Dale & Lynda Lyster

&
The Friends of Barron
Sinaloa, Mexico

 MEXICAN CHILDREN GET HELPING HAND

By Marty Hope, Calgary Herald August 7, 2010

 It's got all the makings of a movie plot line.

A couple visiting a foreign country fall in love with the place they are staying.

They plan to spend more time there, so they begin to learn more about the people in the small town nearby.

They become involved with local schoolchildren and set about providing some of the educational tools the students are so lacking.

This story is about Dale and Lynda Lyster, retired Calgary teachers who have become personally involved with giving a helping hand to the schoolchildren of Barron, Mexico.

Although the students want to learn, they have been held back by the lack of educational fundamentals -- things Canadian kids take for granted, like computers, library books and blackboards.

The Lysters are part of a movement called the Friends of Barron.

The couple bought a condo at Estrella Del Mar resort in 2003 and developed a fractional ownership arrangement with six friends so they could go to Mexico twice a year for a month at a time.

Since then, they have purchased a second condo and have staked their claim to a building site on the Robert Trent Jones, Jr., golf course that is part of the resort, with an eye to using it as a retirement residence.

In 2006, the Lysters were exploring Barron -- a town of 3,000 which has always had a close connection with Estrella because many of the staff at the resort's golf course, restaurant, grounds and housekeeping services come from there.

The little town has a bakery, small stores, a cantina, restaurant, ball diamond and three schools.

It was on one of these side trips that the Lysters stopped in at the elementary school to see if there was an opportunity to volunteer.

At their first tour of the school, the language barrier was immediately apparent.

Neither the principal or teachers spoke English and the Lysters didn't know Spanish.

It was also obvious the school needed help.

"We were sad to see the poor condition of the tables, chairs and desks and the poor quality of the blackboards that had been painted with blackboard paint so often, you could no longer see the chalk," says Dale. "The

students, dressed in their navy pants and skirts with white shirts, were ready to learn, but there were no books in the classrooms, no art supplies and very few resources."

When asked about computers, the principal proudly showed the couple four outdated machines in a room the size of a closet where three children sat on old metal benches, fascinated by what was happening on the screen.

There was no Internet connection. The teacher only had access to a couple of reading and writing programs.

"In another closet space was the library," says Dale.

"About 100 Spanish books were imprisoned in boxes sitting on the floor. There were no bookshelves for the books and the children were not allowed to use the books as the school had no way of tracking them."

The Lysters became determined to help the town's 300 or so children.

On Valentine's Day in 2007, the couple held the first of many meetings with the principals of the kindergarten, elementary and secondary schools, who were joined by an interpreter and the town's mayor.

"Wish lists were generated from the school staffs and principals and that was the beginning of an amazing journey over the next three years that has culminated in wiring an empty classroom and equipping it with 30 computers and restoring a dilapidated classroom into a beautiful new little library," says Dale.

Through the financial support of Pat Butler -- the president of Club Acquisition Co. which developed Estralla Del Mar -- his staff and the generous Americans and Canadians from the condo complex, the Lysters started a fundraising program for the schools that continues today through the Friends of Barron.

The charity's focus in 2011 will be on the creation of more scholarships for deserving Grade 9 students to attend high school in Mazatlan -- and the building of a computer lab for the 100 grade 7, 8 and 9 students who have only three computers in the entire school.

"Lynda and I believe that providing an excellent education is the best way to change the future of the young students who live in Barron," says Dale. "Education can open doors to a better standard of living and employment for Mexico's bright young students."

 Dale & Lynda Lyster have been raising money for Friends of Barron since 2007. They have made tremendous gains against all odds.

In 2007, Friends of Barron:

• Bought 3 white boards for the 13 elementary and secondary classrooms that had old blackboards in poor repair. Ten more white boards were donated thanks to Norm Shaw. Estrella del Mar workers installed all the white boards.

• 1 filing cabinet (Principal had piles of paper on the floor – no where to file them)

• Mexican flag and flag pole for assemblies at secondary school

• School supplies from Estrella del Mar owners (pencils, paper, felt pens, erasers)

In 2008 Friends of Barron:

• Elementary School:10 tables and 20 chairs for grade one classroom (replaced old metal ones), renovated an unused classroom to make it into the new Media Classroom, bought co-axle cable for Internet access, computer technician from Estrella del Mar worked on a weekend to wire the classroom, 20 small laptops were provided by TelMex through a contest the school entered so the school now has 27 computers – a full lab!

• Secondary School: a front wall and gate to the school as well as fencing around the school and playground to keep the chickens and pigs out. Friends of Barron paid for the front wall and gate and the school board did the fencing;  Classroom supplies were donated from Estrella del Mar owners (pencils, paper, felt pens, erasers, art supplies)

In 2009, the annual Estrella del Mar Golf Tournament donated $6,000 US to Friends of Barron. The following items were purchased for the schools:

• Kindergarten: 1 computer, bookshelves in each of the 3 classrooms, 2 TV’s donated by Simon and Lauri S, 3 Flip Charts, we retiled one roof because of leaks.

• Elementary: 1 computer, 6 tables and 36 chairs (hired local carpenter)

• Secondary: Rewiring to bring in 220v electricity to school, 1 computer, Cistern and pump for the bathroom.

• In March, 2009, Estrella del Mar sponsored a winning Little League Baseball Team by providing team uniforms.

In late 2009 and 2010, Friends of Barron:

• Kindergarten: Rewired and replumbed the cisterns

• Primary: Remodeled, furnished and stocked a community library in an unused classroom. The computer lab that we built in 2008 was opened for use by the public.

• Secondary: Raised sufficient matching funds to allow the school to apply for Mexican government funds to build a computer lab. Currently, they have 20 computers but the existing classrooms are too small to accomodate both the computers and the students. Scholarships and an Adopt a Student Program are in place.

Fund raising plans are in the works but we need YOUR Donation Today. Just click the Chip In.com icon on the sidebar and send your money to FriendsofBarron@aol.com. You will recieve a Spanish/English Dictionary in exchange for your donation.

To see updates and more information go to:
http://friendsofbarron.blogspot.com/2010/11/fall-progress-report.html