One room, five people

Today we visited six of our students' homes for the purpose of learning more about them and meeting their families. It's one thing to see a photo of these kids sent in an email. Up until this past week that had been my reality with most of the students. I had not met them yet. I read about them - their grade in school, what they want to be when they grow up, their hobbies. There is nothing quite like meeting them in person, seeing them in flesh and blood, and celebrating in the big smile on their face because of what you have done for them. It's a much more profound experience.

Going into their homes today was my favorite part of the trip so far...as well as the most challenging. It put my knowledge of the students way past what I had known about them. Sure, it was extremely difficult to see the living conditions and gave me a greater understanding and respect for what we are doing. For example, in the first home we visited lived two of our students, grateful that we had the time to stop by. The two boys live with their widowed mother and two younger brothers. And all five of them live in a one-room house. We sat on their mattresses since there was no other furniture. They had their clothes hanging from the ceiling, with no place to put a dresser or closet. The mother was not ashamed about the conditions we had walked into, but rather thankful to have us there and to be putting her sons through secondary school.

At another house we talked with a father about how he was retired and using his pension to pay for his son's schooling. The pension ran out and he had no other source for payment. His wife had to move far away to live with relatives with a plot of land for gardening. She sends the little money she makes on occasion. Yet, this wasn't enough. I had tears in my eyes as he described the joy he has that his son is once again getting an education.

It was story after story from one home to the next. The living conditions were much worse than I could imagine. There were mattresses on dirt floors, piles of clothes hanging from doors, and holes in the tin roof that would leak during a rain. These folks are the poorest of the poor in the village. They have hopes and dreams for their children, just like any other parent does. They want to see them succeed in school, so they can get jobs and make fulfilling lives for themselves.

Our scholarships enable the children to go to school and begin to stop the cycle of poverty in their life. Hopefully one day our students will live in a house that has more than one room, or a bedroom with a bedframe and concrete floors, or a roof that doesn't leak.

The next time you are sitting in a room in your house or work, think about five people living in it. It will bring the situation of our students' families into a new light and help you understand the need for our Right2School scholarships.

Go to www.right2school.org to find out how you can support our students.