The kids have their exams coming up beginning May 20th. This is huge. Especially for Andy, this will determine if he will pass into grade 7. Andrielis and Yoandi are getting great marks, and are not at risk of failing, but these exams are still very important and will play a big role in determining their end of year grades. To help prepare them, we have hired a math tutor. The tutor is actually Andrielis' math teacher at Santa Rosa, the private school, which works perfectly as he knows what is on the exams and knows what level the kids need to be at. All 3 kids struggle with math. It is Andrielis' worst subject. This is going really well so far in preparing them. He comes to their house every Thursday and Friday from 5pm-7pm to work with them. Just this week, they added on Saturdays as well. This will last 4 weeks total leading up to the exams. He charges 300 pesos each session ($7.50) which means $82.50 for the full 4 weeks. Sonia told me the kids, especially Yoandi, found it challenging, which is great. They need to be pushed. Andy:
Andy has been going to Renacer twice a week, on Tuesdays and Thursdays. He has also been getting a weekly private tutoring session with Caitlin. Both have proved to be helpful, and he and Sonia are hopeful that he will pass his exams and that he will bring his marks back up to what they were during first semester.
Since April's blog update, Andy studied for 1 hour with Caitlin on Sunday April 15th. During this session, they focused on math. Andy's teacher told me math was his strongest subject, but even in math he is quite weak, Caitlin tells me. In class they are working on decimals and fractions, and he didn't know much about either. They went over how to add decimals, how to read a bar graph, and how to divide and multiply. The bar graph in his school book had questions where the student needed to divide and multiply to find the answer, which he struggled with. They were able to go over 1-4 times tables before the session was complete. During the second lesson, the following week, they began by again reviewing his times tables, and then moved on to social studies. They read through his notes and went over some vocab (government, sovereignty, independence, etc).
Healthcare and Sanitation:
This is such a great need for the family. In late April, Andrielis spent several days in the hospital with an infection, likely from bathing in dirty water. More recently, Yoandi's face has swollen up from an infected tooth. Sonia took him to the public hospital and bought medicine but it didn't work. By the next day (the day after this photo was taken) there was even more swelling. He was home from school and couldn't eat. Two generous sponsors came forward to help. Laurie paid $20 to cover his doctor visit (800 pesos) and Sarah paid for his medicine. This time, Sonia took him to a private clinic which provides much better care, and he was better soon after. The infection was cut out during the first appointment, and he is returning soon to have his molar pulled.
These two issues in one month proved to be a reminder for the need of improved healthcare and sanitation. With their house being right on the water (which is filled with sewage) this is an ongoing issue that has led to many infections and hospital visits over the years.
Impact English School:
Right now I am looking for a monthly sponsor for Andrielis' tutoring. It is these monthly costs (tutoring) that I would love to get more security for, to ensure we can continue them. It costs $10/month for Andrielis to get tutored at Impact English School. Her level of English is skyrocketing and this will help her in so many ways. She will get higher grades in her English class at school, and when she is older, she will be able to get a job more easily and will better be able to network and learn about the healthcare industry that she wants to go into. Is someone interested in paying $10/month to sponsor her classes, or a one-time gift of $120 to cover a full year of tutoring?
Tuition Raised:
The fundraising for the kids' school tuition is coming along so well! I am proud to announce that of the total of $3400 needed for all three kids to go to school and have uniforms and books, we have raised a whopping $3125!! Only $275 to go. We are so close!! Any donations to help us complete the rest are very much appreciated. I would love to have this done by May 15th.
Video:
This month, I will leave you with this video of Yoandi. This was at a hiphop show, and they let him get up and sing a song. What a performer! Yoandi has a huge personality and he is very outgoing. He loves to sing, but loves to dance even more!
