In El Salvador, January means back-to-school. Getting the 20-plus children of Love & Hope Children’s Home prepared for school is a big job, but thankfully we had a team of volunteers to help us get everything done!
Starting in November, and working into December, we began preparing for the 2014 school year. There was a lot to be done: finding new schools for some of the children, paying registration fees, collecting school supply lists, measuring for uniforms, creating academic plans, figuring out driving schedules, and countless other little tasks. We also launched a fundraiser to help pay all of the fees associated with sending our children to private schools.
Once January arrived, it was time to kick into high gear, and a team of women from Ohio arrived just in time to help us. The biggest and most time-consuming back-to-school task is covering books and notebooks. We estimate that each child has at least 15 items that need to be covered with a specific color paper and plastic. Altogether, that comes to over 300 books and notebooks! These great women knocked out this task in a few days, and had a good time doing it. Thanks, ladies!
Our 23 kids require a mountain of school supplies. We’re always looking for pencils, rulers, erasers, markers, crayons, notebooks, and everything else the kids use each and every day at school. Thanks to the great initiative of Agape Christian Academy in Troy, Ohio, we already had most of the supplies we needed for the Love & Hope kids. Agape did a supply drive back in September, providing us with a great selection of notebooks, pens, colored pencils, and other must-haves. What a blessing!
Uniforms and shoes are the final piece of the puzzle. All the kids received new shoes for Christmas thanks to generous donations from members of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Chesterland, Ohio. This past Tuesday, the kids excitedly received their new, crisp, clean uniforms. They’ll look like a million bucks on the first day of school.
Thank you to the following groups and individuals who helped Love & Hope Children’s Home prepare for the 2014 school year: Kathy Fallon, Sarah Begg, Jennifer Heilman, Lisa Groff, Mama Kathy, Meike Wagner, Susanna Gomez, Shayna Naran, Agape Christian Academy, St. Mark Lutheran Church, Members of the United States Navy.
Love & Hope Children’s Home is still in the process of raising funds for the 2014 school year. Supporting a child’s education is a great way to make a lasting impact on their future. To donate toward an individual child, or our education fund as a whole, visit our website!