Birthday – Read this post as your gift to me!

This is my normal work position, at my table, surrounded with stacks of paperwork, students and sticky notes. Note to self, more sunscreen.

Last week was really hard, just a lot of work that was all on a tight timeline, a few bad incidences with teachers and their use of not-permitted discipline tactics and having two really tough conversations with parents about how they have to still pay some money to support their child for things like food and school supplies. One father got really, really mad like we were taking advantage of him even though we were asking him to provide about 70 Cedi a year for things like soap, books and clothing, while the students sponsor pays upwards of 800 for school, boarding and feeding.

With Susie on my side and others sneaking into the pic.

So this week started with my birthday but few people even knew about it, just a few of the older students. I was both is such a down mood at the end of last week I just did not feel like dropping the hints or asking for any type of celebration. In hind site since I was feeling a bit better about things Monday I probably should have. I think in a way it was just easier to let it be another day than trying to force people who barely know me to do anything. This day we also met with 3 parents of students that are applying to be newly accepted to the program. (Get ready for a shameless pitch soon) On my birthday, which recently I have been celebrating for a whole two weeks with the other awesome Rebeca born in October, I met three mothers that did not know their own, or their children's birthdays. Many people give birth at home and just do not really mark an exact day that people were born. So they know their children's age and month, but not a specific day. That made me both sad but also ok that my birthday is just passing by, mostly unnoticed, like so many people here's do.

These kids really, really, really like playing on the computer and once I let one use it there is a herd of others just to get a glimpse.  

Here is the shameless pitch: You can sponsor a child for as little as $200/year!

So I am not actually involved in the sponsor side but I think that between 200-400 a year is right. I am working on the student side now, but as soon as I get back and have a job I am going to pick my girl to sponsor. Because this is a small nonprofit, there is very direct one to one connections with sponsors. I can not remember how many times students asked me, “Do you know Lynn/John/Fatima/Leah etc” These students really feel like they are in connected to a individual person much more than the organization as a whole. So some students who are really needy or need to live on campus need more help and some need less, we tailor it to the student but either way it is really not much money at all to pay for the tuition and extras like textbooks, uniforms and other school supplies. So if you are interested, or have a church/group/family or friends that want to give a little to help a kid shoot me an email. The past two weeks I have been meeting with over a dozen applicants that may be ready for you!

• I have a several girls that are interested in math, they say calculating is easy but they do not like Ewe (the local language) because writing is hard, so different than girls in the US.
• There is a boisterous pair of twin girls, very outgoing and talkative while the majority of girls I meet for the first time here are very quiet and reserved. Their mother described them laughingly as “just impossible” at home which was refreshing. Almost all parents say they children are obedient and hardworking, or something like that, because I think that is what they think we want to hear. I like energy and being impossible. They were also born on 11/11, looking at you Dad :) 
• There are a few much younger students, like in kindergarten to 2^nd grade which is great to get sponsored so they can start early. Many students that come from bad public schools have to repeat or go back a grade to catch up.

• 

  One of the twins

  One of the catch-ups is a girl in the first year of Junior High. She is 12, very well spoken and confident when I was talking to her, seems super smart, the best reader I have encountered, but was really struggling with writing. As the headmistress described her “A really smart girl who is in a bad school because you can tell she has not had the chance to read enough”.
• A quiet girl who recently moved to her Grandmothers because her mother could not afford to keep her and she helps after school setting little bags of water.
  
  
  

This little guy was super-smart, reading better than some of my oldest students.

Any of these snippets peak your interest? Let me know. You have me for the next two months as your personal selection committee so if you are interested in a certain age/need level/gender/interests/etc. We can match you up. There are also tons of opportunities for one-time donations for things like getting books for the other school that has a tiny little library, or trying to start a textbook fund or other ideas to improve the schools for all the kids, not just the ones that have sponsors.

Shameless plug over, but just think about it. Pagusafrica.org

Come on, give a little, you do NOT want to make this girl mad.