds will support nonprofits that the creators are deeply involved in. 100% of book sales made by ordering and paying for Ways to Survive through this link directly benefits Friends of Matènwa and the families we serve. Please forward this e-mail to your network.

Here is how the process works. By clicking on this link, you can order the meditative handbooks at $20 a book. We expect the books to be in print in the summer, at which time your order will be mailed to you.

I hope you’ll order a book for yourself and consider gifting copies to all your friends who would appreciate this unique contemplative pairing of art and poetry.

You remain in my thoughts...

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