Student Sponsorship Program - 2018

Hi everybody! It's February, so you know what that means -- school will start back next month! Also in February, our student sponsorship program begins anew!

For the last few weeks, we have been hosting sessions in the mornings from 9am until 12pm, since it is summer vacation here. During the afternoons, the students have the opportunity to just be children and entertain themselves (or work to earn money for their families). Our lessons this time of year are remedial work, so that the students do not forget what they learned during the previous school year. We believe that this constant review helps the students to get off to a stronger start when school begins again!

The schedule is as follows: Monday (reading and writing), Tuesday (mathematics and art), Wednesday (science and geography), Thursday (grammar and history), and Friday (various activities, usually sports or movies). Each lesson lasts roughly an hour, and then the students are allowed thirty minutes of recreational time, during which they generally elect to play UNO! or sports outside. Following recreo, we ask the students to wash their hands, pray as a group, and then provide a nutritious meal for the students. Once they have completed their meal, the children are required to brush their teeth. This way, students remain accustomed to the Seeds schedule, and it will not be difficult to transition back to schoolwork. The volunteers are responsible for lesson planning, so even though there is no afternoon session at Seeds, there is still plenty of work to be done!



Just like during the school year, Fridays are our fun days. This year, we have been incredibly lucky with the rains, and have been able to visit the park most Friday mornings. The children absolutely love playing soccer with the teachers! We try to stress the importance of physical activity during this time outdoors, as exercise is important for both a healthy mind and body.

All in all, we believe that our summer program is a great transition for students from the holiday season into a new school year. However, with a new academic year comes new expenses...

The cost of enrolling in public school in Peru is free, but the student is required to purchase books, writing utensils, paper, shoes, and uniforms. Many of the Seeds of Hope children do not have the funds to do so; as a result, we do our best to help the students whenever possible. This time of the year, we are collecting money to purchase school supplies and uniforms.

You can make a one-time donation of $25 which will cover the costs of one student's uniform and school supplies, or you can sponsor a child for the entire year. The year-long sponsorship consists of 12 monthly payments of $25, and the money goes directly towards the costs of providing a nutritious meal on weekdays for the students, ensuring that the Seeds of Hope school is stocked with adequate teachable materials, and the occasional field trip. Our goal is for each of the 55 students at Seeds of Hope to be sponsored for the entire academic year! On our Facebook page, there are photos of the students who regularly come during the summer months. Once school starts again, we will post photos of all students on our Facebook page and you can let us know if you are willing to sponsor a child by leaving a comment. You can learn more about the year-long sponsorship program at our website, www.seedsofhope.pe

Additionally, we are subsidizing the costs of attending university for former Seeds graduated, to incentivize the prospects of continuing their education. We have several students enrolled at the local university right now, and they are studying engineering!

Each final donor (whether is be for one month or one year) will receive an electronic photograph and some basic information about the child that they are helping to attend school. The sponsored student will also write a hand-written thank you note to be mailed to the donor, but we cannot make any guarantees about the promptness of the Peruvian postal system.

You can donate to the Student Sponsorship Campaign at the following link: https://www.omprakash.org/global/seeds-of-hope/crowdfund/student-sponsorship-program---2018 Thank you so much for your continued support of Seeds of Hope! Our program would not be possible without generous contributions from donors like you!