2021 brings this project to an end, as children and youngsters from our communities keep growing and maturing with the support of their families and teachers.
The project began just after Hurricane Maria, with the purpose of providing resilence tools to the youngest members of our communities. In the following years, we saw the need to continue the services as other events (earthquakes, pandemic) had an emotional impact in participants and their families.
The COVID-19 pandemic proved to be specially challenging. Nevertheless, our team was able to continue the services and even add other components to cater to new needs of children and their families.
By the end of 2020, the senior class of our alternative high school (52 students) had a one-in-a-kind graduation ceremony with social distance protocols. These students started their high school education in the wake of Hurricane Maria, and showed their intent and resilience throughout the three years of high school.
With the beginning of the spring semester, 273 students are going back to online learning. We have been able to provide online social work support, in addition to laptop computers to those in need. Psychological support is also available for family members.
All these services have been possible because of the noble heart of donors and supporters. We thank you for your collaboration. Please know that you have made it possible for these youngsters to go into their next stage in life with hope and optimism.
A blessed 2021 to all!!
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A new school year and many challenges to overcome. The P.E.C.E.S. Accredited High School continues the educational process
through virtual modality. Educational and psychosocial support services have continued unabated since the COVID-19
Pandemic began. Against all odds, the school began the school year with an enrollment of 294 participants and an enrollment of
the Special Education program of 70 students. In this first quarter of the school year, more than 4,500 virtual connections with
students have been offered. Providing quality and adequate education for the times and reality of each family is guaranteed. The
staff has been working with the students with the few technological resources they have. Teachers and social workers contact
students through calls, texts, email, WhatsApp messages, Messenger, and video of the subjects are made to share with
students. We were able to acquire computers for 60% of the enrollment. Students who do not have computers or some
technology to help them are provided with the paper material (photocopies) and phone calls are made to explain the educational
material by phone call. At the beginning of the school year, several workshops were already offered to students to work on there
emotions and tools for distance education. The students so far have participated in the workshops “The Broken Plate” and
“Fishing”, allowing them to visualize new educational opportunities.
Guidance is consistently offered to motivate students to face this new reality that they are living.
Thank you for your contribution.
In gratitude, We wish you all a Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving!
After the January earthquake in PR and continuing to learn to live with constant earth movements, the lives of young people are shaken again with the COVID19 Pandemic. This new challenge broke the regular schemes of education and student care. Caring for health in all PR was a priority, youth and families faced a new reality of life due to the COVID19 Pandemic. The government in mid-March closed all schools in the country, depriving young people of education in person, as it was known. Physical, social distancing, curfew and lockdown were established that disrupted the reality of life of each of the young people. PECES High school did not stop the education process, it continued to offer all services, but this time virtually. Educational and psychosocial support services began to be carried out in various ways using technology. Calls, texts, email, classes by Google Classroom, calls and messages by WhatsApp, Messenger, were some of the modalities used for the continuity of the educational and psychosocial service. Workshops on nutrition, diabetes, health care, training to establish a microenterprise, psychological and social work services were part of the services offered using technology.
It was possible to celebrate the graduation of 52 young people, who overcame many obstacles to achieve this goal. The 2020 graduating class faced Hurricane Maria, earthquakes, and the COVID19 Pandemic in their educational time. These young people had thousands of reasons to drop out of school, to get discouraged and not complete the commitment they made when they arrived at the PECES High school. However, these obstacles were not enough, these 52 students managed to reach their goal, complete high school and graduate from PECES Accredited High School.
The Youth Project: Entrepreneuring with Hope managed to grant scholarships to 20 students who developed and planned their own micro-enterprise. The seed fund assigned to it will allow these 20 young people to generate an income and contribute to their family, the economy of their country and provide services to their community. It was possible to promote leadership, resilience and entrepreneurship in these young people who faced all the situations and the new reality of life and challenges with determination to achieve their goals.
A big thank you to all the donors who continue to make these dreams a reality for our youth. Please continue to donate so we can continue to help transform the lives of the children and teenagers through topics of emotional and community resilience among others.
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Dear friends:
As we approach the Holidays and children get ready to spend more time with family and friends, we look back to all the growth that we have seen in our participants and their parents.
The students have shown academic progress, and families are demonstrating emotional strength. So we see them go into the new year with hope.
After doing a program assessment, we are planning to shift the project to serve a new population: teenagers from our alternative high school.
In the next weeks, you will see this campaign transformed into a new one -- with a revised title and new objectives. The main goal will be the same: to provide participants with emotional resilience tools so they can face the future with confidence. Of course, some adaptations will be made according to the characteristics and needs of high school students. We will share more details soon!
Stay tuned for more information on our educational model and how we plan to insert these tools into our curriculum.
We wish you all a blessed New Year and hope to have your support for this new endeavour.
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