222Meet Our Children in Matagalpa, Nicaragua222
Responsibility is dedicated to improving the lives of the children living around and working in the Matagalpa garbage dump by providing quality education. To date, we have helped over 5,600 students.
This is an example of a typical day for the kids. In the morning the children attend kindergarten classes. In the afternoons, we have an elementary school specifically for children who work in the dump, had dropped out of school, or had never attended class. Unfortunately, this describes most of the kids who scavenge the city dump for survival.
Guillermo is 4 years old and attends our preschool. He lives with his mom, aunts, uncles and grandparents. He has no father. His mom is a housemaid. In the afternoons, his grandfather scavenges for recyclable plastic to earn money. Guillermo’s aunt makes enchiladas to sell on the streets. His dirt-floored home is made of medal sheets, cardboard, and plastics that are found while scavenging in the dump. He says he likes coming to class. His favorite food is rice with beans. He loves to play with toy cars.
Heidi Alexandra Godoy Suazo is 3 years old. She is the oldest of two sisters. She lives with his mom, grandfather, aunt, uncle, and she has no father. Her mom works as a housemaid. She says that her house is very small and very uncomfortable.
She likes coming to school, eat lunch and play with plasticine. She is in first grade at the ROBERT KEENAN FAMILY preschool.
I am ten years old. I very much like to attend school and now I am in fourth grade. I have ten brothers and sisters. My house is made of plastic [tarps]. We have two rooms. Six people sleep in one and four people sleep in the living room. Two people sleep in each bed so that we all can fit in our house.
My favorite food is rice with beans. In my free time, I go to work in the garbage dump helping my mom find plastic bottles and aluminum cans to sell. We use the money to buy food.
I am the youngest in my family. I want to do well in school which requires me to push myself so that my mama will be proud of me. I don’t have a papa.
My big dreams are to have toys and to be a happy kid.
I am eight years old and there are six children in my family. I am the fifth child. I am in fourth grade. My favorite subject is math. My favorite food is roast chicken but we only have it for someone’s birthday. After school, I work in the garbage dump with my mama. We collect plastic which we sell and cardboard which we use to start the fire for my mama to cook. My house is made of tin and plastic and to me, it is the best home in the world.
I am twelve years old and in second grade. Along with going to school, I work in the garbage dump. I attend school every day and I am always on time even though I work in the city dump in the mornings. I want to study and be an important person in society when I grow up.
I am the second of 7 children. My favorite color is red and my favorite food is fried chicken. My mama is single. When I grow up, I want to be a policeman and help a lot of people.
I am 11 years old and in second grade. I work with my parents in the garbage dump in the mornings scavenging cans and bottles. In the afternoons, I go to school. My motivation to study in school is that I want to beat my odds and better my living situation and life. I don’t want to be a scavenger of the dump when I am an adult. I want to become a police officer. I want to arrest the bad people and help the good ones.
Our school needs sponsors. Being a sponsor means that you are helping a child with his educational expenses (books, field trips, lunch, school, supplies, class celebrations, etc.) If you would like to give a child the gift that will last his/her lifetime and affect all the generations to follow him/her, please donate today!
