Save A Child

By Patricia Calderón

Leidys, 12, and Yinaris, 9, are two sponsored children who are passionate about their schooling. Leidys (below) wants to be a business manager and Yinaris (below, right) wants to be a doctor. Both have earned the highest grades in their studies, and they work hard each day to make their dreams come true.
Very early in the morning, both girls eagerly traveled to their appointments at the Children International community center in Barranquilla, where each would receive a package of school supplies. And both girls were exuberant when they received their gifts – not just because they would have new school supplies for themselves, but because each had also received an additional school supply kit for a sponsored sibling.

Their mothers were also thrilled. They admitted that without this help their daughters would have had to wait a long time to get school supplies because they just didn’t have the money to buy them.

“This is a blessing from God, and I’m very happy. My husband hasn’t worked for a month, so this really helps,” said Leidys’ mother. And Yinaris’ mom spoke up through the chatter of the beaming children. “This is something I really value because it saves us a lot of money and my daughters can go to school with the proper supplies right away.”

Leidys and Yinaris live in very humble circumstances, but their hard work and enthusiasm for their studies make their parents want to sacrifice and work hard as well so they can get ahead. And while their dreams are in the works, these school kits with notebooks, writing tablets, colored pencils, Spanish and Spanish-English dictionaries, pens, pencils, pencil cases, erasers and sharpeners will help them develop their academic abilities.

“I want to be a professional and work in front of a computer, because I want to help my parents and brothers and sisters so we can all get ahead and have the things we need,” says Leidys optimistically, while Yinaris carefully examines her bag of supplies to make sure they were all in order. Meanwhile, Yinaris’ mother speaks of her dreams for her children’s future.

“We’re going to try as hard as we can, and God will have to give us strength so they can become what they have proposed. Since we did not become professionals, may they be the ones to have that opportunity,” she concludes hopefully.

Patricia Calderón is the Communications Coordinator for the Children International child sponsorship agency in Barranquilla, Colombia.