Dear Friends,

The first few pictures below appear unremarkable.

These are our our kids. They know, all too well, the ways and challenges of the street. They’ve chosen instead to learn how to read, to write, to be constructive and useful. They learn how to cut hair, and then volunteer to offer free haircuts in our barrio. They lean on each other and make being constructive “cool,” instead of surrendering to whatever dark path led them to our door. They work hard. They have hope.

They encourage each other through victories and relapses alike. Neighbors to Nicaragua is a constant – one of the few – in their lives: we feed, educate, encourage, and listen. We do this knowing that these children are stronger than they should have to be.

Sometimes, they simply need to breathe over a game of Parcheesi, Monopoly, Connect Four, chess, or checkers – time away from the struggles of the poverty that surround them. It’s space to build relationships, to know they’re safe, to share ideas, and to dream and try out new ideas with each other.

Thank you for helping us make this all possible.

With gratitude,
Chuck

SPONSORSHIP CORNER: MEET ITHAN ISAID GOMEZ

Note: Our student sponsorships are the backbone of Neighbors to Nicaragua’s ability to provide the many services we share with our great community. The cost of a full sponsorship is $70 a month which helps us pay our expenses for salaries, food, and a myriad of obligations. If you would like to sponsor Ithan, please let us know. We are grateful to each of our sponsors and to for your consideration to become one. Thank you to MB who now sponsors our last student featured: Keyling.

  

Ithan (pronounced “Ethan”) Isaid Valle Gomez is 9 years old. Unlike most of our students, he lives with both of his parents who are fortunate enough to have jobs. Although low-paying, they provide for basic necessities. During the day, while his parents are working, Ithan stays with his aunt. Because she cannot read, and the public school Ithan attends is poor, his education has been substandard. Ithan never learned to read or write, and he was being bullied in school because of it. His mother spoke to our teacher, Amelia, and they enrolled him in Amelia’s 3:00 p.m. class where Ethan gets daily tutoring. Amelia reports that after only two months, he’s making good progress and is exhibiting more self-confidence.

HURRICANE JULIA

Our thanks to all who expressed concern during Hurricane Julia which came on the heels of Ian and caused much devastation to the eastern part of Nicaragua. By the time it reached us, it was a heavy rain and wind event. We had only messy debris and wind damage to resolve. We closed the school on Monday the 10th (except for food distribution) while friends of the community and students turned out to help us clean up and finish minor repairs. The next day, school was up and running!

UPDATE: Thank you to those who took the time to switch on our behalf. Right after sending this, we received our biggest quarterly donation to date – over $200. With the holiday season approaching, this amount will increase and benefit all the people we serve. If you haven’t had the chance to switch to smile.amazon.com, please consider helping in this way. Thank you!

Please Take Five Minutes or less (promise!) to learn about and to switch to Smile.Amazon.com

If you use Amazon.com, can you make a small change that won’t affect your shopping experience at all? Instead of logging into “Amazon.com,” simply log into “Smile.Amazon.com”.

When you log in the first time, the toolbar at the top will offer the opportunity to support your favorite non-profit. Choose Neighbors to Nicaragua (please)! Then bookmark this site, so whenever you want to order something from Amazon, you’ll order from smile.amazon.com instead. Amazon will donate a small fraction of your purchase price back to us each quarter. There is no difference in the website from that of Amazon.com in any way. They’re exactly the same site and there is no additional cost to you! Last quarter it was about $170 (see note above). Here’s a link to a news broadcast (two-minutes long) about it: Smile.Amazon.com. Thank you!

FOLLOW UP:  In our last update, we asked for help in posting a review of Neighbors to Nicaragua on Great Nonprofits. Because of your willingness to take time to do this, Neighbors to Nicaragua has achieved “Great Nonprofits” highest status. Our sincerest thanks to all who join in the teamwork it takes to do what needs to be done.

We are grateful to you!