I contacted Compassion with this question but I will post here in case anyone else has the same question. I am sponsoring two children (one is 9 and one is almost 7), and both are currently not attending school. It says that the reason my sponsored child in Nicaragua is not attending school is that there is a lack of economic resources. I am wondering if my sponsorship will guarantee that she attends school and if an extra monthly contribution would help the family and let her go to school.
Does anyone have any experience with sending electronic letters? Do the children receive the electronic letters more quickly than regular mail?
Thank you and God bless! :)
Bethany
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Posted 6 years ago
KristenH, Champion
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Each project addresses different needs that are determined by the staff in your child's country/community. If you look on your account under your child's information you should be able to see what types of things your sponsorship fees cover. Some cover tuition, uniforms, books etc. It really just all depends.
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However, Eva was entered in our program on February 7, 2012 and the information we have is from February 1, 2012. I would expect that since entering our program, she has begun attending school, as is often the case. Her information will be updated next spring, but you are welcome to ask about her education in your next letter!
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Bethany
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My sponsored child is not attending school?.
The profile for one of our sponsored children shows that he is not currently attending school do to "financial problem". Does our sponsorship guarantee our child will have the financial resources to attend school?
Susan, Sponsor and Donor Relations, Social Media
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Her handicap is that she cannot stand or walk by herself. When she's old enough to begin attending school, she may be registered and someone will help her to get back and forth to school. However, if the center is only able to provide her with transportation to and from the project and she's not able to receive help getting to school, the center will ensure she still receives education at the project.
Because she was just recently registered in our program however, the staff are now thankfully aware of her handicap and can now get her the help she needs. She may begin to receive physical therapy or medical assistance that will enable her to begin walking on her own. So we might just see in her next child update, that her parents and the project are able to register her in school as she'll be old enough to attend at that time. We serve a big God and I'm praying and believing for this with you! :)
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My sponsored child is no longer attending school. What does the sponsorship provide?.
We received a letter from our sponsored child (14 yrs old) saying he no longer attends school because "I was not interested to learn." I know the community center provides other activities for the kids, but he seems too old for most of what they do there, but too young not to be in school. I'm wondering how our sponsorship is directly effecting our child at this time, or if it just going to the community.
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Each student center is empowered to provide the greatest needs within their community. Our student centers always provide holistic child development in the cognitive, social, physical, and spiritual areas of development. The country and center are able to decide what that looks like in their culture and context.
Many of the communities where we work in Guatemala have a particular problem with malnutrition and so this is our focus there. Children are provided with a substantial snack every time there is an activity
at the student center. The student centers also provide special meals for
celebrations and extracurricular activities organized by the staff. A typical
meal consists of meat (chicken or beef), rice, vegetables and tortillas. They
may also have chicken broth, a piece of chicken, vegetables and tortillas.
Snacks may consist of cereal and a banana, a sandwich with cheese and ham along
with chips and a fruit, a tamale with bread. For drinks they will have a hot
beverage called atol made of different cereals like corn and wheat. In the hot
areas of the country they get get lemonade or fruit juices. Student centers
provide food so that they can contribute to the children's nutritional diet.
Also, there are some cases in which children's families do not have enough food
to feed lunch to their children, and the student center provides them with a
nutritional snack that supplements the children's needs.
I have seen situations in which children have dropped out of school because they need to support their families or because they have lost interest in learning. In most of these situations, their decision to drop out was made outside of Compassion. Our staff will do everything they can to get that child back in school the next year and will provide supplementary education in the mean time to make sure they stay on track.
In Guatemala, secondary education is available only for adolescents who live in towns that
have secondary schools. Adolescents can apply to public schools which charge only small fees that are paid by the caregivers. The problem is when there are no available spaces in public schools
and parents have to enroll their children in private schools. Funding then comes
from parents or caregivers and most times the adolescent also gets a job in
order to pay for his education. We are partnering with Instituto Tecnico de Capacitacion y Productividad
-INTECAP- (Technical Training and Productivity Institute) a government entity
that provides vocational training for individuals and employees. However, INTECAP is only available in major towns so Compassion provides the vocational training in the smaller towns.
It looks like your sponsored child made it through the US equivalent of the 8th grade and it could be possible that it will be difficult or could cost him more than they can afford to go to high school. However, we will make sure that he receives vocational training so that he can at least support himself and his family when he completes our program.
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Amanda, I am so sad to hear that! I am a fellow sponsor and that would break my heart! I wonder if he was in the wrong grade level and it wasn't challenging or vise versa the wrong level and it was too hard. Which country is he in and what was his last grade level. I just sponsored a 14 year old girl in Guatemala and it lists her as 5th grade but I do suspect she is in 6th grade now by the last "update" date.
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I was looking at your young man's file and it looks like he has struggled quite a bit in school. We are focusing on vocational training with him since school is not his forte. As a side note, you bring up a good point that Burkina Faso is one of our countries with a higher completion age. Many of our countries have increased the completion age to help more of our children get through more education and be better situated when they complete.
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No funds to study?.
In a letter from my sponsored child at the end she said that she is not studying because her parents did not have enough money for her to study. I thought this is what my money was helping her to be able to study?
Susan, Sponsor and Donor Relations, Social Media
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We so appreciate all that you are doing for your two children! Your support is helping to change your children's lives forever. Our program looks much like what would be called an after-school program here in the US. Each student center is empowered to provide the greatest needs within their community. Our student centers always provide holistic child development in the cognitive, social, physical, and spiritual areas of development. The country and center are able to decide what that looks like in their culture and context. The benefits of the program include:
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Educational opportunities
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Improved health care
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Life-skills training
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Sponsored children will also have the opportunity to follow Jesus Christ in faith and deed as part of their spiritual training.
I would be happy to look into your child's specific area and situation. Since you are sponsoring multiple children, please clarify which child you were wanting to inquire about.
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According to our records, Fryan is still attending school and is currently in grade 10. At minimum, Compassion programs seek to ensure completion of primary school, which your boys have. The project may be providing as much support as they are able to help him continue through high school but sometimes, that does not cover all expenses and the guardians will have to assist with the cost. Please rest assured that as a holistic child development program; Compassion wants to empower your child so that he can at least support himself and his family when he completes the program. In saying this, if there comes a point when Fryan can no longer attend public school due to finances, he will continue to receive vocational training so that he has life skills to help him find a job when he graduates.
In regards to Kevin; education is very important and of high value to Kenyans. They see education as a key to success. Our records do indicate that Kevin is currently attending school and in grade 10. Students often times receive assistance of other villagers who contribute funds through a self-help system known as Harambee (meaning, "Let us pull together")! Although I do not have information on how is boarding school costs are being covered, members of the community may be helping him with this. Our church partners in Kenya do pay some fees while the caregivers are required to pay the remaining portion. I want to encourage you that currently, Kevin is still attending the same project. His boarding school may be very close to the church so that he can still easily attend. If it is too far for him to travel back and forth, the project staff will look to find another project for him to attend that is closer to his school. I encourage you that if anything changes in your child's status or if he switches projects, we will contact you. :)
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Although we do not have a way for you to donate specifically towards your child finishing high school; you're always welcome to send a monetary gift to Fryan that he may use towards his education. You can send the following monetary gifts:
Birthday Gift $10-$100
General Gift $10-$100
Family Gift $25-$1,000
Also, when your child completes Compassion's program, you may send a Final Graduation Gift between $10-$2,000.
On average, it takes 2-3 months for gifts to reach him. On your gift, you can make a note that you would like him to use it for the costs to finish his high school. Our staff will discuss the gift with him and his family and they help him make a wise decision on how use your generous gift. The project staff encourages him to use the gift towards his greatest needs at that time. You will receive a thank you letter in the mail 6 months after you send your gift, letting you know how it was used.
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Hello, I have a correspondent child from Thailand I just got today. It says he quit school because he couldn't pay attention. I am wanting to encourage him to go back to school, but didn't know if he quit or was kicked out. I don't want to say anything that may make him feel bad, especially if he wants to go to school but can't. Also, isn't there some type of school that could help him? I'm just so concerned for him because he is so young. Thanks!
Susan, Sponsor and Donor Relations, Social Media
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Susan, Sponsor and Donor Relations, Social Media
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I just sponsored another child and it says that she doesn't attend school due to financial difficulties. Will my monthly support help her attend school?
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Will she go to school?
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Hi, sorry, may be off topic:
Does a sponsored child only get only one sponsored meal each day? What about those whose families cannot provide the other meals of the day?
Does the sponsored child get the sponsored meals on other days if the child center only has weekly classes/activities?
Thanks.
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I correspond with a child named Tamiru he has a sponsor but he still is not getting to go to school. why? his number is ET1650141. If we need to we may be able to send him to school, how much dose it cost? and don't sponsored children go to school with the money we pay!
Susan, Sponsor and Donor Relations, Social Media
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Hello,
I just received my first letter from Florencia (ME9140175), and she told me that she is no longer in school. I'm sad to hear of this, because education is so important. Will she at least receive vocational training so that her life will improve? I'm very concerned about her future.
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I want to encourage you that even if Florencia is no longer in school, Compassion provides supplementary education to these children so that they are able to continue learning outside of the classroom and still develop in their God given potential and skills. Compassion Mexico currently works with materials additional to the national certified curricula for teens of 12 to 18. This includes leadership development skills to help move teens to become leaders from the beginning of their teenage years. Vocational training varies from project to project, but some of the vocational trainings offered include carpentry (which is the most popular in your child's community), painting, cooking, computer classes, English, hammock making, silk screening, embroidery, hair styling, and chicken and fish farming. The center considers the resources and skills available in Florencia's community and church and helps her select her vocational training accordingly. At Filipos Student Center, the staff and tutors also provide each child with reading and writing classes. You might ask her what vocational skill she is currently learning :). Please rest assured that your child's education and growth is very important to us and our staff will ensure that she is continuing to develop and learn while at the project.
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Can I get some information on schooling for 2 of my kiddos (by the way, I LOVE that you are willing to give us these extra tidbits!!) I recently noticed that for Jor-Aekue TH8170097 it says he is not attending school as he is not interested in it. Is there more info here? Like someone said above, I'd like to address it with him as I've sponsored him for over 4 years and feel like I can have that conversation with him but didn't want to be insensitive to any other situations going on.
Also, for Sasahu ET1650082, it says she's not attending for financial reasons. I've been assuming that just hadn't been updated since she joined the program but I worry about her because she's an orphan and living with "friends" so thought I should make sure of the situation. Also, do you have any info on who the "friends" are? What their connection is to her and her family?
Susan, Sponsor and Donor Relations, Social Media
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Sasahu is only five years old and just joined the program as you mentioned. Her center provides school tuition so I imagine she was not in school because she either had just started the program or was previously just too young to start school. The school year begins in September and her first profile was done in March 2014. Hopefully, she was able to start school this last September. Regrettably, there is not a whole lot of information on Sasahu's file about who she lives with and what the connection is.
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Thanks so much for the information! I will gently encourage Jor-Aekue in schooling as well. He sends me great pictures that he colors in every letter and I always encourage him in his art. I'm so glad Compassion is there for him, especially if he chooses to not do school.
Thanks for the confirmation on Sasahu's school situation. I hope I can someday find out who she is living with.
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I also have a 7 year old boy in Tanzania. I know he is in school but was wondering how those schools are structured as well. Thank you.
Susan, Sponsor and Donor Relations, Social Media
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The school system in Tanzania begins around age 5-6 years old (if the family can afford it). Taisamo was already in US equivalent of Kindergarten when he was registered into the program a year ago in May 2014.
I hope this extra information helps to put things a little more into perspective for you! Let us know if we can help in any other way.
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It says damarius is other instead of attending school what does this mean?
Sarah, Official Rep
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If you send us a copy of the letter, we can check on her situation for you. Thank you for caring about her education!
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I appreciate your care and concern for your child! Education is very important and he needs to receive at lease some vocational training to succeed.
Each student center is empowered to provide the greatest needs within their community. Our student centers always provide holistic child development in the cognitive, social, physical, and spiritual areas of development. The country and center are able to decide what that looks like in their culture and context.
Many of the communities where we work in Guatemala have a particular problem with malnutrition and so this is our focus there. In other areas, school tuition is the greatest need and the student center will prioritize tuition fees. That said, we always provide supplementary education if the child is not in school, in addition to medical, nutritional, and spiritual support. We also provide vocational and leadership training to all adolescents in our program.
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