Meeting Dani

I want to introduce all of you to Dani. He is one of the youngest students in Camp Hope (our after school program). He comes every day in his white collared shirt and blue pants, the official school uniform here in town.

Everyday at Camp Hope, during homework time, we help the kids who have homework and assign homework to those who do not. I had asked Dani what year he was in school, he told me, "First," but the other kids were sure to inform me that he had dropped out of school. I assured him that he's still allowed to be part of the program, even though he's not in school. In my heart, I felt I wanted him to still be a part of the program ESPECIALLY because he's not in school.

For the past two weeks, Dani has been approaching me after Camp, handing me his notebook, and asking for homework, "Pongame tarea en ingles." The following day, he comes in and shows me his homework, asking me to check it, "Reviseme las tareas." He always has them done, although not always properly, but we can go over them in Homework time.

Eventually, I decided to ask Dani why he had dropped out of school. He told me, "La profesora me regañaba mucho." (The teacher scolded me a lot) To me it seemed like a strange reason to drop out of school, but it also became increasingly evident that he needed to be loved and guided.

So everyday we continue to give Dani homework, and try to teach him basic concepts during Homework time and after Camp before he heads home. He's a good kid and wants to learn, he just lacks the basic knowledge and some good encouragement. I really hope he goes back to school in the next term, and I hope he's not deterred by his teasing peers.

Please be praying for Dani and the other students in the program. We want to see them thrive as children and develop to the potential we all know they have--that's the point of the program! I know God can work this situation out and I put my hope in Him for Dani.