Video: Scholars Say Thank You
With an increasing burden to see youth graduate and for them to get plugged in at HOPE, we took a huge step of faith this school year. We opened our Scholarship Program to every single high school student (150) in Burgos.
Criteria is quite simple: High attendance rate in school and our weekly Youth Ministry as well as participating in our scheduled community service initiatives. Even though it’s not difficult to meet these requirements to be a scholar, this semester only 46 youth received scholarship reimbursements. It goes to show just how much of a challenge education is in the island. For this reason, poverty related issues are amplified.
We had a meeting with the scholars’ parents last week to affirm them for the efforts made and to release funds to cover costs they spent for the first semester. This approach helps them learn the valuable life lesson that hard work pays off.
After the meeting our staff asked the parents to write an encouragement letter to their child. Many parents moved to a quiet area to think of the right words to say. Others were not comfortable with sharing their feelings but wrote a quick note in a fun and light manner. Communicating love or encouragement is not common in our island culture. The students were touched.
The estimated cost per student is $120 for the whole school year. At the moment we do not have the funds necessary to cover each student. Please consider supporting one student for the year. This includes uniform, tuition and school project costs. Please indicate SCHOLARSHIP program when you make your donation. We will keep you updated throughout the school year so you can be praying with us for these students to excel and honour God!
