Nehemias Attends Public School

Nehemias with new teacher Tonia and old school chum NelsonNEHEMIAS ATTENDS PUBLIC SCHOOL
by Janet Chichester, Director

The public school in Camanchaj has welcomed Nehemias (bottom right) with open arms! We are overjoyed that when it came time for him to leave Susanna Wesley School, Nehemias found a place to go where he can continue to learn and grow. We were a bit nervous about the transition, but the staff  asked lots of good questions and commented that he was a very caring child. They are willing to make the necessary adaptations for him. The director mentioned that it was a wonderful blessing that we had found him and enrolled him in our school. She told us about another special needs child who had received classes at the public school and that he was now able to be a vendor and earn some money. She hoped that Nehemias would someday be able to do the same and told us that it would not have been possible without our intervention. Nehemias’s dad has reported what wonderful progress Nehemias has made and how prepared he is to continue his education at the public school. It is so gratifying to know that our work extends beyond the physical boundaries of our school and project. We are in fact influencing the future!

Support nutrition and education by giving to Susanna Wesley School.

Let’s Celebrate

P1050595Let’s Celebrate: Birthdays at Susanna Wesley

by Janet Chichester, Director

Birthdays—an event celebrated worldwide in many cultures. During the years I’ve worked with the kids at Susanna Wesley School, I’ve noticed that while the kids are very excited about their birthdays, many of them don’t know when their birthday is. Sometimes, their parents don’t know either. Some of the children are too poor to be able to celebrate, and I think some just have too many kids to remember when all of them were born.

At school, we have always celebrated birthdays, usually once a month for all the children who were born in that month. It started out with cookies that the kids got to frost before eating. Now we have brownies!

A big part of our birthday celebration is the birthday hug. The birthday kids stand up in front of the class, and we sing “Happy Birthday” (“Feliz Cumpleaños”) in English and in Spanish, and then, all the children line up to give hugs to the birthday boys and girls. After the birthday hugs, each child gets the opportunity to choose a book to keep and take home with him/her. Each teacher also gets to pick a birthday book.

Year-round, the kids in the school come up to me and ask when their birthday is and when they will get their book (even the children who have already had their birthdays this year!).  I have never seen happier children than those receiving their birthday books.

What a blessing—to do one small thing that results in such big joy.

Support nutrition and education by giving to Susanna Wesley School.

A Very Special Family

by Janet Chichester, Director of Susanna Wesley School

UnknownAll of the children at the Susanna Wesley School are special, but some of them have a much more difficult life than others. I would like to tell you the story of Elmer Yovani and his family. Elmer’s mom’s name is Tomasa. She has five sons ranging in age from four years to 10 years old. Elmer’s older brother Tomas attended our first grade classroom last year and was an exemplary student.

Elmer is now in our kindergarten room. Elmer, his mom, and his four siblings live in a one-room adobe house with a dirt floor. They have no running water and no latrine (or any kind of toilet). The makeshift kitchen is walled with spindly bamboo sticks. Most of the year, Elmer’s family can get water for cooking and drinking from a neighbor’s well, but at the end of dry season before the rain starts, the well dries up. When this happens, they have to haul water from much farther away. In order to wash clothes, Tomasa has to carry them for an hour down to the river.

In spite of the extreme poverty in which Elmer and his family live, education is very important to them. Tomasa’s dream is that all her children will receive an education and live a better life. The oldest three boys attend the local public school, and Elmer attends Susanna Wesley School. Whenever I visit their home, the older boys are busy doing their homework on the ground in front of the house. Public school charges tuition every month, money Tomasa does not have.

After Elmer’s older brother graduated last year, I tried to convince Tomasa that Elmer should enroll at Susanna Wesley. But Tomasa told me she could not afford to enroll Elmer. Even though we would provide Elmer a scholarship for tuition, there were other costs for him to attend the school, such as transportation. Tomasa needed to use her small income to send her older boys to school. I promised to find someone to pay the other children’s tuition, so she enrolled Elmer in our school. He is a bright, shining light among our students. Tomasa’s two oldest boys now work in the morning and go to school in the afternoon, earning less than 10 quetzales ($1.25) a day. Tomasa weaves tipico fabric to sell.

I am inspired everyday by this family and this mom’s commitment to making a better life for her children. It is an honor to have a part in helping that dream come true.

New School Year at Susanna Wesley School

IMG_8879 (1024x683)-2The Susanna Wesley School began its 6th year of operation on Thursday, January 16th, with 54 students, more than we have ever had before! We handed out backpacks to each child and celebrated with a team from Eudora Kansas by singing songs and playing games. All of our superb teachers and staff returned from the previous year, and we have added 18 new students. We are also challenging ourselves with a student who is deaf this year. All of the teachers are pleased to be back and have lots of new ideas for learning this school year. We have had two teacher training days already, and we are fired up. The children are also excited about being back in school.

One of our first grade students, Saydie, said it best:
“I am much happier when I am in school, I get to be with my friends and the teachers who are very kind to us and play with us and teach us new things”.  Thank you for being a part of this wonderful school.

There are 10 children who still need to be sponsored for this school year. If you are interested in sponsoring a child this year, please contact schooldirector@saludypaz.org.