Uniforms for Eureka

They were waiting for us when we arrived this morning. It was five weeks ago that we first visited the kinder school in Eureka and decided that we would try to raise the money to provide uniforms for all 56 students and school supply kits for 11 students who were without the basic supplies. Thanks to several donors including Chris R for his continuing support, and to the friends and family of the Alice Cool Foundation who contributed the lion’s share, we were able to accomplish our goal. With an enrollment of 56 students this is by far the largest project we’ve ever taken on; the cost of the uniforms and school supplies exceeding $1000. But to put it in perspective, the kinder school in Eureka is serving students from a large surrounding area, so we’re actually positively impacting the lives of families in many villages.

Our visit began with a welcoming speech by this young girl, who actually did a pretty good job of it. I think a career in the entertainment industry could be in her future. When she finished speaking several groups of kids sang songs and danced. 

With the welcoming ceremony concluded it was time to hand out the uniforms. These four were the first to get theirs. Notice how large the uniforms are on these kids. When I first noticed it I thought something had gone terribly wrong. We were given the sizes for each student (6, 8 and 10) so I thought that the manufacturer had screwed up, but it turns out the mothers had deliberately asked for one or two sizes larger so the uniforms can be worn for several years. None of us thought to ask one of the kids to open their jacket so we could see the yellow t-shirt underneath. They look good…all yellow with green trim on the collar and sleeves.

Maria was one of the 11 students without school supplies. The bag she is displaying contains everything she needs. Now she and the other 10 kids don’t have to borrow or go without anymore. I’ve taken a liking to Maria. She is one of the kids who walks 30+ minutes to school every morning. She’s an orphan – we don’t know what happened to her parents. We do know that her home circumstances are not great. We put a couple of blouses inside her school bag. We were also able to give several articles of used clothing to a woman who has a child in the kinder and is in extreme poverty.

And here they are…all 56 students in uniform. The kids didn’t seem to be all that impressed with their new uniforms and school supplies…they may have been wondering where the toys were. The teachers were happy and so were the moms. Hopefully what we’ve done today will keep the kids out of the fields and in the classroom. Our thanks again to everyone who made this day possible including Marcos and Saida.Your assistance is greatly appreciated.