Feb 19

Written by: reh
2/19/2008

February 19, 2008 (Tuesday)

Drove to Policarpo Paz Garcia elementary school, Principal’s name is Mrs. Sory Ilbea Rivera The children cleaned the school rooms yesterday are cleaning up the school yard today (beginning of the school year activity). Kitchen is ready. The principal already had a preliminary meeting with mothers to set up cooking schedule and will have her annual meeting with all parents this afternoon. We were invited but I think she was being polite; this is her meeting with the parents.
Mrs. Ilbea asked if we could supply half of the cement to build a wash basin for the kitchen. The families will provide sand and labor. Half the cement necessary is left over from the kitchen job. The cost of the cement will be $40. I told the Principal I would think about it. Later, I told Fernando to provide the cement. Always a very pleasant visit to this school.
Meeting with Alcalde is off so we went looking for the little girl who asked for help to go to 7th grade. She lives in a dirt floor shack with mother, siblings and some goats on the river bank next to the open sewer. The mother explained that her husband died a few years ago and she is doing what she can.
We went to the high school named Instituto Tecnico Marco Aurelio Soto, in Goascoran and visited with
Vice Principal Ulises Hernan Canas. We discussed L4L and explained that, in the future, we would like to expand the program to 7th grade and beyond; L4L would provide scholarships to very poor children that finish 6th grade from one of the schools in the L4L program. If we expand, L4L would provide transportation, lunch, uniform and school supplies. I explained that helping 7th graders will be much more difficult than elementary schools as we will have to pay for each individual and all of the logistics will be much more complicated; we will need a great deal of input, and support from the high school staff.
Mr. Canas thanked us for considering the assistance of 7th graders and choosing this high school. He said the lunch would be especially important as many of the children come to school hungry, fall ill (thereby exposing other children to illness) then drop out. He believes providing lunch is crucial to our plan.
I explained that L4L will concern itself with elementary schools but that my wife and I will support 2 girls this year. This will act as a pilot program for possible growth next year. Helda Pedia is enrolled and we would like to get one of the girls, Elsa Waldina Lazo Lemus into school tomorrow (8 days after school started). Ms. Canas had the Administrative Assistant, Mr. Maldonado and the school councilor, Ms. Bessie Reyes. Basically, Mr. Canas explained what we wanted to do and indicated his approval. Ms. Reyes asked who the child is (somehow people know everybody; she knows of the girl/family and agrees the girl disserves a chance), then Ms. Reyes told each person what to do and the meeting was over (I like Ms. Reyes’ style).
In the evening as Fernando and I talked, he explained that the teachers and administration give no extra attention to any of the students; the kids come or go by their own efforts. We should not assume any level of assistance from school personnel. He was pretty definite about this assessment; Fernando knows how to read situations.

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