The first Canadian endowment for the Bacaanda Foundation, supporting rural education in Oaxaca, Mexico.
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“I walked into a classroom in the middle of a Kahoot quiz. Questions popped up on the TV at the front, and every kid was tapping in answers on an iPad. They were having an absolute blast. And actually learning at the same time.”
Will Porter, on his May 2026 visit to Bacaanda-supported school in El Rosario, Sierra Sur, Oaxaca
For Janice Mickleborough, this is not a new discovery. It is a confirmation of something her family has been believing, and quietly funding, for years.
Long before Will boarded a plane to Huatulco, his grandmother was already supporting the Bacaanda Foundation. She has not visited the schools in person. She has not needed to. The work of putting an iPad and a Starlink connection into a one-room school in the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca, and what that means for a fourteen-year-old girl who would otherwise stop attending school after sixth grade, was reason enough.
A Family Tradition
The Mickleborough family’s connection to Bacaanda is generational. Three generations now share it. Janice gives, and has done so consistently. Her daughter is the next bridge. And in May 2026, Will became the first of his generation to travel to Oaxaca and see the work firsthand.
Over eleven days he visited seven rural schools across the Sierra Sur: Escuela Rural 3 de Mayo, El Rosario, Palo Grande, Pluma Hidalgo, La Mina, El Granadillo, and Llano Grande. He sat in on classrooms, worked alongside the foundation’s small staff at Casa Bacaanda, spent a Saturday with the Continuing My Dream scholars, and closed the trip by presenting a proposal of his own contribution to the foundation’s work.
“That classroom showed me what Bacaanda actually does. The iPads and the Starlink get all the attention, but they are the easy part. The hard part is teachers who know how to use them well, and kids whose families can keep them in school. You need all three or it does not work.”
Will Porter
What Bacaanda Does
Bacaanda Foundation runs Intelligent Rural Schools, a program that has placed iPads and Starlink internet connections in 59 rural schools across the Sierra Sur of Oaxaca, Mexico, reaching more than 550 children in 23 communities. The schools themselves are built and renovated in partnership with the communities they serve: 34 schools and 31 teacher housing units to date.
Its flagship initiative, Continuing My Dream, supports the first cohort of these students through high school, a milestone most of their parents and grandparents never reached.
The foundation is run by a small, all-volunteer team. The Jarnryd family (Susanne, Erik, and Britt) has led the work since 2008 with zero compensation. In 2025, ninety-six percent of the foundation’s revenue came from individual donors.
Why an Endowment
For years, the Mickleboroughs supported Bacaanda directly. The endowment is the family’s way of ensuring that support continues beyond any one person’s lifetime, making it the first Canadian endowment for Bacaanda.
The Mickleborough family hopes their fund is the first of many.
How to Contribute
Donations to the Mickleborough Family Bacaanda Fund can be made through the Edmonton Community Foundation. Gifts of any size are welcome.
Anyone inspired to begin their own named endowment for Bacaanda, or for another cause, can do so through ECF with a minimum starting gift of $10,000.
Donate to this Fund
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