I have some great news. There is a child that could be the poster child of our project. His story captures the tragic nature of this garbage dump and of the children forced to work there. His name is Ariel. He has an older brother named Sergio who no longer at our school. He has a sister named Brenda as well. In February, all three were attending the school and were making such great advances. The change was very clear and visible. Yet once the oldest brother left, the other two seemed less happy at the school. This makes sense because they probably both looked up to their brother, and once he left, they thought maybe that was the cool thing to do. Last month both Brenda and Ariel left as well. This was really hard on me because I had invested so much into Ariel.
On my visits to the garbage dump, I always look for our students. I found Brenda. We talked for a long time and with Jesse’s help, we were able to convince her to come back. She has been back at our school for two weeks. But Ariel was still nowhere to be found. Yet this week, to my surprise, Ariel showed up for school with a big smile on his face. I don’t know why he came back or who talked to him, but I am so glad he is back.
We have worked hard to make sure the students finish their education and escape from the garbage dump. Of the 170 students at AFE, about half still work in the garbage dump in the afternoons and on weekends. The others have been convinced to focus on school or to find other jobs. Ariel and Brenda are third generation garbage workers meaning their grandparents and parents both worked in the garbage dump. It is all they know. But what I know is that God has incredible and amazing plans for their lives and our goal is to help them reach those plans.
Updates – I saw Antonio at the vocational school he is at. Wow, God has really changed this young man’s life. He is a role model and leader at his school. He has dreams of returning and helping with street kids once he returns. He wants to help out the kids who never got a chance like him. Incredible.
On my visits to the garbage dump, I always look for our students. I found Brenda. We talked for a long time and with Jesse’s help, we were able to convince her to come back. She has been back at our school for two weeks. But Ariel was still nowhere to be found. Yet this week, to my surprise, Ariel showed up for school with a big smile on his face. I don’t know why he came back or who talked to him, but I am so glad he is back.
We have worked hard to make sure the students finish their education and escape from the garbage dump. Of the 170 students at AFE, about half still work in the garbage dump in the afternoons and on weekends. The others have been convinced to focus on school or to find other jobs. Ariel and Brenda are third generation garbage workers meaning their grandparents and parents both worked in the garbage dump. It is all they know. But what I know is that God has incredible and amazing plans for their lives and our goal is to help them reach those plans.
Updates – I saw Antonio at the vocational school he is at. Wow, God has really changed this young man’s life. He is a role model and leader at his school. He has dreams of returning and helping with street kids once he returns. He wants to help out the kids who never got a chance like him. Incredible.
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