A dream can be become a reality…poverty may be conquered

To date, 226 children are waiting for their scholarships for the 2006 school year – 1030 children who received scholarships from Dequeni have completed the 2005 school year

Amado Amado Amado
Colegio: un sueño para ellos School: a dream for them Schule: ein Traum für sie
Salir de la calle, aprender algo... Leave the streets, be able to study Weg von der Straße, etwas lernen… Fotos: www.dequeni.org.py © 2005

PARAGUAY, Raquel Beltran/Dequeni Foundation. "An enormous THANK YOU! It is impossible to express what you have made possible for the development of our children," writes Raquel Beltran in a letter to persons who have donated to a scholarship for the needy children in Paraguay. Thanks to last year’s scholarships, 1030 children and adolescents have completed the 2005 school year with excellent results.

Of the 1031 scholarships that were presented in February of this year, 928 children and adolescents have passed to the next grade, 96 children and adolescents completed a complementary examination in December, 6 children will repeat the school year and only 1 child dropped out of the program. Not one of these children could have attended school without the scholarship. The donors and the children, who with their effort took advantage of the opportunity to go to school, are the protagonists of this opportunity that will forge a new future. "We should continue for the benefit of the children", they say. When they celebrate the end of school Mass on December 14 at the Dequeni Center, they will express their gratitude for everything that was accomplished this year. They will also express their gratitude for the large donation made by some youth of the Schoenstatt Movement in Germany, who gathered funds for Dequeni in their communities, as well for the many others who helped with this project.

To date, 266 CHILDREN ARE WAITING FOR THEIR SCHOLARSHIPS for the 2006 school year. The goal is 1,000 scholarships, so that during the 2006 school year, children from Asuncion, Fernando de le Mora, Caacupe, J. Augusto Saldivar, Caaguazu y Arroyos, and Eseros will be able to study.

To make this dream a reality...perhaps you can give a Christmas gift to that Child that arrived in Bethlehem in total poverty. 37 Euros or 47 dollars can change the life of a child forever.

Amado

The dream can become a reality, the vicious cycle of ignorance and poverty can be broken. Education is the right of all children and it is the most effective tool to break the cycle of poverty in a country. Such as Amado’s...

Amado is a mischievous and restless child, he is nine years old and the recipient of a scholarship from "Project: Right to an Education" in J. Augusto Saldivar. This little one comes from a large family composed of his parents and nine siblings; the oldest is 15 years old. The family lives in the precarious conditions of the 3 de Febrero neightborhood. They are lettuce sellers. His father goes out into the street early in the morning to sell, his mother, and oldest sister work washing clothes and on weekends, they go out along with Amado to sell lettuce in the cities of Villeta and Remanso. Amado attends the school in his community, he is in the third grade, and in spite of restless and unsettled behavior, his effort and dedication to make the most of his scholarship is very well known according to his teacher, Nora, from San Blas School.

Amado is a very extroverted child. He likes to play with his neighborhood friends in the field close to his house. He likes to go out on weekends with his mother going from house to house selling lettuce. Amado knows that instead of working, he should be playing or reviewing his school work, but he also knows the needs of the home are great and that all of them have to help in order to survive.

Amado is different from other children of similar economic condition, because he has the support of his parents who look after him and his siblings, they make all of their children responsible for their homework, and they require that they make every effort possible to make good grades.

How to help:

• Online donation with credit card via www.dequeni.org.py – the website is available in English!
• Or turn to Raquel Beltran, recursos@dequeni.org.py