$ SPONSORED by the Pauley Family, Thanks!
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PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #300 Rodolfo who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Pauley Family, Thanks!
Rodolfo is 8 yrs old. He is in first grade. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna.
He lives with his mother, Antonia, 24yrs old. She is a single mother.
He has one little brother, Cristian Alexander 7 months old.
Antonia makes beaded jewelry and sells it. She makes $66 US per month.
This is the only money that she has to survive with. The father of the children abandoned them when the second child was born. He is an alcoholic and is not helping at all with the expenses for the children.
For Antonia it is very difficult to work as the baby is often sick.
He has fevers and cough often and the mother has to take him for medical treatment.
They live with Rodolfo's grandparents. The house is made of mudbrick, the roof is tin and the floor is dirt.
They have only one room and a small kitchen that is made of all tin sheeting.
She has a wood burning stove but it is not an onil stove so it uses a lot of wood. They do not have a water filter.
They have two beds.
They have one small closet.
They do not have a pila or water connected to the house. To bring water to the house they have to carry it in buckets from the common well. To wash their clothes they have to carry them to the communal washing area.
They have electricity connected and they pay $6.50 US. a month.
Antonia keeps chickens at home and likes breeding them so that it can increase her financial situation and that they can have eggs and meat to eat.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #299 Elsa Marleny who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Pauley Family, Thanks!
Elsa Marleny is 9 yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in 2nd grade.
She lives with her father, Miguel Angel 42yrs old and her mother, Rosa Maria, 40 yrs old.
She also has 2 sisters and 5 brothers.
Aura 22yrs old . She went to school only till first grade, she can barely read or write. She helps the mother at home.
Carlos Roberto 20 yrs old. He also did not go to school. He is working as a builder's assistant. He earns $36 a week.
Angela 19yrs old. She also did not go to school. She stays at home helping her mother.
Byron 17yrs old. He also did not go to school. He is not working at present.
Miguel Angel 15yrs old. He did not go to school. He is now working in the fields and makes $26 US per week.
Tomas Arnoldo is 12 yrs old and he is in 4th grade.
Elmer Eliseo is 4 yrs old.
Elsa's father works as a builders assistant and he earns $36 US. per week.
For the family it is very difficult to make ends meet on the father's salary . This is a very large family. The elder children did not have the chance to study because the family did not have enough money to send them to school.
Elsa's father studied only until 5th grade. Elsa's mother did not have the chance to go to school and does not know how to read or write.
Byron was recently operated on for appendicitus and this has further strained the family's finances.
The house that they live in is their own. The whole house is made of tin sheeting, the floor is cement. They have two rooms and one small kitchen.
They do not have an onil stove but they do have a large stove that uses a lot of wood. They do have a water filter.
]They have three beds made of wooden planks. They have a pila.
They have one closet for all of them.
They have water connected and pay $4 US. per year.
They have electricity connected and pay $11.ooUS. per month.
They would like to be able to keep chickens but do not have
the money to buy them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #298 Juan Daniel who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Gorski Family, Thanks!
Juan Daniel is 8 yrs old. He is in 1st grade in San Jorge La
Laguna.
He lives with his father, Jeronimo 37yrs old and his mother, Rosario 35yrs old.
He has six siblings, two are married and live in their own homes. Both are sisters and one is 27yrs old and has four children, the other is
24 yrs old and has 3 children.
The others are Jose 17yrs . He is in 6th grade.
Jeronimo is 14yrs old and has never been to school. He helps his father as a builders assistang. He makes $20 US each week.
Tomas is 12 yrs old, he is in 4th grade.
Jeronimo works as a builders assistant and he earns $46 US per week.
Rosario works at home , looking after the family.
It is difficult for them to maintain economic stability because the husband does not have fixed work. Many times when the father is not working they do not have food for the usual three times a day. Often they are eating tortillas with salt.
They own the house that they live in . It is made of mud brick. the roof is tin and the floor is cement.
They have three rooms and one small kitchen.
They have an onil stove.
They have a water filter.
They have three beds.
They have a pila and they have two closets to keep their clothes.
They have water connected and pay $4 US. per year.
They have electricity connected and pay $11 US. per month.
Rosario has five chickens and they are very important to her.
They give her eggs, they give her something to eat and she is able to sell a
chicken occasionally.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #297 Hilda Inet who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Sifford Family, Thanks!
Hilda is 7 years old. She is in kindergarten in San Jorje la Laguna.
Hilda lives with
her grandparents and her sister, Glendy who is 4 years old.
Hilda's father left her mother when she was pregnant.
Hilda's mother has gone to live with another man leaving the children
with her parents.
Hilda's grandmother, Lucia is 57 years old, Hilda's
grandfather , Martin is 62 years old.
Neither grandparents are working, they rely on a son in the city who is working as a builder. He sends $80 US a month to support his parents. This is not enough for them to make ends meet. It is not enough just for food, neverthe less for clothing, shoes and school costs.
For the grandparents it is very difficult. They are unable to work and they are unable to cover all the costs.
Glendy's father is different from Hilda's.
Glendy's father is in jail for the next three years.
So there is no support from any parents for the children.
The live in their own home. It is made of mud brick. The roof is tin, the floor is dirt. They cook over an open fire on the ground. They do not have an onil stove. They do not have a water filter.
They have only one room and one bed. The whole family sleeps in the one bed.
They do have a pila.
They do not have any closets but keep their clothes in a wooden box.
They have water connected and pay $4 .US. per year.
They have electricity connected and pay $8 US per month.
They do not have chickens but would like to be able to keep
them so that they can increase their financial situation by selling chickens,
they would also like them to be able to have eggs and be able to eat the
chickens.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #296
$ SPONSORED by the Sifford Family, Thanks!
Shirly is 6 yrs old.
She lives in San Jorge de la Laguna. She is in kindergarten.
She lives with her father, mother and 1 baby brother.
Her father Mario is 26 years old.
Her mother, Ofelia is 21yrs old.
Mario works as at a hotel cleaning rooms and making beds. He makes
$34 US a week.
Shirly has one brother, Jerson, who is one year old.
This family has had a lot of economic hardship with the children getting sick frequently. The money that the husband earns is not sufficient to cover all their expenses.
The work that the husband gets is not permanent, when the tourists are not in town, there is not enough work for him.
They are living with Mario's parents. They have one room made of mud brick, with a tin roof and a dirt floor. They have one small kitchen made of wood planks. They cook over an open fire on the ground.
They do not have an onil stove.
They do not have a water filter.
They have two beds. They do not have a pila, they have to carry their clothes to wash to the communal washing area.
They have one set of drawers to keep their clothes.
They do not have water connected to the house. They have to carry water to their house by buckets. They pay $12.50 a month for electricity.
They do not have chickens but they would like to be able to
afford to have them so that they would have a way to increase their income and
also to be able to eat the chickens.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #295 Edgar Rolando is 7 years old
$ SPONSORED by the Mozina Family, Thanks!
Edgar Rolando is 7
years old.
He lives in San Jorge la Laguna and
he is in kindergarten.His
father, Jose is 25 yrs old and he works as a day laborer. This means that he
takes whatever work is available, ie: cleaning, working in the fields, carrying
heavy loads at the market, assisting on building sites etc.
He earns $34 US. per month. His mother, Leunice is 20yrs old.
Edgar has two brothers and two sisters.
Luis is 6 yrs old and is not in school yet.
Heydi is 5yrs old and is not in school yet.
Vanessa is 14 months old.
and his mother recently gave birth to a baby boy that does not
have a name yet.
Edgar is photographed with his grandmother. His mother was
at home after having given birth.
The amount of money that the husband makes does not cover all their costs.
The parents want their children to be able to get ahead and
have a good education but they just do not have the money to be able to put them
all in school.
Edgar's father only studied until third grade because his
parent's could not afford to send him to school.
Edgar's mother has never been to school, she cannot read or write.
When they do not have enough food to eat their diet consists
of just tortillas with salt.
They own the house that they live in is their own. It is made of cement block, they have a cement roof and the floor is dirt.
They have only one room. They have two beds for all of them. They do not have their own kitchen so they share the grandparents kitchen. They have a pila that they share with the grandparents.
They have one small closet for all their clothes. They have water connected and pay $4 per year.
They do not have an Onil stove. They do not have a water filter.
They pay $8.00 each month for the electricity.
They do not have chickens but they would like to be able to
afford them so that they could breed the chickens and increase their income.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #294 Rubidia who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Mozina Family, Thanks!
Rubidia is 6 years old. She is in kindergarten.
She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She lives with her mother, father and 4
brothers and one sister.
Her father is Jorge and he is 38 yrs old. He is a day laborer,
which means he takes whatever work is available, working in the fields, carrying
heavy weights at the market, working on building sites etc. H earns $33.OO US a
week.
Rubidia's mother is Lucia. She is 32yrs old. She stays at home
looking after the house and the children.
She has had three children die when they were a month old.
Rubidia's siblings are:
Jorge 15yrs old. He only studied until 6th grade. He is not working at present.
Clarita 11yrs old and is in 5th grade.
Esteban 9yrs old and is in 1st grade.
Victoriano is 3 yrs old
and the baby is Wilder who is 5 months old.
The older children were not able to continue studying because
of the costs of the education. The father does not make enough money to cover
all the costs that the family has just for food and clothing.
The family tries very hard to make their money go as far as possible.
The children all need shoes, clothes and school supplies. The older children go in the month of October to cut coffee on the coast. This is how they were able to stay in school until they were in 6th grade.
For a month's work they earn $66.00 US.
They own the house that they live in. It is made of mud brick. The roof is made of tin, the floor is dirt. They have only one room and one small kitchen.
They have an Onil stove, they have a water filter. They have two beds for all of them.
They do not have a pila , the mother has to carry all the laundry to the communal washing area.
They have one closet and the rest of their clothes they keep in cardboard boxes.
They have water connected but cannot afford a pila . They pay $4 US a year for the water.
They have electricity connected. They pay $8.00 a month.
The mother also breeds chickens and is using them to
supplement the family in come.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #293 Rosa Maria who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Carol C. and Laura L. Thanks!
Rosa Maria is 10yrs old.
She lives in Panajachel. She is in first grade.
Her stepfather is Marcelino, 35yrs old.
He works as a builder's assistant, he earns $30 US per week.
Rosa Maria's mother, Micaela, is 25yrs old. She cooks and
sells corn on the streets.
She earns $3.30 US a day.
Rosa Maria's siblings are half brother and half sister to her. Victoria is 5 years old. She is not in school yet.
Yovani is 6 months old.
Rosa Maria's father left when her mother was pregnant with her.
Rosa Maria is very lucky because her step father has taken her as his own daughter and loves her a lot. ( this is not the usual situation with stepfathers here).
The money that the parents make is just enough to buy food, sometimes they have to buy clothes and shoes.
The baby is anemic . They have taken him to a doctor but have not been able to afford the medical treatment for him.
The house that they are living in belongs to Micaela's parents.
The house is made of tin sheeting with a dirt floor. They have only one room.
They do not have an onil stove. They do not have a water filter.
They have only one bed that they all sleep in.
They have one small closet.
They have water but do not have to pay for it because it comes from the grandfather's house.
They pay $4US per month for electricity.
They would like to be able to breed chickens but cannot afford
to buy them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #292 Josefina who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Debbie B. Thanks!
Josefina is 9yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in first grade at school.
Josefina lives with her mother, father and 8 brothers and 1 sister.
Two other siblings passed away when they were babies.
Her father, Julian 43yrs old, is a day laborer. he gets work wherever he can, working on building sites, working in the fields, carrying heavy loads in the market etc. He earns $5.30 per day when he has work.
Josefina's mother, Viviana is 43 yrs old.
She works at home looking after the children, washing all the clothes by
hand etc. Josefina's siblings are Diego 22yrs old, single, he went as far
as 6th grade, he works as a day laborer as well. He earns $5.30 per day.
Cesar 18yrs old, he studied until 6th grade and also works as
a day laborer, he earns $5.30 per day.
Esvin 17yrs old, he studied until 6th grade. He works as a
builders assistant and earns $ 4.60 a day.
Julio 16yrs old, he also studied until 6th grade. He has not
found work yet.
Luis Ernesto 15yrs old.
He studied only until 6th grade, he is not working yet.
Ana marina 12yrs . She did not go to school . she does not
know how to read or write and cannot speak very much Spanish.
Humberto 10 yrs old. He is in 3rd grade.
The children in this family could not continue studying
because the family did not have enough money to send them to school.
A year ago Josefina's father had a bad bicycle accident when
he lost his brakes coming down a hill.
He has suffered a lot of damage to his clavicle and his shoulder and has
been unable to work since the accident.
He has tried going to work but he cannot manage heavy work still.
Before this accident the family had taken out a loan to build
their house. They are paying back $187 each month to the bank.
Without the father working they are only relying on the money that the
sons make which is barely enough to keep them all eating.
The house that they live in is made of has four rooms made of block.
They have one kitchen made of mud brick. They have tin roof and cement floor.
They do not have an Onil stove. They do have a water filter.
They have one bed in each of the four rooms. They have a pila. The sons have bought themselves each a closet.
They have water connected. They pay $4 per year for the water. They have electricity, they pay $8.00 US . per month.
Viviana likes to breed chickens and she has a small amount of
chickens now that she is breeding.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #291 Carlos Alexander
$ SPONSORED by P&P, Thanks!
Carlos is 11 yrs old.
He lives in San Jorge la Laguna. He is in 5th grade
and is studying in Panajachel.
He lives with his father, mother, 2 brothers and 1 sister.
The older brother Sergio is 15yrs old, he is in 9th grade, Vincente 13yrs
old is in 6th grade. Ana 4yrs old and is not in school yet.
Carlos's father is Carlos Fernando 36yrs old and works as day laborer.
This means that he does not have a fixed job but takes
whatever work that he can get, working in fields, working on building sites,
hauling heavy loads at the market etc. He earns $33 US per week.
Carlos's mother , Leticia, 35yrs old is a homemaker looking
after the family.
The money that the father earns does not cover all the costs
that the family has. It is very difficult for them to make ends meet.
The children have many needs for school, clothing, supplies, shoes etc.
Carlos uses 40 cents US
a day for his bus fare back and forth to his village.
Carlos has a dream of becoming an accountant.
They do not have a pila at their house, the mother has to carry all the clothes to the communal washing pool.
They have their own home. The house is made of cement block, the roof is made of tin sheeting, the floor is made of cement. They have only one room and one kitchen. They do not have an onil stove. They do have a water filter.
They have two beds, one small closet .
They have water connected to the house and pay $4.00 annually. They pay
$8.00 US per month for electricity.
Leticia keeps chickens to help the family finances.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #290 Marvin who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Linda Spencer, Thanks!
Marvin is 12yrs old. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna. He is in
3rd grade. He lives with his father, his mother and three brothers.
Marvin is the eldest then comes Adolfo 9yrs old, he is in 2nd
grade, Jaimie is 7yrs old and is in 1st grade, and the youngest is Josue, 3yrs
old.
Marvin's father , Angel 30yrs old works as a builder's
assistant. He earns $33 US a week.
Marvin's mother is Victoria and is 32 yrs old. She is a homemaker.
The money that the father is making is not enough to cover all
the costs that the family has. The
mother does all that she can to make the money go as far as it can.
Marvin would like to be able to continue studying, he has
dreams of becoming a teacher.
They own the house that they live in. It is made of mud brick, the floor is dirt and the roof is made of tin sheeting. They have only one room and one small kitchen. They do not have an onil stove, she has a small gas stove. They do have a water filter. They have two beds that they all share. They have a pila and they have a closet.
The rest of the clothes they keep on a table. They have water connected, they pay $4US per year. They have
electricity and pay $5.00 US per month.
Victoria keeps chickens to help the family income. When they
are big enough she takes them to market to sell.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #289
Luis Emilio who is 5 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Lemmen Family, Thanks!
Luis is 5yrs old. He is in kindergarten. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna.
He lives with his father, mother, 3 brothers and 5 sisters. Yolanda 22yrs old, she only studied until 6th grade. She is now married with one child. Sandra 20yrs old, she also only studied until 6th grade, she is also married with one child.
Erik 19yrs old. He studied until 6th grade, he is now working as a builders assistant. He earns $33.US per week.
Esbin 16yrs old, he only studied until 6th grade, he is working as a builder's assistant. He earns $33 US per week.
Lidia 14yrs old, she finished her studies in 6th grade, She is now at home and helps her mother with the cooking and cleaning.
David 13yrs old and is in 6th grade.
Edgar 10yrs old and is in 4th grade.
Ever 3yrs old.
Luis's father, Emilio 42yrs old and works as a builder's assistant. He earns $33 US per week.
The mother, Maria del Rosario is 40yrs old. She has lost three children to various illnesses. One died at 3yrs old, one died at 2yrs old and one died in infancy. They did not have money to be able to seek medical attention to help their children.
The elder children all wanted to be able to continue studying but because of lack of funds were unable to continue.
The older children are now helping the parents with the money to enable their siblings to be able to go to school.
They also help with money towards the family food.
Maria never had the chance to go to school, she does not know
how to read or write. The father only studied until 6th grade.
They own their own house. The house is made of mud brick, the roof is made of tin sheeting, the floor is cement. They have two rooms and a small kitchen. They have an Onil stove and a water filter. They have only three beds for all of them. They have a pila. They have one small closet, the rest of the clothes they keep in cardboard boxes.
They have water that they pay $4 per year. They have electricity and pay $12.50 per month. They would like to be able to keep chickens but have not been
able to afford to do so. If Luis is going to be able to stay in school he is definitely
going to need help.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #288 Estuardo who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Sifford Family, Thanks!
Estuardo is 8yrs old. He is in kindergarten. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna.
He lives with his mother , 3 brothers and 1 sister.
Estuardo's father has left the family and is living with another woman. Sometimes he gives them some money for the family but not very regularly. The family consists of Andreas 21 yrs , he studied until 6th grade, he is now married. Marina 18yrs old, she did not have the chance to go to school and does not know how to read or write. She is now married.
Santos 14yrs old, he is in 4th grade. Jose 11yrs old , he is in 2nd grade. They were not able to got to school when they were younger because there was no money for them to do so. Estuardo's mother Felipa, 44yrs old she is a weaver. She makes traditional Guipils and she makes one a week. She earns $4.60 US. per
week.
Sometimes the husband gives her $13 a week but it is not regular and it is very difficult for them to be able to buy
enough to eat and buy all the school supplies.
They do not have water connected, they have to carry water to
their house by the bucketful.
They own the house that they live in. They have one room and one kitchen. It is made of cement block, the roof is made of cement and the floor is made of dirt. She cooks over a stove but does not have an Onil stove. They have only two beds, two sleep in one bed and four sleep in the other bed. 'They have a pila but do not have the water connected.
They have one closet. They pay $12 US per month for electricity.
They have a dog and they also keep chickens.
When the chickens grow they take them to market to sell.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #287
Josue Hilario who is 13 years old.
$ SPONSORED by P&P, Thanks!
Josue is 13yrs old. He is in 3rd grade . He lives in San Jorge la Laguna.
He lives with his mother, father, 2 sisters and 4 brothers. Catalina is 25yrs old, she did not go to school, she does not know how to read or write, she is now married with four children.
Matea 22yrs old, studied until 2nd grade. She is now a widow,her husband died 4 months leaving her with three children. She can only read or write a little . She is now living back at home again.
Miguel 20yrs old. He studied only until 1st grade. He now works as a builder's assistant and makes $30 US a week.
Rafael is 18 yrs old. He studied only until 3rd grade. He is now working as a day laborer. He does not have fixed work but when he does work he makes $30 US a week.
Salomon is 16yrs old. He only studied until 2nd grade. He is presently not working.
Felix is 11yrs old. He is in 1st grade.
The father Jose Salomon is 49yrs old. He works as a builders assistant. Unfortunately, he has a drinking problem and is not always able to maintain steady work.
Maria, the mother is a homemaker.
The children in this family did not get the chance to study mostly due to the fact that their father is an alcoholic and they did not have the money to be able to study.
The two older sons are now the ones supporting the family. This family's main diet is beans and rice, but quite often they have nothing to eat but tortillas and salt.
They own the house that they live in. The house is made of mudbrick, the roof is made of tin and the floor is cement.
They have three rooms and one kitchen, they have an onil stove and a water filter.
They have only one bed, all the children sleep on woven straw mats on the floor. They have a pila. They have boxes that they keep their clothes.
They have water connected to the house and pay $4.00 per year. They pay $9.00 per month for the electricity.
Maria keeps chickens to help the family income.
It will be very difficult for Jose to stay in school and break this family cycle without help.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #286
Dayli Paolo who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Sarah, Morgan, Grant and Sophie B.L. Thanks!
Dayli is 6 yrs old. She is in kindergarten. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna.
She lives with her mother , father , 2 sisters and 4 brothers. Gloria Magdalena is 22yrs old, she only studied until first grade because the family did not have enough money to send her to school. She is married now. Salvador 20yrs old. He studied until 2nd grade - he is disabled with a leg problem. He wanted to continue studying but found it too difficult at school with children making fun of him. Josue 16yrs old, he studied until 6th grade, he is now working as a builders assistant. He earns $31 a week. He buys all his own clothing, shoes etc and gives the rest of his money to his mother to help with expenses.
Estuardo is 14yrs old, he is in 6th grade.
Elias is 13yrs old and is in 6th grade.
Fristy is 5yrs old and is not in school yet.
Dayli's father, Salvador is 40 yrs old. He works as a builders assistant and makes $32 US per week.
Dayli's mother, Regina is 40yrs old. She is a homemaker. She is four months pregnant and is expecting a baby in December.
Regina keeps chickens and with the money she gets from selling them helps with the family expenses.
The older children in the family did not continue studying because there was not enough money for them to continue.
They live in their own home. It is made of block with a tin roof, the floor is cement. They have one room and one kitchen. They do not have an onil stove. She cooks over an open fire on the ground.
They do have a water filter. They have two beds that they all share.
The older children sleep on the floor.
They do not have a pila and Regina has to carry all the clothes to the public washing pool.
They have one small closet. The rest of their clothes they keep in cardboard boxes. They have water connected and pay $4 US per year.
They pay $11.30 US. per month for electricity.
It will be very difficult for Dayli to continue studying
without help.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #285 Heydi Oneyda who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Linda Meye-Peyroux and Gene Peyroux, Thanks!
Heydi is 9yrs old. She lives in San Jorge La Laguna. She is in 2nd grade.
She lives with her father, mother, 2 brothers and 2 sisters.
Juan Carlos 7yrs old, is in 1st grade.
Silda Mariela 5yrs old is in kindergarten Alberto 2yrs old and Kenia is 2 months old.
Heydi's father Juan Carlos, is 29yrs old. He works as a mailman for the post office. He earns $120 US per month. The mother, Estella is 27yrs old and works at home making beaded jewelry. She earns $1.34.US per day.
Estella only studied until 5th grade and Juan Carlos studied until 6th grade. They want their children to be able to get a higher education.
Heydi wants to continue studying so that she can help her parents with her siblings studies.
It is difficult for them to make ends meet with such a large family.
They live with Heydi's grandparents. The house is made of mud brick.
The roof is tin and the floor is cement. They have only one room and Estella shares a kitchen with her mother in law. They have an onil stove. They have a water filter.
They have two beds that they all share. They have a small closet. They have a pila. They have water connected to the house. They pay $6.60 a month for electricity.
Estella breeds chickens and when they are grown she takes them to the market.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #284 Gerber Alfredo who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by P&P, Thanks!
Gerber is 8 yrs old. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna. He is in 2nd grade at school.
He lives with his father, mother, one sister and two brothers.
Griselda Lucero 13yrs old , she is in 5th grade.
Josue 10yrs old and is in 4th grade.
Jary Lionso who is 5 months old.
Gerber's father, Alfredo 31yrs old is a day laborer which means he takes whatever work is available to him, either inthe market, building
sites or working in the fields. He earns $34 US a week. The
mother, Lucrecia 29yrs old,
is a homemaker. Occassionally she is able to make beaded jewelry at home.
This family finds it hard to survive on the amount of money that the father earns.
The children have a great desire to go to school and want to be able to continue with their studies. The parents are finding this goal very hard to meet.
The father studied only till 5th grade because his parents could not afford to send him to school. The mother did not have the opportunity to go to school because her parents could not afford it. She does not know how to read or write.
They own the house that they are living in. It is a very small house.
It has only one room and one small kitchen. The room that they live in is made of half cement block and half mud brick. The roof is made of tin and the floor is dirt.
The kitchen is made of mud brick. They have an onil stove. They have a water filter.
They have two beds that they all share. They have a pila. They do not have a closet, they have a shelf that the husband made that they put all their clothes.
They have water connected to the house, they pay $4 us. per year for the water. They have electricity and pay $8.50 per month for the service.
The family would like to be able to keep chickens but because they have no space they are not able to keep them.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #283
Beatriz who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Linda Meye-Peyroux and Gene Peyroux, Thanks!
Beatriz is 9 yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in kindergarten.
She lives with her mother and father and three brothers.
Luis Miguel is 11yrs old and is in 2nd grade.
Eric Leonel is 7yrs old and is not in school.
Elder Nelson 3yrs old.
This family does not have enough money to put all the children in school. Eric Leonel hopefully will be able to go to school next year.
The father, Augustin 34yrs old, is a day laborer which means that he takes whatever work he can find. ie: working in the fields, laboring at the market, working on building sites etc. He earns $34 US a week.
This money is not enough to cover all the expenses that this family has.
Maria, the mother, is 29yrs old. Her last baby died when it was two weeks old. Because they did not have enough money they were not able
to seek medical attention for the baby. Maria has not been well
since the baby died but she has not been able to seek medical attention for herself either due to lack of funds.
The house that they are living in is rented. They pay $20 US a month in rent.
The family lived with the husbands family before but were unable to continue living there.
The family has the dream of buying their own land and building a house but they have no funds to do so.
The house that they are renting is made of wooden planks, it has a tin roof, it has a dirt floor, they have only one room and one small kitchen. They do not have an onil stove. They do have a water filter.
They have two beds made of wooden planks. They do not have a pila. To wash their clothes they have to carry them to the communal washing pool.
They keep all their clothes in a cardboard box.
They have water connected but it is only for washing dishes etc, they
do not have a pila. They pay $3.50 US a month for the
electricity.
The mother would like to have chickens at the house so that she could breed them and use the money to buy some of the things that her children need.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #282 Sindy Lorena who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Louise Sosa and Family, Qualicum Beach, Canada, Thanks!
Sindy Lorena is 8yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna.
She is in first grade. She lives with her father, mother , three brothers
and one sister.
Miguel angel is 14yrs old, he is in 4th grade. He started school very late because the family could not afford to send him to school.
Juan Fransisco. 12yrs old, he is in 3rd grade.
Luis Rigoberto, 10yrs old, he is in 2nd grade.
Ingrid Marleny 5yrs old. She is not in school yet.
Sindy's father Antonio
31 yrs old, works as a day laborer.
He takes whatever work her can find, working in fields, helping on
building sites, carrying heavy loads at the market.
He makes $34 US a week.
Her mother, Maria, 29yrs old is a homemaker.
She makes beaded jewelry in her part time.
She makes approx. $3.50 US a
week.
The money that they have does not stretch to pay all their
food and expenses. Maria only studied until 2nd grade, Antonio studied until 6th
grade. They want their children to be able to get a good education but they
cannot afford to give them all that they need to be able to get that education.
The house that they live in is their own. It is constructed of block, has a tin roof and a cement floor., it has three rooms and a small kitchen. They do not have an onil stove, she cooks over an open fire on the ground.
They do have a water filter. They have two beds , three sleep in one bed and four in the other. They have one small closet to mind all their clothes.
The rest of their clothes they keep in
cardboard boxes. They pay $4.00 US. a year for water. They pay $10 US. a
month for electricity. They have a pila. Maria also breeds chickens for sale and
to be able to eat.
The house where they live has a big drop in front of it. The
family is very worried about the children falling off the cliff.
They would love to be able to build a wall there but cannot afford to do
so.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #281 Angelica Yolanda who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Linda Meye-Peyroux and Gene Peyroux, Thanks!
Angelica Yolanda is 7yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in kindergarten. She lives with her mother, father, 2 sisters and one brother. Zulema is 13 yrs old, she is in 6th grade . Edwin is 12yrs old and is in 4th grade. Claudia Mariel is 5yrs old. Her father, Esteban 36yrs old works as a builder. He makes $47 US per week.
Her mother, Hortencia ,34yrs old stays at home, looking after
the children.
The money that Esteban makes is very difficult to cover all the expenses that they have. They took out a loan to build their house and have to pay $54 US a month, this does not leave a lot of money left over for food, education etc.
Most days they are eating simply, beans and rice, sometimes
they are only eating tortillas with salt to be able to make their money stretch.
At present they are still living in their mother-in-law's
house until their own home is finished.
Where they are living right now the house is made of cement block, the roof is made of lamina with a dirt floor. They are all sleeping in one room and they have a little kitchen outside. They do not have an Onil stove.
They do not have a water filter. They have two beds, three sleeping to each bed. They have one small closet that they all use.
They pay $4.00 U.S per year for the water connection. They pay
$4.U.S a month for electricity.
Hortencia likes to keep chickens and she has chickens at the house. She sells them when they are grown and uses the money to buy things that her children need. They also eat the chickens.
This is a hard working family that is really trying to get ahead.
They are just finding it very difficult to keep up with all of their expenses.
PLEASE SPONSOR
STUDENT #280 Marta Julia who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Adriana and Marta Julia, Thanks!
Julia - the family calls her - is 6yrs old. She is in kindergarten in San Jorge la Laguna. She lives in with her mother, Rosa 30yrs old. Her father died 6 yrs ago when she was one month old. Julia and Rosa share a very old, small crumbling mud brick house that has two rooms. Julia's grandfather is an alcoholic and does not support the family. Julia's grandmother works very hard in restaurants washing dishes etc. Julia's mother also does this work. Rosa make $106 US per month and uses this to help her mother buy food. Alicia does not work because she has to look after her son, she does the cleaning and the home duties.
There are 6 others living there apart from Rosa and Julia, there is her grandparents, her three aunts, one aunt is Susana - she is 11yrs old and the other aunt is Alicia, 24yrs old who is a single mother to one boy, 5yrs old, and Rosario who is 18yrs old. Rosario makes beaded jewelry at home and works as a domestic in a house. Most of the family makes beaded jewelry in their spare time.
They have an Onil stove. They do not have a water filter. We just recently connected the electricity to their house. They have never had electricity before and it will make a huge difference in their lives. They have water connected.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #279 Nicolasa who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Genevieve Johnson, Thanks!
Nicolasa is 7yrs old.
She lives in Santiago Atitlan with her mother, Ninette 38yrs old and his
father, Salvador 40yrs old , her brother Paulo, 5yrs olf and Josue who is 2yrs
old.
They lost their home in Panabaj in the terrible mudslides of
Oct. 2005 caused by Hurricane Stan.
They did not lose all their possessions, they were lucky to be able to save a
little.
They are still living in emergency shelter. This is basically
a tent, it has a cement floor. They
do not have electricity, they do not have a kitchen.
They are cooking over an open fire. They have one closet that was given
to them but the rest of their possessions are in cardboard boxes. They have one
bed that they are all sharing . This bed is in very bad shape and they
desperately need a new one.
Salvador had a terrible accident when he was working as a
welder. He suffered burns to all
his chest and arms - this was three
years ago. He finds it very difficult to work now, he cannot move his arms well
and he suffers a lot of pain and the scars cause a lot of itching.
He now only works part time as that is all that he can manage.
He makes approx. $66 US a
month.
Ninette is a home
maker, her youngest baby suffered from a cleft palate when he was born and has
had to have three operations. They have two beds that are in very bad shape.
Every day they have to pay for the children to go to school.
It is 80cents US. a day for
the children's bus fares.
Nicolasa is photographed with her brother and Aunt, her mother
was ill the day the photos were taken.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #278 Paulo who is 5 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Sifford Family, Thanks!
Paulo is 5yrs old.
He lives in Santiago Atitlan with his mother, Ninette 38yrs old and his
father, Salvador 40yrs old , his sister Nicolasa 7yrs old
and Josue who is 2yrs old.
They lost their home in Panabaj in the terrible mudslides of
Oct. 2005 caused by Hurricane Stan.
They did not lose all their possessions, they were lucky to be able to save a
little.
They are still living in emergency shelter. This is basically
a tent, it has a cement floor. They
do not have electricity, they do not have a kitchen.
They are cooking over an open fire. They have one closet that was given
to them but the rest of their possessions are in cardboard boxes. They have one
bed that they are all sharing . This bed is in very bad shape and they
desperately need a new one.
He finds it very difficult to work now, he cannot move his
arms well and he suffers a lot of pain and the scars cause a lot of itching.
He now only works part time as that is all that he can manage.
He makes approx. $66 US a
month.
Ninette is a home
maker, her youngest baby suffered from a cleft palate when he was born and has
had to have three operations. They have two beds that are in very bad shape.
Every day they have to pay for the children to go to school. It is $0.80 cents U.S. a day for the children's bus fares.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #277
Jose who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Sifford Family, Thanks!
Jose is 12yrs old. He is in 7th grade at school. He lives with his mother, Lidia 44yrs old, his sister, his father, Felipe 42yrs old, Marisella 20yrs old who is single mother, she has a 2yr old daughter, Angel and his brother Felipe, 10yrs old.
They were victims of the mudslides in Panajbaj in Oct. 2005, they lost their home and all their possessions but they were able to escape with their lives.
They are still living in emergency shelter, it is like a big tent, they have put down a very simple cement floor, they do not have electricity, they are cooking over an open fire. They are keeping their clothes in cardboard boxes.
Marisella who is studying a computer course and Jose both have
to take transport to school. They are paying
80 cents U.S. each day apart from the costs they have at school.
Marisella makes beaded jewelry at home and makes about $1.33 per day. Felipe works collecting sand in the river, this is then used to make cement. He makes $80 US a month. Lidia works at home, cooking, cleaning, washing the clothes by hand.
She walks half an hour to the market daily. They have two
beds, the parents and one child in one bed and the other three in the other bed.
They cook over an open fire with firewood. They have water
connected.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #276 Gerardo who is 7 years old.$ SPONSORED by Linda
Meye-Peyroux and Gene Peyroux, Thanks!
Gerardo is 7yrs old . He lives in Santiago with his mother,
Caterina 33yrs old, and his brother, Lisandro 9yrs old.
Gerardo's father died in the
huge mudslides in Panabaj 2yrs ago. His father got his children and wife out of
the house but there was not time for him to get out.
They have one small bed that was given to them, they all sleep in this one bed. They have one very small table for the kitchen and two chairs. The two brothers do not have much clothes. They mind their clothes that they do have in a cardboard box. The mother, Caterina's only work is weaving and selling the traditional guipiles.
She makes $27.00 US
a month when she has sales.
She is also breeding a few chickens to sell.
Sometimes they are receiving help from the Govt. for food,
rice, beans, polenta etc but when that runs out their basic diet is tortillas
and salt and wild herbs that Caterina can collect.
He helps his mother by collecting firewood and collecting
herbs. His mother does not speak much Spanish, she speaks Tzutujil. Gerardo also
speaks Tzutujil and speaks a little Spanish.
This family has suffered a terrible tragedy. They lost their
father and husband, lost their home and all their furniture but they are trying
very hard to look ahead to the future.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #275 Lisandro who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Louise Sosa and Family, Qualicum Beach, Canada, Thanks!
Lisandro is 9yrs old. He lives in Santiago with his mother,
Caterina 33yrs old, and his brother, Gerado 7yrs old.
Lisandro's father died in the huge mudslides in Panabaj 2yrs ago. His
father got his children and wife out of the house but there was not time for him
to get out.
They are still living in emergency shelter, it is basically a tent. It has a dirt floor. They lost all their possessions and are trying to put their lives back together.
They have one small bed that was given to them, they all sleep
in this one bed. They have one very
small table for the kitchen and two chairs.
The two brothers do not have much clothes.
They mind their clothes that they do have in a cardboard box.
The mother, Caterina's only work is weaving and selling the
traditional guipiles. She makes $27.00
US a month when she has sales.
She is also breeding a few chickens to sell.
Sometimes they are receiving help from the Govt. for food,
rice, beans, polenta etc but when that runs out their basic diet is tortillas
and salt and wild herbs that Caterina can collect.
Lisandro is in
1st grade at school. He walks 20 mins to school every day. He helps his mother
by collecting firewood and collecting herbs. His mother does not speak much
Spanish, she speaks Tzutujil. Lisandro also speaks Tzutujil and speaks a little
Spanish.
This family has suffered a terrible tragedy. They lost their
father and husband, lost their home and all their furniture but they are trying
very hard to look ahead to the future.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #274 Jakelin Yanet who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Dice Family, Thanks!
Jakelin is 12 yrs old and is in 5th grade. She lives with her mother and two siblings, one brother, Jayro who is 14 yrs old and is in 6th grade, her sister, Maria is 9yrs old and is in 2nd grade. Her father, Rodolfo Ramirez passed away last month. He died of cancer but had a terrible tumor on his leg and the whole family suffered. He was bedridden for nearly a year. None of the children went to school last year because they could not afford it. Jayro did not go to school last year because he was helping his father. He would take him out in a wheelchair begging in the afternoons, or sometimes just take his father's photo out begging for money to support the family.
The house that they live in belongs to Rodolfo's mother and
sister. The family have given the wife the room that belonged to the husband.
They do not have a kitchen. They
are sharing the bathroom with all of the family.
Jakelin's mother , Elodia worked very hard while her husband was alive, she did everything that she could to help him. She washed clothes by hand from house to house, she walked long distances to be able to do this as their house is not in a very populated area. She could not afford to take transport.
She was making and still is $2.00 U.S. per day. Now that her husband has died she wants to work even harder so that her children can get ahead.
They were not able to go to school last year because the family had no money. We have no arranged for all the children to be in school but they now need sponsors.
We have arranged for Elodia to have pots and be able to set up
a tamale business. She thinks that
she will do well with this and has experience from before.
Elodia needs a kitchen of her own so that she can run her business from
it. She needs a table and chairs.
The children get up very early to go to school, they have a
long distance to get to the school.
They have two old bicycles and the children use these to go to school.
A doctor who visited the school has said that these children are very
underweight. They often do not have
enough food to eat. The children did not have shoes until we gave them to them a
few weeks ago.
The day the father died we were very lucky to have received a
donation to be able to pay for his funeral.
When we arrived to the house, the family had absolutely no food to eat.
This family is very poor and is need of sponsorship for the
children and any help that they can receive.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #273 Maria Elodia who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Dice Family, Thanks!
Maria is 9yrs old . She is in second grade. She has one brother and one sister. Jayro is 14yrs old and is in 6th grade, Jakelin Yanet is 12yrs old and is in 5th grade. . Her father, Rodolfo Ramirez passed away last month. He died of cancer but had a terrible tumor on his leg and the whole family suffered. He was bedridden for nearly a year. Maria did not go to school last year because there was no money Jayro her elder brother would help her father by taking him out in a wheelchair begging in the afternoons, or sometimes just take his father's photo out begging for money to support the family. The house that they live in belongs to Rodolfo's mother and sister. The family have given the wife the room that belonged to the husband.
They do not have
a kitchen. They are sharing the bathroom with all of the family.
Maria's mother , Elodia worked very hard while her husband was alive, she did everything that she could to help him. She washed clothes by hand from house to house, she walked long distances to be able to do this as their house is not in a very populated area. She could not afford to take transport. She was making and still is $2.00 U.S. per day.
Now that her husband has died she wants to work even harder so
that her children can get ahead. They were not able to go to school last year
because the family had no money. We have no arranged for all the children to be
in school but they now need sponsors.
We have arranged for Elodia to have pots and be able to set up a tamale business. She thinks that she will do well with this and has experience from before. Elodia needs a kitchen of her own so that she can run her business from it. She needs a table and chairs. The children get up very early to go to school, they have a long distance to get to the school. They have two old bicycles and the children use these to go to school. A doctor who visited the school
has said that these children are very underweight.
They often do not have enough food to eat. The children did not have
shoes until we gave them to them a few weeks ago.
The day the father died we were very lucky to have received a
donation to be able to pay for his funeral.
When we arrived to the house, the family had absolutely no food to eat.
This family is very poor and is need of sponsorship for the
children and any help that they can receive.
The children do not have enough clothes.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #272 Jayro who is 14 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Dice Family, Thanks!
Jayro is 14yrs old.
His father, Rodolfo Ramirez passed away last month. He died of cancer but
had a terrible tumor on his leg and the whole family suffered.
He was bedridden for nearly a year.
Jayro did not go to school last year because he was helping his father.
He would take him out in a wheelchair begging in the afternoons, or sometimes
just take his father's photo out begging for money to support the family. The
house that they live in belongs to Rodolfo's mother and sister. The family have
given the wife the room that belonged to the husband. They do
not have a kitchen. They are sharing the bathroom with all of the family.
Jayro's mother, Elodia worked very hard while her husband was alive, she did everything that she could to help him. She washed clothes by hand from house to house, she walked long distances to be able to do this as their house is not in a very populated area. She could not afford to take transport. She was making and still is $2.00 U.S. per day.
Now that her husband has died she wants to work even harder so
that her children can get ahead. They were not able to go to school last year
because the family had no money. We have arranged for all the children to be in
school but they now need sponsors!
We have arranged for Elodia to have pots and be able to set up
a tamale business. She thinks that
she will do well with this and has experience from before.
Elodia needs a kitchen of her own so that she can run her business from
it. She needs a table and chairs.
The children get up very early to go to school, they have a
long distance to get to the school.
They have two old bicycles and the children use these to go to school.
A doctor who visited the school has said that these children are very
underweight. They often do not have
enough food to eat. The children did not have shoes until we gave them to them a
few weeks ago.
The day the father died we were very lucky to have received a
donation to be able to pay for his funeral.
When we arrived to the house, the family had absolutely no food to eat.
This family is very poor and is need of sponsorship for the children and any help that they can receive. Thank you!
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #271
Joselyn Fernanda who is 5 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Miriam Matteson and Hector Garcia Santana, Thanks!
Joselyn is 5yrs old. She is in kindergarten. She lives with
her mother, father and younger brother, Ivan Fernando who is 3 yrs old. The
father Fernando, 28yrs old. He works as a carpenters assistant. He earns $107
US. per month. The mother, Telma
Lubia, 22yrs old, stays at home looking after the children.
Two months ago the house that they were renting was burnt to the ground. This was caused by an electricity shortage. They were left with very little that they could salvage from the house, just the clothes that they were wearing.
Joselyn was very upset because she wanted to get her school books from the fire.
We replaced her backpack because she was very upset to go to school carrying her books in a plastic bag.
Now the family is renting another house and trying to put
their lives back together. We have
given them clothing, shoes, blankets and some household goods to help them out.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #270 Tomas who is 14 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Santman Family, Thanks!
Tomas is 14yrs old. He is in 6th grade in Panajachel. He lives with his mother, two brothers and one sister.
The eldest brother is Fernando 16yrs old. He is in 8th grade. He works half day as a gardener before going to school.
He makes $40 US a month. He pays for all his own studies with this money. William is 7 yrs old. He is in kindergarten.
Norma Elisabet is 9 months old.
The father has left the family to live with another woman.
The mother, Rafaela 33yrs old, works washing clothes by hand in various
houses. She earns 75 cents per dozen clothes that she washes. She can wash a
maximum of two - three dozen a day.
They live in a house that has been lent to them by the family.
It is made of block, tin roof and dirt floor.
It is basically a house still under construction. They are living in one
room and Rafaela also cooks in that room. She cooks over a stove that her mother
has, she does not have her own stove. They have only one bed, three sleep in the
bed, Tomas and Fernando sleep on the dirt floor on woven mats.
They do not have anywhere to keep their clothes so they keep them in
cardboard boxes or bags. They pay $0.95 cents US. a month for water, they pay
$6.60 US a month for electricity.
Tomas works half day whenever he can find work, sometimes
working as a builder's assistant and other times working taking sand out of the
river. This is very hard, low
paying work. He uses this money to buy his school supplies and for food.
The older boys are the only ones are working to help the family, they are very keen to keep studying and also to help their mother with the household costs. The father has not been responsible for the children since he left home.
The money that they make does not cover all their costs for
school nor for the household. Quite often they do not have food to eat.
Tomas often goes without lunch as there is no food. He comes home from
work, takes his bag and goes straight to school.
This is a boy who would really appreciate help to continue his
education.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #269 Edgar Yovani who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by S. Pettigrew and S. Johnson, Thanks!
Edgar Yovani is 10yrs old. He is in 2nd grade in Panajachel. He lives with his mother, Leonarda 45yrs old. He has 3 brothers and 3 sisters.
The eldest sister is Maria, 27yrs old and is married with five children. Maria never went to school and she cannot read or write.
Rosa Marina 23yrs old. She is unmarried and lives at home helping her mother with all the housework Lucas 22yrs old, married with no children yet. He lives with his wife's family.
Leticia, 19yrs old married with two children. She also did not go to school, she also does not know how to read or write.
Carlos Enrique 15yrs . Carlos also has never been to school. He does not know how to read or write. He is working taking sand out of the river. This is very hard, low paid work.
Jorge 12yrs old. He is in 3rd grade at school.
The mother, Leonarda washes clothes by hand in different houses, 2 or
3 times a week, she earns 75 cents per dozen clothes that she washes and can only wash 2-3 doz. a day. Her husband died 5 years ago, from alcohol related problems. She and Carlos are the only ones working to feed the children at home.
These two brothers were not in school until they came to us, we have put them in school so that they did not lose the whole year but they now need sponsors to be able to keep them there.
Leonarda is also not well now, she has bad headaches and has rheumatism in her hands from washing , it is now very difficult for her to wash even 3 doz. clothes a day.
The house that they live in is on her parent's land. The house is made of mud brick, the roof is made of tin and the floor is cement.
They do not have electricity. The house has one room only and a small kitchen. They all sleep in this room. They have 2 beds for them all .They have a pila, they have a small closet that was given to her.
They do not have an onil stove. They cook over an open fire on the ground. They do not have a water filter. She pays 40cents us. a month for the water.
This boy really needs help to be able to continue in school.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #268 Irma Yolanda who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by The Garfield Family, Thanks!
Irma Yolanda is 9 yrs old. She lives in San Jorge la Laguna. She is in 2nd grade in San Jorge. She lives with her father, Santos 40yrs old and the mother Santa Leocadia 35yrs old. Irma has 4 brothers and one sister. They are Santos Enrique 16yrs , he is in 9th grade in Panajachel, Marcellino 14yrs old, he is in 6th grade in San Jorge, Cristina 13yrs old, she is in 4th grade, Juan Fransisco 11yrs old, he is in 3rd grade and Carlos Benjamin is 1 yr and 8 months old. Santos is a day laborer and takes whatever work is available to him, such as working in fields, carrying heavy weights, working on building sites etc. He earns $120 US a month. Santa stays at home looking after the children. This family does not have the possibility of covering all the needs that their children have for school.
They own their own home, it is made of mud brick, with a tin roof and a cement floor, they have only one room that they all sleep in and one room for a kitchen. They have only three beds for all of them. They have water connected , they pay $4us. per year, they do not have a pila. They have one closet for all of them. They have electricity connected. They pay $9.oo US. per month. There are days when this family has enough to eat and other days when they do not, the fathers wage does not cover all the costs for this family.
They are trying very hard to keep their elder son in high school but the costs of his bus fares and supplies have put a big strain on the family.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #267
Erik who is 8 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Ben Lesso, Thanks!
Erik is 8yrs old. He is in 1st grade in San Jorge la Laguna. He lives with his mother, father and three brothers. His father is Jorge Luis, 32yrs old and his mother is Celestina, 30yrs old. The eldest brother, Cristian Javier is 10 yrs old and is in 4th grade, Fredy Adolfo is 6yrs old an is in kindergarten, the baby is Dany Orlando who is 2yrs old. Dany was born with a heart condition and the family has gone through a lot of stress, we were able to give them a loan to be able to operate on Dany and thank goodness he did very well during the operation. But the parents have had a lot of costs with his medication and on going treatment.
Jorge is a day laborer which means that he takes whatever work he can get whether it is as a day laborer, carrying heavy weights on his back, collecting firewood or whatever. He is also a member of the San Jorge Bomberos - (Bomberos in Spanish is Volunteer Fire Dept. and ambulance personal), which are the first responders here in case of accidents or emergencies. The parents are very happy because Dany is now doing so much better, they are now paying off the loans they incurred during his operation. The father makes $120 US. a month, Celestina is hoping to find work soon to help the family recuperate their finances.
The house is their own. It is made of block with a tin roof, a cement floor. It has one room and one kitchen. They have a large wood burning stove. They do not have an Onil stove. They have two beds for all the family. They have a pila, they have water connected, they pay $4.US a year for their water. they have two closets., they have electricity connected and pay $8 US. a month. This family has tried really hard through the last two years to be able to put their children in school and cover the costs of this huge operation and on going care of their son, Dany.
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STUDENT #266 Dinora Marisol
$ SPONSORED by Patty F. Thanks!
Dinora Marisol is 7yrs old. She is in first grade in Panajachel. She lives with her mother and father, three sisters and one brother. Her father is Rene is 35yrs old and her mother is Magda, 25yrs old. Santa is the eldest, 9yrs old and then there is Dinora Marisol 7yrs old, Marcia Floriselda 5yrs old and is not in school yet. Rene is 2yrs old and the baby is Magda is 3 months old. Rene sells Guatemalan Tipico on the streets in Panajachel. He makes $4.00 US a day when he has sales. All the stock that they have is very faded and old. It is difficult for them to make a business with this stock. Magda helps him with the stall that they sell on.
The children sell on the street before school, they have little baskets that they take full of woven wristbands and souvenirs and sell to the tourists. Some days they sell and make $1 or $2if they are lucky. They have one bed which four sleep in and the others sleep on the floor. They keep all their clothes in a cardboard box.
They are cooking over an open fire outside. They do not have a water filter and they do not have an Onil stove. At their church last year the congregation gave them used clothing for their children, this family is very poor and in need of help.
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STUDENT #265 Santa Litzuli who is 9 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Patty F. Thanks!
Santa is 9yrs old. She is in third grade in Panajachel. She lives with her mother and father, three sisters and one brother. Her father is Rene is 35yrs old and her mother is Magda, 25yrs old. Santa is the eldest and then there is Dinora Marisol 7yrs old, she is in first grade, Marcia Floriselda 5yrs old and is not in school yet Rene is 2yrs old and the baby is Magda is 3 months old. Rene sells Guatemalan Tipico on the streets in Panajachel. He makes $4.00 US a day when he has sales. All the stock that they have is very faded and old. It is difficult for them to make a business with this stock.
Magda helps him with
the stall that they sell on. The children sell on the street before school,
they have little baskets that they take full of woven wristbands and souvenirs
and sell to the tourists. Some days they sell and make $1 or $2if they are
lucky. They have one bed which four sleep in and the others sleep on the floor.
They keep all their clothes in a cardboard box. They are cooking over an open
fire outside. They do not have a water filter and they do not have an Onil
stove. At their church last year the congregation gave them used clothing for
their children, this family is very poor and in need of help.
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STUDENT #264 Jorge who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED byMiriam Matteson and Hector Garcia Santana, Thanks!
Jorge is 12yrs old. He is in 3rd grade in Panajachel. He lives with his mother, Leonarda 45yrs old. He has 3 brothers and 3 sisters.
The eldest sister is Maria, 27yrs old and is married with five children. Maria never went to school and she cannot read or write.
Rosa Marina 23yrs old. She is unmarried and lives at home helping her mother with all the housework Lucas 22yrs old, married with no children yet. He lives with his wife's family.
Leticia, 19yrs old married with two children. She also did not go to school, she also does not know how to read or write.
Carlos Enrique 15yrs . Carlos also has never been to school. He does not know how to read or write. He is working taking sand out of the river. This is very hard, low paid work. Edgar Jovani 10yrs old. He is in 2nd grade at school.
The mother, Leonarda washes clothes by hand in different houses, 2 or 3 times a week, she earns 75 cents per dozen clothes that she washes and can only wash 2-3 doz. a day. Her husband died 5 years ago, from alcohol related problems. She and Carlos are the only ones working to feed the children at home. These two brothers were not in school until they came to us, we have put them in school so that they did not lose the whole year but they now need sponsors to be able to keep them there. Leonarda is also not well now, she has bad headaches and has rheumatism in her hands from washing , it is now very difficult for her to wash even 3 doz. clothes a day. The house that they live in is on her parent's land. The house is made of mud brick, the roof is made of tin and the floor is cement.
They do not have electricity. The house has one room only and a small kitchen. They all sleep in this room. They have 2 beds for them all .They have a pila, they have a small closet that was given to her. They do not have an Onil stove. They cook over an open fire on the ground. They do not have a water filter. She pays 40cents us. a month for the water.
This boy really needs help to be able to continue in school.
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STUDENT #263 German
$ SPONSORED by Linda Meye-Peyroux and Gene Peyroux, Thanks!
German (pron. Herman) is in 6th grade. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna. A small village above Lake Atitlan.
He lives with his mother, Myra Rosita, 35yrs old and his father, Felipe, 34yrs old. He has three brothers, the eldest is Werner Orlando 13yrs old, he is in 8th grade in Solola. Natanael, 9yrs old, he is in first grade in San Jorge, the youngest is Alvaro who is 2 and a half years old.
Felipe is a day laborer which means he takes whatever work he can find, laboring, carrying heavy loads on his back etc. He does not have fixed work so he does not always get work daily. But he does try as hard as he can to make money and find work every day so that the can feed his children. They have made a very big effort for their eldest son to be able to keep him in Junior High. They also made a very big effort with German to keep him in school. But now they have three children in school and it is very difficult for them. Natanael started school very late because they did not have enough money to enable him to go earlier.
Felipe earns $120. US. a month. Myra Rosita makes beaded jewelry and earns $27 US a month. They have their own house, it is made of cement block with a tin roof, they have a cement floor, two rooms and a kitchen. They do not have a Onil stove, they use a large stove to cook, they do have a water filter, they have a pila and a closet. They have water connected and pay $4.00 US. for the water. They have electricity connected and pay $15 US. per month.
This family really needs help to be able to educate their children.
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STUDENT #262 Bryan who is 7 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Linda and Gene, Thanks!
Byran is 7yrs old. He lives in San Andres with his mother and sister. The father abandoned the family two years ago. He left to live with another woman. He has not paid any money for the support of the children since he left. The mother Anabella is 33yrs old and she works as a domestic in private houses, cleaning, washing by hand etc. She recently had an emergency appendicitis operation and because she was unable to work, she lost her job. She is now desperately trying to find another job. When she is working she makes $67 US a month. Ana is in 5th grade in San Andres. Bryan Estuardo is Ana's younger brother. He is 7yrs old. He is in first grade. The family does not have their own house. They live with Anabella's mother. The house is made of block and has a cement floor. They use only one room . They do not have an Onil stove but they do have a stove that they use.They cook with firewood. They have two beds. They have a pila, they do not have a closet, they keep all their clothing in cardboad boxes or flour bags.
They have water connect , they pay $8 US per year. They pay for electricity $16 US a month. Anabella has a piece of land but she is paying it off. She has to pay $54 US a month. She would love to be able to build a house but they cannot possibly afford it.
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STUDENT #261 Ana who is 12 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Linda S. Thanks!
Ana is 12yrs old. She lives in San Andres with her mother and brother. The father abandoned the family two years ago. He left to live with another woman. He has not paid any money for the support of the children since he left. The mother Anabella is 33yrs old and she works as a domestic in private houses, cleaning, washing by hand etc. She recently had an emergency appendicitis operation and because she was unable to work, she lost her job. She is now desperately trying to find another job. When she is working she makes $67 US a month. Ana is in 5th grade in San Andres. Bryan Estuardo is Ana's younger brother. He is 7yrs old. He is in first grade.
The family does not have their own house. They live with Anabella's mother. The house is made of block and has a cement floor. They use only one room . They do not have an Onil stove but they do have a stove that they use. They cook with firewood. They have two beds. They have a pila, they do not have a closet, they keep all their clothing in cardboard boxes or flour bags. They have water connect , they pay $8 US per year. They pay for electricity $16 US a month.
Anabella has a piece of land but she is paying it off. She has to pay $54 US a month. She would love to be able to build a house but they cannot possibly afford it.
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STUDENT #260 Yulisa who is 10 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Santman Family, Thanks!
Yulisa is 10yrs old. her father and her grandmother. The mother abandoned the family 8 years ago. She left with another man. Yulisa was 2yrs old when her mother left. Her mother works in a bar and visits sporadically. She does not give them any clothes or financial help. Julisa visits with her mother and is the only one of the girls who likes to talk to her mother. The father's name is Pedro, 42yrs old. He works as a fisherman in the lake. He makes $27 US a month. This money is not enough to be able to put enough food on the table for this family . It is impossible for him to be able to buy clothes, school supplies and keep his children in school. These children should be wearing traditional clothes but they have never been able to afford to buy them.
The grandmother, Josefa, 79yrs old has cared for the children since the mother left them. They think of the grandmother as their mother. The grandmother feels very sad that the girls are in this position and is hoping that the girls will receive some help. Enma is the eldest sister , she is 14yrs old , she is in 7th grade and Tania is 13 yrs old and is in 6th grade. Enma and Tania sleep in one bed in one room of the two room block house. Yulisa sleeps with her father in one bed in the other room. We would really like to be able to buy her a separate bed so that she can sleep in the same room with her sisters.
They own their own house, they do not have a kitchen but they share the grandmother's kitchen. The grandmother lives in a separate house with another daughter who is a single mother with one child. The house has a cement floor, tin roof. They do not have a closet but keep their clothes on a shelf. They have eletricity that costs $ 13.50 us a month and the water $1.60 US a month.
Yulisa is in 4th grade. She was born 21st Oct. 1996. This family often does not have enough to eat and it is very difficult for them to remain in school without help.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #259 Tania who is 13 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Santman Family, Thanks!
Tania is 13yrs old. She lives in Panajachel with her two sisters, her father and her grandmother. The mother abandoned the family 8 years ago. Tania was 5yrs old when her mother left. Her mother works in a bar and visits sporadically. She does not give them any clothes or financial help. Tania visits with her mother but does not like talking to her much. The father's name is Pedro, 42yrs old. He works as a fisherman in the lake. He makes $27 US a month. This money is not enough to be able to put enough food on the table for this family . It is impossible for him to be able to buy clothes, school supplies and keep his children in school. These children should be wearing traditional clothes but they have never been able to afford to buy them.
The grandmother, Josefa, 79yrs old has cared for the children since the mother left them. They think of the grandmother as their mother. The grandmother feels very sad that the girls are in this position and is hoping that the girls will receive some help. The oldest sister is Enma 14yrs and is in 6th grade, the youngest is Yulisa 10yrs old is in 4th grade.
The house that they are living in is made of cement blocks, they floor is cement, tin roof, it has two rooms, they have a small outside kitchen, they cook on a stove but they do not have an onil stove, they have only two beds, one in each room. The youngest daughter sleeps in the bed with the father and the two older girls sleep together. The grandmother lives in a separate house with another daughter who is a single mother. They have shelf where they keep their clothes, they do not have a closet. They do not have a water filter. They have electricity connected, they pay $13.50 US a month, they have water connected and pay $1.60 US a month.
Tania was born on 27th February, 1994. Enma is in 7th grade. She was born on 27th August, 1992.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #258 Enma who is 14 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Santman Family, Thanks!
Enma is 14yrsrs old. She lives in Panajachel with her two sisters, her father and her grandmother. The mother abandoned the family 8 years ago. Enma was 7yrs old when her mother left. Her mother works in a bar and visits sporadically. She does not give them any clothes or financial help. Enma is very angry with her mother and does not visit with her when she comes. The father's name is Pedro, 42yrs old. He works as a fisherman in the lake.
He makes $27 US a month. This money is not enough to be able to put enough food on the table for this family . It is impossible for him to be able to buy clothes, school supplies and keep his children in school. These children should be wearing traditional clothes but they have never been able to afford to buy them.
The grandmother, Josefa, 79yrs old has cared for the children since the mother left them. They think of the grandmother as their mother. The grandmother feels very sad that the girls are in this position and is hoping that the girls will receive some help. The middle sister is named Tania, 13yrs old and is in 6th grade, the youngest is Yulisa 10yrs old is in 4th grade. Enma is in 7th grade. She was born on 27th August, 1992.
This family really needs help for these girls to be able to continue in school.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #257 Marco Gerardo who is 17 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Eleanor Thompson and Co-Sponsored by The Garfield Family, Thanks!
Marco is 17yrs old. He is in 5th year in High School. Next year will be his last year. He studies in Solola but he lives with his family in Panajachel. His father's Esteban 45yrs old he works cooking and selling tacos at night on a street stall and his mother, Esmirna 45yrs old, she sells tipico for tourists. Neither of these businesses make much money. Esteban earns $5.50 US. a day and Esmirna, when she has sales makes $4 US a day.
Their is another older brother, Esteban, 19yrs old is in the University and is studying business administration, He wanted to be a lawyer but the family could not afford to pay his studies. They had a younger sister but she died as a baby 12yrs ago. They did not have enough money to take the baby to the doctor.
The family is really struggling to be able to give their children an education. Esteban, the father does not know how to read or write but he really wants his children to be able to have a better life than he and his wife have had. Esmirna only went to first grade but she can read and write a little. The house that they live in is 2 rooms made of block. The family took out a loan to build this house, they are still paying it off at $66 US. a month. Marco and Esteban help their father sell tacos at night.
Marco will have a very difficult time staying at school without help.
PLEASE SPONSOR STUDENT #256
Sirineo Bernadino who is 23 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Chadwick Family, Thanks!
Sirineo is 23yrs old. He is studying accountancy. Next year will be his final year. His parents cannot afford to help him because they have a large debt to pay for re-building their house after the Hurricane Stan. The costs for his schooling this year are $280 US. Sirineo is one of four children. His parents are weavers. They live on the lake in a village called San Juan la Laguna.
He is really struggling to stay in school and would very much like to be able to finish this year. Any help for Sirineo would be greatly appreciated.
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STUDENT #255 Dany Alfredo who is 6 years old.
$ SPONSORED by Sugar Hill UMC MOPS, Thanks!
Dany is 6 yrs old. He lives in San Jorge la Laguna. He is in kindergarten at the San Jorge school. He lives with his mother, Maria 27yrs old and the father, Rigoberto, 25yrs old. Dany has two smaller siblings. Angela is 4yrs old and the baby is Lesly 2yrs old. Rigoberto works as a day laborer. He gets work wherever he can. He often works in the fields or carrying heavy loads in the market place. He earns $134 US a month. Maria makes beaded jewelry and earns approx. $20.00 a month.
Rigoberto is not well, he has some cysts in his neck that are causing him a great deal of pain. He has been told that they are cysts inside his veins. He has been told that it would be difficult to operate. He suffers from a lot of pain from these cysts and some days he is unable to work. This is the reason that they are asking help to send their son, Dany to school. They are often going for a week at a time without money coming in. They have built a room on the father's property , they live with Rigoberto's parents. They have one room that is made of block. It has a tin roof, with cement floor.
They have a kitchen that they share with Rigoberto's parents. The parents have an Onil stove. They do not have a water filter.
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STUDENT #254 Gladis who is 13 years old.
$ SPONSORED in Honor of Kathy Lowe,
by Kelly C. Thanks!
Gladis is 13yrs old. She is in 7th grade in Junior High. She lives in Panajachel. She lives with her mother, Priscila 37yrs old. and her stepfather. There are four other siblings in the family. Auroa Marina 17yrs old, she is in 11th grade, she studying a secretarial course. Sindy Maribel, 9yrs old is in 3rd grade, These girls all have the same father, he abandoned the family when the girls were very small.
Andina 2yrs old and Angel 5 months old. As often is the custom here, a stepfather may let the children live with the mother but he will not be responsible for the girls, he will not pay for their schooling nor will he buy them clothes. He does buy food for all the family. The girls have a little cart that every afternoon they take to the bridge and sell Chuchitos, Atol and Tostados. With this money they help with their food and their costs.
This family lost everything when the Hurricane came through here 18 months ago. They lost their home and all their possessions. They are now living in the home of the parents of the stepfather. They have water and elec. connected. They all live in one room. They have only two beds for them all. The kitchen is made of wooden planks, they cook on the ground over a wood fire, they do not have a water filter, nor do they have an Onil stove. The mother, Priscila, goes from house to house doing washing by hand and ironing.
The stepfather works as a builder's assistant and makes approx. $100 US. a month. The mother, Priscila commented that for her the girls do not have a father. The stepfather will not do anything for them or help them in any way.
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STUDENT #253 Otilio who is 20 years old.
$ SPONSORED by the Chadwick Family, Thanks!