Report received for Special Needs Donation (SNG) for Saba and her siblings

I got the report today for the SNG sent in for Saba and her two brother's tuitions (private tutoring). The total for the year for the three was about $200, but I sent in $100 at the time (since I couldn't do $200 then). I will have to send in the other $100 when I can so they can continue for the whole year before October, 2011.

This half SNG got:

6 months private tuitions- Grade III for Saba, age 12

6 months private tuitions- Grade IV for Ashraque (brother sponsored by unknown person), age 10

6 months private tuitions- Grade II for Afaque (brother sponsored by my friend Wendy), age 9

(left to right): Saba, Afaque, and Ashraque pose at the CI community center, showing off their studious ways!

I have seem many variations on both the names and ages of her brothers, and I am hoping now it is right! As you can see, there ages and grades don't really "match up"-- these three siblings come from a family that is really struggling. The family makes only $53 per month for at least 6 people. They live in a small dark room in a large slum building in Kolkata. I was able to meet Saba, her mother, and grandmother in January. Her family is so thankful for the help they have received for Saba and her siblings. Still the three children are struggling in school, and their oldest brother who is 16 was forced to leave school to support the family. I believe that the parents were not able to receive much of an educaiton and therefore cannot help their children with school

Without this extra help, I am not sure the three kids will be able to succeed in school. I know Saba had been "stuck" in grade-II for many years, and has finally passed to grade-III. The report states:

"The child said, "Thank you Sponsor for providing me and my siblings with tuition assistance in our studies which we needed most. Now, we will get the much needed help to do our school assignments properly."

The child is in grade-III at present and her sibling Sk. Ashraque is in grade-IV, while her other siblings Sk. Afaque is in grade-II. The child and her 2 siblings have been provided with 6 months of tuition support from May'11 to Oct'11, so that they get proper guidance and attention in their studies that will help them to perform better in school.

I feel that continuing to help these three is really important for their success and for their family. I have set up a firstgiving page to raise the second half of the money to make sure it is raised and gets to them in time to maintain the tutoring without breaks. Any donation will help get towards the goal, and help these three siblings have a bright future to look forward to. Please check out the page here, thank you!

Saba's SNG- received Oct 16, 2010

Hooray! After much torturous delay (well not really, but it felt that way to me!) I got my report form Saba's SNG which I sent in about 1.5 months ago. I asked that the money be used as needed for 1.) Saba's school needs, 2.) siblings school needs and 3.) anything else the family needs.

The family got:

4 months private tuitions for Saba (grade II)

1 Steel Almirah

1 detergent soap bar and 1 candy for the child

Child/Family Comments:

The child said, "Thank you Sponsor for the gifts and also for providing me with tuition support in my studies, which I needed."



How will the gifts benefit the child and/or family?

The child is in grade-II at present. She will be promoted to grade-III in Jan'11 only if she fares well in her grade-II final examination in Dec'10. The child and her family will use the steel almirah to keep their clothes, personal items and other valuables in a safe and proper manner. The family will use the detergent soap bar to wash their clothes regularly. (LOL, thanks for clearing that up about the soap! Wink)

Additional Comments:

The child has been provided with school fees, school bag and other school supplies from the Sponsorship Program funds. The siblings also did not have any immediate need for educational supplies. Hence, the family used the donation partly to provide tuition support to the child and partly for household needs.




P.S. I was quite surprised by the headscarf-- I had never seen Saba wearing one before, and as you can see in the picture, her mom doesn't wear one. My guess is that it is what she wears to school-- she switched school and studies at an Urdu school so I am guessing it is a Muslim school and requires a headscarf.

Khayrunn's Education

Khayrunn is getting so much older. I can't believe she is 17 already! When I visited her, she was a little 11 year old girl, and now she is a young adult. She is maturing so much, and I really love her letters. She recently told me that she wants to be a teacher, and she wants to study English in higher education. She only has 2 years left until she graduates from Children International (typically some time when the child is 19).

Since joining the google group of CI sponsors, I have learned so much about what I can do to support my sponsored children, that I didn't know for so long when I was sponsoring Khayrunn (and I was much younger myself). While my younger ones will benefit a lot from this new knowledge, Khayrunn only has a few years left, so I thought I should inquire and see what she needs and work on that first. I know she is a good student and hardworking, so I definitely see her doing well continuing with school.

I sent an inquiry to CI about her education plan and needs as well as any special needs for her family. I got back the information for her education:

This year she is in 10th grade and would benefit from tuitions (as they call private tutors in India) in two subjects, which amounts to $78.

It also gave me the information for her next two years of school, high school-- which is 11th and 12th grade. For these two grades she needs help with admission fees, textbooks, and tuitions, which need to be provided by the beginning of each school year (more on those later!)

In terms of special needs, her family suggested a bicycle, which I think Khayrunn will use to more easily get to school, and cooking vessels for the family, the total amount for these is $100.

So for the 10th grade needs, it said she needed the money by June, and it was the beginning of July when I got the information. Since I am in the middle of my nursing graduate school, I don't have much (er, any!) extra money these days. I thought I would quickly do a fundraiser to get the $78 and then save up the rest. I shared this information with my friends on the google group as well as on liftone.org (the new CI networking site for sponsors). I was amazed at the quick response... not only did the funds for her tuitions come in, but also enough for the special needs gift (SNG).

So for now, the $178 has been sent in, and I will be waiting for the photos and updated when she receives all this wonderful help. It feels so great to have a community of supportive people around me, passionate and willing to help children. I am so thankful and proud to be a part of this community. Thanks to all for making such important differences in the lives of children.

Stay tuned for updates!