Happy New Year, everyone! We hope that 2023 is off to a great start for you. Flagstaff is having its best snowstorm in more than a decade and while we know that this also means California is flooding, we can’t help but be grateful. We are also grateful for some wonderful news from our students.

In Guatemala, Valentina had surgery on her foot to remove a very painful cyst that made it impossible for her to walk. She is recovering well and we just received her year-end letter and grades. That young lady is a powerhouse! She was valedictorian for her class, and finished the year with a fantastic set of grades. Loyda passed her fourth year and also sent us a wonderful letter. Please check out their pages to read their letters.

After more than a year of silence, we finally were able to get back in touch with our contacts in Uganda. Turns out it was something of a miscommunication, and we are so happy to be back in touch with Naomi and Rebecca. Naomi has finished her O-levels in secondary school (the first four years) and has taken her exams to advance to her A-levels (the last two years). She wrote us a wonderful letter and we have some new photos of her up on her page. Rebecca suffered a huge loss when her mother died this past year, but she is living with her grandmother and is being supported by the church and the community. She wants to go to what they call a “craft” school, basically a vocational school, to learn some kind of skill such as hair styling, makeup, etc. We are waiting to hear what she wants to do and where she will be studying.

We have received post-secondary scholarship applications from Jeni Anselm and Jeni Joseph in Tanzania! Jeni Anselm is already starting her second year of university, studying biomedical equipment engineering. Her application answers are up on her page. Jeni Joseph just started teaching college, and we will have her application up soon. We are excited to continue working with these lovely young women.

Michel in Nicaragua is overjoyed to be back in school, finishing her last year at the university to become a primary school educator. She had to leave last year to take care of her father, who had some serious health problems. But he has stabilized and she is back in class and can barely contain her happiness. We look forward to attending her university graduation this coming December.

Finally, our 2022 Annual Report is available to read.

Thank you, once again, for all your support. We look forward to the coming year, and watching these young women grow into their dreams.

The ONE Board: Birgit, Christa, Heather, Janeece, Leslie, Meghan