S.E.E.D.
Self-Esteem Enrichment & Development
Various Donation Options:
|
Monthly Tax-Deductible Partner
|
|
On Monday Mar 17, 2025 We met with the Oscar Humberto Subuyuj Gil Superintendent of Schools,the Superintendent of schools. He thanked us for partnering with him because two of the four schools S.E.E.D. is be taught at do not have a physical education program or teacher, making the S.E.E.D. Martial Art Instructors the Schools We will be there PE Teachers (Physical Education)! I informed him about MYFEST25! (Our International Tournament) coming to Santo Doming Xenacoj Oct 15-18, 2025 and that 150 students from the 4 public schools will compete Internationally in the MYFEST 25! Pan Am Tournament United States, Mexico, Central America and South America. S.E.E.D. is currently being taught in four Public Schools for a total of over 1,200 students!
|
What is S.E.E.D. and how did it start?
Part 1: "Where the rough section of town"?
Where did the actual acrynom "S.E.E.D. come from? WELL, it goes back to the late 1980's and early 1990's. I was running a Dojang (Karate school) in the roughest section of town to produce tough tournament fighters! It's a really good story, and actually a pretty funny story! I wrote a 7 part story here, if you want to read it and learn as to the "Who What, Where, When, Why, and How" came to be! OK, here goes: In 1985 I opened my first Dojang (Karate School) in Old Lyme, CT; a very affluent community. I asked my roommate at the time: "Kevin, where's the toughest area around here?" He said "Bank Street in New London." Bank St had a reputation for being rough because the Sailors from the Groton Sub Base would come to Bank Street to drink, gamble, and party. There were lots of fights. "Bank Street and its surrounding streets were lined with establishments like taverns, bars, and boarding houses that catered to the needs of these men while they were on leave or waiting to ship out." It was a rough place! And so, in 1986 I set out to find a place to set up shop. And set up shop I did! i opened on Captian Walk. For 6 months every "Tom, Dick, and Harry" would come in with a ratty-tatty Dobok (Karate Uniform) and a Purple or Brown Belt that looked like he tied it to his rear bumper driving to my school. You see, my school was like a match to dry grass. There hadn't been a karate school in the area for a long time and every fighter wanted to come in and "Challenge the Sensei". Really, it was like a movie! They'd say "How much does it cost to fight?" I'd say "$5, but you have to take class". I was 25 years old, in top shape and loved to Spar. And Spar we did! Thats how I met Keith Beardsley, my senior student. Keith was really rough and we became the best of friends! In fact in 2026 we'll celebrate his 40th year as my senior student! Anyway, Keith was tough as nails and when some "Yahoo" woudl come in wanting to fight Keith would be like the Hunchback from Noter Dame saying "Yes Master!" like he was in a cage, and it would be like we'd open the door with the creeking sound, through the mouse to the snake, close the door and listen to the carnage!
What is S.E.E.D. and how did it start?
Part 2: The end of the "Wild Wild West"
Soon the "Wild Wild West" settled down into a very solid school with a great reputation for strong training, strict discipline and a no-nonse approach to training. Every once in a while we'd get a "Yahoo", and you'd hear "Keith, we got a guy who wants to do some full contact..." and Keith would just smile... Soon solid reputable families joined the school. We also would get very talented students from low income families. The familes struggled to financially and after several months there'd be an unexpect bill, like a car problem or something, and then the mon would say "We cant afford Karate anymore", and either they'd quit, or I'd have to give them a partial scholarship.
What is S.E.E.D. and how did it start?
Part 3: "Losing Terrence"
As time passed we started producing some really good students. One student was a young black youth named Terrence. He was one of the most talented students I ever had, if not THEE most talented student I ever had. He was funny, polite, and everyone loved him. I loved Terrence. He was from a broken family with no dad. He was from the "hood". Every year we'd take the school camping. Keith and I took the kids to Strawberry Park. Terrence was just a teenager, maybe 13 or 14. He brought his iron and ironed his shirt and short pants to go to the build-in swimming pool! I had never seen tha before and said "Terrence, you're ironing your short pants to go to the swimming pool?!?" (I truly was confused), he look at me and smiled "Sir, you gotta look good for the ladies...the ladies sir the pool is full of them!" I just laughed...and thought "Only Terrence would tink like that!" Well, tie went by and Terrence ended up quitting karate. Then he quit school. Then he started selling drugs in the Hood. It broke my heart. I did everything I could to stop him from quitting karate because I knew we (the Dojang - Karate School) was one of his critical lifeline to getting out of the hood. I lost touch wit Terrence, but I heard he went to jail. It broke my heart. Even to this day I think back and wish we could of done more... and that situation was part of how I came up with S.E.E.D...
What is S.E.E.D. and how did it start?
Part 4: "Sell everything and move to Guatemala"
In 2010 I sold everything and moved to Guatemala as a missionary. I moved into a very poor Indigenous Mayan Pueblo. From 2010 - 2013 I lived in Guatemala. It's said that "Attitudes are caught, not taught", and this was true for my children. The Lord blessed me with 15 children. 13 are biological, 2 are step-children. One of my sons went home to the Lord. The poverty mindset started creeping into my children's worldview to the point where they started saying "Maybe I'm not going to go to College..." My children are VERY smart, and while College is not for all of them, it was for a majority of them, and returning to the US was critical to prevent this mindset from becoming permanent and detrimental. I was called to the Mission field, not my children. So we returned to the US in 2013. I continued to return to Guatemala every 2 - 3 months to continue the ministry there. I can say, 12 years later (2025) I can say my children are doing fantastic! 2 of my daughters have graduated from Divinity School. One daughter is a Nurse. One of my sons is a certified Paramedic. 2 of my daughters graduated from UNC Chapel Hill. One of my sons is currently enrolled there. One of my daughters graduated from UNC Charlotte. Currently one of my sons and my daughters are enrolled at FTCC (Fayetteville Tech Commnity College) and my youngest is still in High School. Two of my sons graduated from High School and chose a career path that did not require College. One son got his Real Estate Lisc, but decided working on a dairy farm is hsi passion. Another son is working towards getting his General Contacting Lisc. So all my children have followed their dream. Good for them! But, if they stayed in Guatemala, living amongst the Indigenous they could of gotten "stuck". Many youth quit school to work. And after working there for years and years I dsaw nothing really "changed". I had started feeding rpograms, did medical campaings, build houses, gacve away hundreds of stoves, but honestly, not really changed. They say the definition of insanity is "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results", and so for different results I need to do something different...
What is S.E.E.D. and how did it start?
Part 5: "Bogotá, Columbia"
Zechariah 4:10 Do not despise these small beginnings,for the Lord rejoices
to see the work begin, to see the plumb line in Zerubbabel’s hand.”
I knew "Karate" changed my life. My friend James Cook earned his Doctorate in Organizational Leadership and wrote his Thesis on "A Wrap Around Poverty Intervention Model: Leveraging Social Capital Reduces Poverty". Social Capital is defined as "The networks of relationships among people who live and work in a particular society, enabling that society to function effectively." I realized my true Social Capital was "Karate". I was an 8th Degree Grandmaster Black Belt. I had a full time Dojang (karate School) and an Association wirh 30 Dojangs in it. I had 50 years of experience, with contacts around the world. I was appointed at the Guatemala WEKAF Rep (World Escrima Kali Arnis Federation). I had everything I needed to start a karate school EXCEPT Karate Teachers! It's been said "Drastic times call for drastic measures..." and this was drastic! It's also been said 'Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day, but if you teach a man a fish and you feed him for a lifetime." I wanted to teach the young men and ladies karate so they could open Karate Schools, BUT, to teach Karate I needed to make Karate Teachers, but I was only in Guatemala 2 weekes every couple of months. So, I took a radical approach. I decided to teach Karate Students with the spoken purpose to "Make Teachers..." So on July 31, 2023 we started with our first class with 6 students. I told them I would come to Guatemala every 6 - 8 weeks and train them hard for 2 weeks. I would give them videos and they could send me videos of their training. I told them they would need to train together 2 - 3 nights a week and be serious. I told them if they were serious they could promote and earn their Black Belts. Then I saw an International Tang Soo Do Tournament in Bogotá, Columbia. I looked into the tournament and told them “If you get a passport and train seriously I’ll buy your airplane tickets, hotels and competition fee and take you as a team to the International Tournament in Bogotá, Columbia.” And just 342 days later 12 Guatemalans won 20 medals in Bogotá, Columbia. History had been made and lives were changed forever! To read James Cooks Graduate Dissertation click here: digitalshowcase.lynchburg.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1034&context=etd
What is S.E.E.D. and how did it start?
Part 6: "S.E.E.D. is planted Mon March 17, 2025"
Photo below, Adan Aquino the Francisco Marroquín National Order Award. This honorary distinction of Guatemala awarded to each year to 10 Guatemalan educators who have distinguished themselves in the field of education and is granted on June 25 of each year, in celebration of Teacher's Day in Guatemala.
In March of 2024 the concept of hiring some of my students to teach in public schools started became a concept and a discussion with Adan Aquino, my good friend Adan Aquino. He's a local Principal of an Elementary School, and the recipient of the Francisco Marroquín National Order Award. He fully supported the idea. Over the course of the year we worked out the logistics and on Mon Mar 17, 2025 I took a great step of faith! We partnered with four school, for over 1,200 students. I visited each school and announced the start of S.E.E.D. Below is a photo gallery of the inaugural classes! The goal is to culminate with an International Tournaent called "MYFEST25!" Oct 15-18, 2025 in Guatemala!
From Oscar Humberto Subuyuj Gil Superintendent of Schools:
Coordinación Santo Domingo Xenacoj y San Bartolomé Milpas Altas"We recently had a conversation with the SGRO Karate Organization to join efforts in strengthening the sport and promoting moral and ethical values in the education community. As part of this collaboration, we will have the support of three sports facilitators, who will work in various educational centers in the district, contributing to the comprehensive development of boys and girls and promoting their screening at the international level."
From Oscar Humberto Subuyuj Gil Superintendent of Schools:
Coordinación Santo Domingo Xenacoj y San Bartolomé Milpas Altas"We recently had a conversation with the SGRO Karate Organization to join efforts in strengthening the sport and promoting moral and ethical values in the education community. As part of this collaboration, we will have the support of three sports facilitators, who will work in various educational centers in the district, contributing to the comprehensive development of boys and girls and promoting their screening at the international level."
What is S.E.E.D. and how did it start?
Part 7: "CIELO - VECA" Christian Academy"
Our plan is to hire students to teach martial arts with the condition that they will finish school and achieve their High School diploma. To do this they enroll in "La Academia Cristiana CIELO". "CIELO" is the Spanish word for "Heaven", and is also an acryonm for "Colegio Integral Educativo de Liderazgo Orientado". English: "Comprehensive Educational School of Leadership"". CIELO is a College-Prep Christian School. The students that do not have a desire to go to College enroll in VECA (Vocational Entrepreneurial Christian Academy) the core curricculum for both CIELO and VECA is A.C.E. (Accelerated Christian Education) (www.aceschooloftomorrow.com) The incredible value of a Diploma from A.C.E. is that it is a US Diploma, which carries more value than the Guatemala High School Diploma. A.C.E. Graduates have been admitted to over 1,400 Worldwide, to include Harvard and Stamford. For a list of Colleges and Universities that have accepted A.C.E. graduates click here (www.aceschooloftomorrow.com/media/pageimg/CollegeUniv.pdf) This is a very strategic advantage for the S.E.E.D. Graduates because many of them want to continue in school, but can’t because the family needs them to work to provide financially. Since we will be able to hire them to teach S,E.E.D. and require them to finish High School, many of the students who finish High School through CIELO (College-Prep Oriendted) or VECA (Vocational and/or Entrepreneurial oriented) will excel!
