Dear Friends,
Greetings from Nicaragua. It’s wonderful to be here with our great community again.
Our school is back in session after its annual two-week July semester break. (Schools here run from February until mid-December). We have been auditioning teachers each day this past week to determine the best replacement for our teacher, Roberto, who is moving back to Managua. The news of an opening has attracted some exceptional talent, and we look forward to sharing an update on that soon.
Our friends here frequently ask us to thank those who make so much possible for them and their families. And as we look around at how we’ve all come together to do all we do, we echo that gratitude for your belief in them, your belief in our work, and your tremendous generosity.
With gratitude always,
Chuck
A Campaign Update:
We Are So Enouraged!
We are in the midst of our Mid-year Matching Grant Appeal. To date – with a month to go until Labor Day – we have reached 78%, $19,543 of our $25,000 goal which, when matched, will have raised $50,000, nearly enough for an entire year’s worth of food for our community!
If you haven’t yet had the chance to donate, there’s still time. If would like another copy of the campaign, just let us know. Alternately, you can donate through our website (address below) if you prefer.
¡Muchísimas Gracias!
The Importance of Emotional Intelligence
How fortunate to be here in time to attend our Saturday Youth Group’s weekly workshop, the second one devoted to Emotional Intelligence. It was presented by our friends, Patricia and Gian Carlos from Casa de los Sueños, After reinforcing the importance of sensing, identifying, and understanding our wide palette of emotions, we role-played scenarios to learn how to accept them and how to reduce the fears and effects that often accompany them. Our students were great as were the presenters…a valuable two-hours!
Living Out of a Suitcase
Those who travel here as visitors for volunteers bring two suitcases filled with 50 pounds of clothes in each. (A shout-out to Carol, my wife, who sorts, folds and packs each one masterfully!)
Our cook, Isabel, who knows everyone in the barrio, sizes up, sorts, and distributes clothes and toys. We leave the suitcases behind because they’re used as containers for dishes or for clothing. (Houses in our barrio have no closets or cabinets.)
If you have any large suitcases (with wheels, please!) that you no longer use, we’d love to take them and store them until we can bring them here. Just let us know, and we will make arrangements to get them from you. Thank you.
The Young Inspire
He’s quiet, he’s polite, he smiles a lot, and he’s only 15. His name is Justin Colis Canton.
Like the families of most of our older students, Justin and his family struggle economically. Although neither of his parents are literate, they wanted their son to have basic literacy skills. Two years ago, he began literacy classes with us, and we witnessed his very rapid progress.
Today, he continues studying with us most mornings. But we also contacted a nearby school to enroll him into its accelerated program whereby older students cover “two years in one”. Justin is currently in his “4th-and-5th- grades” year.
Whenever there is an opportunity for his father to work, Justin needs to skip our morning class to assist his dad. Then, at noon, he comes to us to eat a meal before going off to his afternoon school program.
Meanwhile, should he find anything needing his help at our school, he is on the task before we even ask.
Justin is an ace, a wonderful example for our younger kids who look up to the older ones. He’s happy to be with us, and the feeling is mutual!
