Every Marra’s Star purchase helps Seeds of Learning (SOL) improve educational opportunities in Latin America. I had the amazing opportunity to participate in a work group program with SOL in 1999 through my church, St. Andrews Presbyterian (Tucker, Georgia). We worked alongside local community members in rural El Salvador, building a school. We also played with their children, visited local artisans, and were entertained with local dance and music. (Not to mention indulging in THE tastiest bread ever baked from a communal bread oven.) I was forever changed by that trip; I witnessed true community – people in a war-torn country who had been through unimaginable loss still hopeful, still helpful to each other, still smiling. And still grateful to be alive.
 
Founded in 1991, SOL continues to thrive, though it no longer sends work groups to El Salvador. Thanks to SOL, today, children who sat on dirt floors or stumps have desks – and so much more. SOL has built schools, a Learning Resource Center, and funded scholarships and adult literacy classes. 
 
SOL has given more than 1,300 scholarships to students in Nicaragua and El Salvador. The organization supports over 80 primary, secondary, and university students in Latin America.
 
Each year, approximately 350 volunteers from all over North America participate in SOL’s work group program. Together, USA and Canadian volunteers and Central American community members have built 274 educational rooms with 96 partner communities.
They've built schools in Guatemala and also sent groups there for language school.
 
For more about SOL, visit seedsoflearning.org.