Since I received FOUR letters from sponsored children on Monday, I decided to "ration" them and only open one a day. That way the excitement would last longer! Yesterday I opened a letter from Samuel. (I got two from him on Monday.) The letter turned out to be his CP letter- a response to the first letter I wrote to him when I began sponsoring him at the end of June. He wrote in English, with very nice printing. Here is what Samuel had to say:
"Dear Ms. Nicole,
How are you? I hope that you and your family are in good condition always. My name is Samuel J---- but my family and my friends call me Chao as my nick name. I'm fourteen years old and I'm in second year High School as of now. My parents are already pass away, from now on our older brothers are taking care of us, helping us in our daily needs and in our studies. I have six sisters and three brothers. I live here in province of Albay near at the famous Mayon Volcano.
I love to sing and dance, I also love painting and put decorations in our school and in our house. Most of all I love gardening, I plant more flowering plants and vegetables. I have lot of friends here and we are always together walking going to school. I wake-up at four a.m. [!!] so that I prepare all the things that I need in my studies. I also love reading books at night and study my lessons. I am happy to have you as my new sponsor.
Thank you and God Bless you always! Your sponsored child, Samuel J----"
It's a wonderful letter, full of interesting little details about his daily life. That's the stuff I really like to learn- stuff like that he gets up at 4am to get ready for school, and that his nickname is Chao. He says he is 14, but his family report says he's 13- I think I believe him over the report. It's easy to get a detail like birth year wrong on a report, but most people do know how old they are, I think! Also, his family report lists all six of his sisters, but only one brother. I'm assuming the two "missing" brothers are adults. Listed brother is 22, other siblings are 17-27, with some younger ones too.
His family report also says that his parents are deceased, which I was kind of surprised to see him mention so candidly. I certainly didn't ask about his parents in my welcome letter, because I was aware they were no longer alive.
He sounds like a talented, happy, fun young man and I am glad to be getting to know him!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
First Letter From Elizabeth!
I've sponsored Elizabeth since mid-July 2010. She is 5 years old and lives in Zambia. Today I got my first letter from her! Well, it wasn't written by her, because she is so young and hasn't been to school yet, but it was written by her cousin Martha. Here's what they had to say:
"Dear sponsor,
Greetings to you and your family. Back here I'm fine with Elizabeth and the family. Thanks for choosing to sponsor my cousin. I really appreciate. Elizabeth likes playing with dolls, her favourite colour is blue. She likes eating nshima or rice with fish and vegetables. Wishing you all the best. Yours, Martha K-------"
It's a short letter, but very nice. I love learning little details about my sponsored children's lives, like what they like to eat. And it clears up a bit of confusion I had about Elizabeth's family situation. On her family report, she's listed as living with a "Guardian" (as opposed to "relatives", which is the other option I've seen when the parents are absent.) I was very curious about who this guardian was, and what other people Elizabeth lived with. The fact that her letter was written by her cousin points to Elizabeth possibly living with an aunt/uncle/cousin family. Another possibility is that "cousin" is not an actual blood cousin, but a close family friend who is given the title "cousin" as sort of an honorary member of the family thing. Either way, it will be interesting to see if Martha continues to write letters for Elizabeth (until she can write on her own, that is), or if someone else writes the next letter.
"Dear sponsor,
Greetings to you and your family. Back here I'm fine with Elizabeth and the family. Thanks for choosing to sponsor my cousin. I really appreciate. Elizabeth likes playing with dolls, her favourite colour is blue. She likes eating nshima or rice with fish and vegetables. Wishing you all the best. Yours, Martha K-------"
It's a short letter, but very nice. I love learning little details about my sponsored children's lives, like what they like to eat. And it clears up a bit of confusion I had about Elizabeth's family situation. On her family report, she's listed as living with a "Guardian" (as opposed to "relatives", which is the other option I've seen when the parents are absent.) I was very curious about who this guardian was, and what other people Elizabeth lived with. The fact that her letter was written by her cousin points to Elizabeth possibly living with an aunt/uncle/cousin family. Another possibility is that "cousin" is not an actual blood cousin, but a close family friend who is given the title "cousin" as sort of an honorary member of the family thing. Either way, it will be interesting to see if Martha continues to write letters for Elizabeth (until she can write on her own, that is), or if someone else writes the next letter.
Samuel's Education Report
A few days ago I received Samuel's Education Report. (Samuel is my 13-year-old boy from Legazpi, Philippines.) I was very curious about how he was doing in school because poor children are especially at risk for dropping out, and the risk only increases as the child gets older. I was afraid that now that Samuel's nearly 14, he would have to quit school to work and help support his family. The Education Report helped ease my mind a little.
Samuel is in his second year of high school. He attends a public secondary school that has five concrete classrooms. The school offers year levels from first year to fourth year with two to three sections per year. About 500 students are enrolled; 60% of them are sponsored children.
It takes Samuel 20 minutes to walk to school or 10 minutes to take public transportation.
As for his grades, they are fair, and his progress in school is average. He's not receiving any special help with schoolwork, and the CI project gives him assistance in the form of school supplies. High school education in a public school doesn't require a tuition fee, so at least we don't have to be concerned about that.
Lastly, Samuel plans to continue his education! Hurrah! I hope to see him at least graduate from high school. Barring something really unfortunate happening to me (financially, I mean), I plan on sponsoring him until he graduates or leaves the program. I think it will be wonderful to see him grow and learn!
Samuel is in his second year of high school. He attends a public secondary school that has five concrete classrooms. The school offers year levels from first year to fourth year with two to three sections per year. About 500 students are enrolled; 60% of them are sponsored children.
It takes Samuel 20 minutes to walk to school or 10 minutes to take public transportation.
As for his grades, they are fair, and his progress in school is average. He's not receiving any special help with schoolwork, and the CI project gives him assistance in the form of school supplies. High school education in a public school doesn't require a tuition fee, so at least we don't have to be concerned about that.
Lastly, Samuel plans to continue his education! Hurrah! I hope to see him at least graduate from high school. Barring something really unfortunate happening to me (financially, I mean), I plan on sponsoring him until he graduates or leaves the program. I think it will be wonderful to see him grow and learn!
New Photo of Padmashree!
This photo of Padmashree was taken a couple of days after her 12th birthday, on August 14, 2010. When I saw this picture, I was surprised! (In a good way.) In her last photo, Padmashree looked like, well, a girl. A child. Now she looks like a young woman! I think part of it is the style of dress- I don't know a whole lot about traditional Indian clothing, but based on photos I've seen of other CI girls and young women, this seems to be the clothing of choice/tradition for young women. I did a little google research on Indian women's clothing and found that this outfit is called a half-saree/sari. It consists of a langa (a long skirt), a choli (a short blouse), and a shawl. Full saris are only worn by adult women.Feel free to correct me if I have made a mistake!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Letter from Chuuma!
13-year-old Chuuma's letter clarified the questions I had about her name. I'd seen her name first listed as "Hachita Nchumba", and then as "Nchuma Hachita", and then as other variations, so I was never exactly sure if I was calling her the correct name. I got used to calling her "Hachita", but in her letter she refers to herself as "Chuuma Hachita" and signs her name the same way, so I guess I was mistakenly referring to her by her surname. Oh well. Not offensive, just a mistake. Anyway, this is what Chuuma wrote: (She wrote the whole letter- she didn't use a fill-in-the-blank form like Lavenda did.)
"Dear Sponsor,
My name is Chuuma Hachita. I am in grade four at Mbiya. I am very happy to be sponsored by you. I would like to tell you that I received the mosquito net from Child Hope. I want to tell you that sponsorship will help me. I am happy to let know that I love school. One of my favorite subjects is English. One day I would like to see you. I want to say thank you for a support. I would like to hear from you soon. Your sponsored child,
Chuuma Hachita"
I ADORE this letter. I love the part where she says that one day she would like to see me. I don't exactly think a trip to Zambia is in my near future, but if it ever becomes economically realistic for me, I'll be on a plane for the 20-hour-trip in a second! Ha ha! :)
"Dear Sponsor,
My name is Chuuma Hachita. I am in grade four at Mbiya. I am very happy to be sponsored by you. I would like to tell you that I received the mosquito net from Child Hope. I want to tell you that sponsorship will help me. I am happy to let know that I love school. One of my favorite subjects is English. One day I would like to see you. I want to say thank you for a support. I would like to hear from you soon. Your sponsored child,
Chuuma Hachita"
I ADORE this letter. I love the part where she says that one day she would like to see me. I don't exactly think a trip to Zambia is in my near future, but if it ever becomes economically realistic for me, I'll be on a plane for the 20-hour-trip in a second! Ha ha! :)
Letter from Lavenda!
Today I had another very exciting mail day: I received letters from two of my four Child Hope Zambia kids, Lavenda and Nchuuma Hachita!
First up is the letter from Lavenda, age 8. She wrote a sort of a fill-in-the-blank letter, which I think is a really cool way to give the kids some ideas of what to write about. Underlined areas are what she wrote. Non-underlined areas are the prompts or questions typed on the sheet.
"Dear Sponsor,
My favorite subject in school is mathematics. I will tell you a bit about my teacher, classmates, and school house: Mrs. Chisengele. 30 girls and 30 boys= 60, 40 pictures. [I don't know if that last word is supposed to be "pictures"- I mean, that's what she wrote, but I'm not sure what she was trying to say.] My best friend's name is Purrety. What I like best about her is: we study together all the time. I would like to tell you about my family: In my family 6 are boys 10 are girls. I know my family loves me because they give me all I want all the time and all the months. [Again, she wrote "months" but I'm not sure what the intended meaning was.] One day I would like to: Be a micro bank worker. Name: Lavenda M."
First up is the letter from Lavenda, age 8. She wrote a sort of a fill-in-the-blank letter, which I think is a really cool way to give the kids some ideas of what to write about. Underlined areas are what she wrote. Non-underlined areas are the prompts or questions typed on the sheet.
"Dear Sponsor,
My favorite subject in school is mathematics. I will tell you a bit about my teacher, classmates, and school house: Mrs. Chisengele. 30 girls and 30 boys= 60, 40 pictures. [I don't know if that last word is supposed to be "pictures"- I mean, that's what she wrote, but I'm not sure what she was trying to say.] My best friend's name is Purrety. What I like best about her is: we study together all the time. I would like to tell you about my family: In my family 6 are boys 10 are girls. I know my family loves me because they give me all I want all the time and all the months. [Again, she wrote "months" but I'm not sure what the intended meaning was.] One day I would like to: Be a micro bank worker. Name: Lavenda M."
Samuel's Special Needs Report...and a BONUS EXCITING THING!
Last week I received Samuel's Special Needs Report, and my week was so busy with crazy things happening at work. (Seriously. Do I have a sign on my back that says "Please come act weird at me?") Anyway, I forgot all about sharing it. Samuel and his family's special needs, at this time, are clothing, shoes, groceries, and a sack of rice. The total cost for this will be $100.
If the Special Bonus Exciting Thing hadn't also happened last week, I would probably be sending the $100 to the Philippines for Samuel's SNG on payday. But, near the end of last week I received some VERY happy news.
Elizabeth, my CI-sponsored child from Zambia, can be enrolled in school! Her family/guardian cannot afford to send her on just the family's $70/month income, so what is needed is a $135.00 SNG from me, to cover school fees, uniform and sweater, gym clothes, shoes and socks, and school supplies. So I am going to send Elizabeth's Special Needs gift as soon as possible- it will take me a couple of paychecks to save up the $135, which works better for me than paying it all in one big chunk. After that I'll begin to work on Samuel's.
I am so happy that Elizabeth will soon be able to attend school! She'll be enrolled in nursery school- "regular" school in Zambia doesn't start until age 7. So, instead of being behind as I first feared when I learned she was 5 and not yet attending school, this will actually give her a bit of a leg up compared to some of her peers. Not that everything needs to be a big competition, but it's so nice to know she'll have that little bit of extra educational support.
If the Special Bonus Exciting Thing hadn't also happened last week, I would probably be sending the $100 to the Philippines for Samuel's SNG on payday. But, near the end of last week I received some VERY happy news.
Elizabeth, my CI-sponsored child from Zambia, can be enrolled in school! Her family/guardian cannot afford to send her on just the family's $70/month income, so what is needed is a $135.00 SNG from me, to cover school fees, uniform and sweater, gym clothes, shoes and socks, and school supplies. So I am going to send Elizabeth's Special Needs gift as soon as possible- it will take me a couple of paychecks to save up the $135, which works better for me than paying it all in one big chunk. After that I'll begin to work on Samuel's.
I am so happy that Elizabeth will soon be able to attend school! She'll be enrolled in nursery school- "regular" school in Zambia doesn't start until age 7. So, instead of being behind as I first feared when I learned she was 5 and not yet attending school, this will actually give her a bit of a leg up compared to some of her peers. Not that everything needs to be a big competition, but it's so nice to know she'll have that little bit of extra educational support.
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