Happy holidays, everyone! We hope you had a lovely solstice/Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanza, or whatever you celebrate this time of year. For us at ONE, we celebrate the end of another successful school year for our students in Nicaragua!
We especially celebrate Emili’s graduation from 6th grade, where she got to give the valedictorian remarks for being the best student in her graduating class. Christa and Meghan were able to attend her graduation and we took her and her family, as well as Karina and Raquel, out to pizza and ice cream afterwards.
We also got to visit Karina’s developing tourism business, and we were very impressed. They have done an incredible job so far, and we can’t wait to see what else they do with the area. We were, along with Raquel, Meghan’s parents, and her husband, the first official tourists to visit, and we couldn’t be prouder of the effort she and her group are putting into making this a reality. Also, Karina decided to go through her graduation ceremony! She hadn’t planned to, but decided to at the last minute, and we’re really glad she did. It only happens once, right?
Christa and our contact Marina celebrated with Elizabeth, Belen and Tatiana (and their mothers), as they finished another year (for Elizabeth), and their first year (for Belen and Tatiana) of university classes. All passed with flying colors and they love their studies, even though they say they are very hard. Michel and her mother joined us as well; she will be returning to finish her last year of university, now that her father doesn’t need her daily care at home. We’re really excited about that.
Please check out all the updates and photos on the individual pages for our Nicaraguan students. There were too many to post here, and you’ll want to take a little time. There’s a video of Emili reading her valedictorian speech, as well as some beautiful photos of the students.
Nicaragua this time of year is a blaze of garish lights, endless ear-splitting fireworks, pealing church bells, jam-packed altars—and endless goodwill. We extend that goodwill to all of you, along with our heartfelt thanks for your support. Without it, we would not have students in the university, entering secondary school, and working towards graduation with dreams and hopes that have a chance of coming true.
We wish you all the best in the coming year. Thank you again for all your help. We can’t tell you how much we appreciate it.
The ONE board: Birgit, Christa, Heather, Janeece, Leslie, and Meghan
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