Bring Well Being & Education to Children Globally

Good morning,

We're happy to announce our partners' latest achievements and hope you'll enjoy reading about them.

Thank you for being part of our team and helping to make a difference for our students!

People Improvement Organization (PIO) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia:

On May 4, 2014, PIO celebrated its 12^th anniversary. However, this isn’t the only event that the program has to celebrate. The events that have taken place at PIO these past few months have given its supporters much to buzz about.

Children at all three schools have all received uniforms, school books and all necessary equipment for their learning. The library stock continues to grow with regular donations from visitors and volunteers, with a current stock of 4,586 English books and 670 Khmer books in the library. Not only are PIO’s classrooms well stocked, their students are also achieving great success. Students have maintained their high pass rate of 80-85%, and the pass rate for seventh grade (new high school students) stands as high as 92%. Students continue to achieve top places in their class for Khmer Literature, Mathematics, and English Literature. There has also been a rise in the number of students studying at the high school or university level, increasing from 102 students in the spring to 115 this summer!

The most significant trend in PIO’s growth has continued to be the improvement of their social work program. Teacher Thavy – the program’s current social worker and former kindergarten teacher – visited the homes of 76 students between the months of February and May in order to investigate student absences and to ascertain what steps PIO can take to assist these very poor families. Read a case study about one of PIO's students, Sreang, here!

Los Patojos in Jocotenango, Guatemala:

The most exciting event at Los Patojos has been the recognition of its founder, Juan Pablo, as a CNN hero. Juan Pablo’s work at Los Patojos was honored for its creation of a safe haven for children in the town of Jocotenango. We are so proud of Juan Pablo and Los Patojos! Watch CNN's video on Juan Pablo and Los Patojos here!

Building on this good news, the program at Los Patojos continues to excel. The success of the nutrition and medical programs keeps students healthy, strong, and able to focus at school. The nutrition program continues to feed a small army of hungry students, serving 11,625 lunches, 13,311 snacks, and 990 dinners, while the medical clinic has been busy as well, seeing 394 patients (167 men and 227women) between the months of April and June.

Additionally, Los Patojos received an official invitation to attend the Youth Congress and hosted 3 youth performances. A parents meeting was held to get parents up to date on what their children have been working on at Los Patojos, and why their work is important – which is essential, because parental support is crucial to keeping kids in the Los Patojos program. Finally, Los Patojos is well known for creating innovative activities to keep kids engaged and off the streets, and this quarter it did not disappoint, hosting a sports festival and six cultural nights.

Asociación Compartir in Tegucigalpa, Honduras:

Compartir’s most noteworthy accomplishment continues to be the work they have been doing to increase literacy for children in Honduras. This quarter, they have increased reading activities in open spaces, increased their work with the mobile library, and purchased new books to innovate reading activities. In addition, 13 new reading groups were organized in different places – 5 in open spaces, 8 in education centers, and 3 as reading promotion activities that were accompanied by traditional games. Between 40 and 50 children were included in these new groups. When this is added to 25-30 students per community who were integrated into previously existing groups, participation in the program has skyrocketed above the expectations of previous years, continuing to reach more new students who had never before had access to even a single book. View a brand new documentary on the Mobile Library, created by a volunteer, here!

Additionally, Compartir organized three fairs this quarter. The first was a “Honduran at Heart” cultural fair where 250 people participated in singing performances, folk dancing, food expos, stilt walking, and art presentations. The second, Villa Nueva’s science fair themed “Driving Knowledge”, featured science experiments with demonstrations by students from the community’s schools, libraries, tutoring groups, and kindergartens. Finally, Nueva Suyapa’s book fair, "More reading, more action, to take the imagination train", featured renowned author Jorge Montenegro and his exposition “stories and legends of Honduras.” Check out Compartir’s Facebook album of the event here!

Organization of artistic groups has improved as it continues to be promoted as a means for promoting education, art and culture. This quarter, groups were organized into theater groups, flute and choir workshops, and a band. A practice schedule was developed for each group, and everyone took part in three public performances. This organization has lead to an improved outcome. For example, the theatre group has become stronger as they worked with a new play, "Adventures of Don Quijote," and hopes to preview it to the public at the Manuel Bonilla theatre. Likewise, the flute group has held two presentations that have emphasized cultural keystones of folklore and popular music.

JustWorld is planning a visit to PIO in November and Los Patojos in December, and we would love to have you along! For more information, e-mail Amber Warren at awarren@justworldinternational.org.

Thank you again for your incredible support. Until next time!