Letter of the Month Club

 

Welcome to the Letter of the Month Club (LOTMC)!  This is a monthly feature on the blog that we hope will help you develop a deeper relationship with your sponsored child through letter-writing.  Since we are all in different stages of getting to know our sponsored kids, we have several suggested topics so that you can choose the one that works best for you and your sponsored child.  We have also provided suggestions for “extras” to send along with your letter, and questions to ask your sponsored child.

This Month’s Topics:

Getting to Know You: Your Hobbies

Share your hobbies/interests with your sponsored child.  What do you like to do for fun?  How did you become involved in these activities?  How do your hobbies make you feel?

Suggested Extras: A picture of you engaged in your hobby; an article describing your hobby.

Questions to Ask: What do you like to do for fun?

Topic in Focus: Favorite Animal

What is your favorite animal?  What do you like about it?  Describe the animal to your sponsored child – habitat, size, notable features, diet, personality, etc.   

Suggested Extras: Picture of your favorite animal.

Questions to Ask: What is your favorite animal?  What do you like about it?

Holiday/Seasonal: Summer

What is summer like where you live?  How hot does it get (in Celsius)?  What are your favorite activities/family traditions in summer? 

Suggested Extras: Summer-themed stickers; balloons; articles on summer activities.

Questions to Ask: What do you like to do outside when the weather is warm?

Reminder: The purpose of the LOTMC is to facilitate getting more letters in the mail to our Nairobi Kids, so please do not get bogged down in worrying about writing the perfect letter or gathering the “extras.”  If you are short on time this month, just drop a postcard or greeting card in the mail with a few short lines to let your Nairobi Kids know that you are thinking of them.  

~Submitted by Brooke

Term 1 Grades Are In!

 

We have received Term 1 grades for both GPS and WHS students.  Sponsors can find grades for their sponsored children under the “Files” section of the private Yahoo Group.  Grades for GPS students are listed under “GPS End of Term and Exam Results – 2014 Exam Results” and grades for WHS students are listed under “LWHS Exam Results – 2014 Exam Results.” 

When writing your next letter to your sponsored child, you may want to take the opportunity to comment on their academic performance.  If they have done well, congratulate them on their success.  If they have shown improvement, tell them that you are proud of their efforts.  If they failed to pass the KCPE Exam or there has been a dip in their grades, encourage them to focus on their studies and let them know that you believe in them.  The words of a sponsor can have a great motivating effect on our Nairobi Kids, so please reach out and encourage them to achieve their personal best!

Please contact info@plantabook.org for more information or help locating grades for your sponsored child.

 ~Submitted by Brooke

Child of the Week ~ Help Make Her Birthday Special!

Meet Margaret- HH525

Birthday – May 5

 

Margaret is one of our high-achieving Form 1 students at WHS.  She will be celebrating her 15^th birthday on May 5.  Margaret is an orphan and both of her parents are deceased.  She was living with her grandmother, but was offered a place at the Holly House orphanage on campus when her grandmother became too ill to care for her.  Margaret loves to sing.  Her best subject in school is math and she hopes to be a nurse in the future.  Margaret shows great academic promise, having scored a 370 on the KCPE Exam (an excellent score). 

Margaret has already written her first letter to her future sponsor.  She writes:

Dear Sponsor,

How are you?  I hope that you are fine.  I am also alive and kicking.  I take this opportunity to write for you this letter.  I am [Margaret] from Butere district Western province.  I am [learning] in Lorna Waddington High School.  In my Kenya Certificate of Primary School (KCPE) I got three hundred and seventy marks.  I was pleased to be in Lorna Waddington High School because of its learning method.

Everything is provided to learners and [the] teaching program is very well arranged.  I hope I am going to do better.  I am going to work hard in order to achieve my goal in the future.  In [the] future I would like to be a nurse, and not here in Kenya but far in America.  With hard work I know I am going to make it.  Please help me achieve my career in future.  Thank you in advance.

Yours faithfully,

Margaret [HH525]

Was this letter meant for you?  You can sponsor Margaret for only $30 a month.  Sponsorship of a child living at Holly House covers the child’s room, school fees, and three meals a day.  You will receive an annual photo and at least three letters a year from your sponsored child.  You will also be informed of the child’s grades in school.

For more information, please visit www.plantabook.org or email info@plantabook.org.

Please make a difference in the life of a child today!

 

~Submitted by Brooke

High Achieving WHS Students Seeking Sponsors

 

This year’s Form 1 class at Waddington High School contains a number of high achieving students who are currently in need of sponsors.  Many of these students earned scores of 300 and above on their Kenyan Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) Examinations last year, which is considered an excellent score.  This level of achievement is remarkable given the difficult circumstances in which these children are growing up.  These students are intelligent and motivated, but they need sponsors to provide the financial support necessary for them to complete their high school education.

            Finding a sponsor is seen as an enormous blessing by our Nairobi Kids.  In fact, a few of our Form 1 students were so hopeful that they would soon find a sponsor that they took the initiative to write a letter to their future sponsor.  One such child is Fidelice (HH533 – pictured above).  Fidelice turned 15 years old on February 28.  He is in Form 1 at WHS and is very bright.  He scored a 361 on the KCPE Exam!  His best subject in school is Kiswahili and he enjoys playing football.  Fidelice was offered a place at Holly Heart (the boys’ orphanage on campus) because his parents are both extremely ill and unable to care for him.  Fidelice writes:

Dear Sponsor,

            How are you?  I hope that you are fine?  My name is Fidelice.  I am at Lorna Waddington High School…I completed … my primary education and scored three hundred and sixty one marks.  Life [at my former primary school] was difficult, but I have been able to continue well.

            My parents had a difficult time for paying fees.  I come from a poor family where there is no source of proper basic needs.  We lead the peasant type of life that relies on hand to mouth.

            I request you to kindly assist me to pursue my studies so that I may have a bright future.  I declare that I will thank you by working hard for your effort of helping me.  The family background is not good.  That is why I am promising to work hard so as to improve my family background and help others. 

            Sincerely,

            Fidelice (HH533)

            Fidelice and our other high-achieving Form 1 students have demonstrated that they have both the ability and the motivation to succeed in high school and pursue careers that will allow them to leave poverty behind.  Can you sponsor one of these children and provide the support necessary to help make their dreams come true?  You can find pictures and profiles of our Form 1 students on our website, www.plantabook.org under the tabs for Holly House Children (for those living at the orphanages on campus) and Secondary School Children (for those living with family or well-wishers). 

            You can sponsor Fidelice or one of the other Holly House children for only $30 per month.  You can sponsor one of the Secondary School children living off-campus for only $12.50 per month or $20 (with reduced lunch fee). 

            For more information, please visit www.plantabook.org, or email info@plantabook.org. 

            Please make a difference in the life of a child today!

~Submitted by Brooke