A bit of a catch up

This afternoon, we had one of the university students over to the house for a visit. He was looking for some help putting together some curriculum to teach English this summer. He is such a great kid. One that has come against the odds to be where he is today. He is an orphan. with out family, the outlook for a young man could be so different.

I was happy to hear that the University has been very helpful to him as far as his tuition is concerned . His tuition will only be $200 for the year, but for him, that is a huge mountain.. then to add to that another $290 for the year for his housing, and food on top of that. We sat at the table at lunch discussing his summer plans. He shared that he was very concerned about raising this kind of money.. the going rate for looong 6 day week working in the fields is about $48 a week .

As we continued to talk, he almost melted ... I could see him breathing heavier, and he said that it was just too difficult for him to talk about. We decided that we needed to push through . We have been examining all the different classes that we teach here, as well as a couple others that we have been asked to teach, and calculated what we have sponsors to help us with . We realized that most of this could be done by him , with one big added bonus. He would be able to head up a team of young men that could go out to the men's home 3 times a week for a sports class .

We proposed this option to him, It would work out that he would make about the same as if he was working in the fields, but would have a hole lot more free time to do the volunteering that he does here at the TOEFL centre and other areas he is involved.

Then as I was telling him this, not sure were it came from as I always try to fully discuss things like this with Julie, I told him that what he earned he could use to live on , both now and for the up coming school year, and the $200 that he must pay the school, we would cover for him as a bonus at the end of the summer... It's always so hard , I know what could be for a young orphan in this country.. or any country for that matter.. and to see a young man working and trying so hard. I know that Hard work is good for him and we want to encourage that.. I just want to sprinkle it with a little love and compassion.

We finally got to the Bazaar to get Emma her birthday present... a new washing machine that she will "Keep" it at Aigoola's House

when we arrived , they did not know we were coming , and the kids were out front of the house playing with the kite Ruslan got for his birthday .. Ruslan is doing so well.. he is excited to be in pre school now, and in the fall, he will be going to the mercy foundation school along with his new brothers and sisters.