May has been a fruitful month for all the children at the schools worldwide and the boys and girls have thrived at school thanks to your support. From Maths competitions to harvesting, the children are making the most of every opportunity that you make possible, enjoying the freedoms of childhood in the loving care of the Sisters.

A boy in uniform sitting on the grass with his parents. A bag is between them

Family visiting days

In early May, the children welcomed their families for visiting day in Zona 6 Boystown in Guatemala, Chalco Girlstown in Mexico and Amarateca Boystown in Honduras.

These visiting days are particularly special since over the pandemic, the families could not come to visit the schools. The children and their families meet and have picnics and spend time with each other. It is a big community focused day, and a chance for the children to share their progress, introduce their teachers to their families and celebrate their successes. For children whose families are not able to visit, their friends include them in their family activities, making it an inclusive, joyful and family-focused celebration.

Arbour Day

The boys in Amarateca planted dozens of trees at school to mark Dia Del Arbol (Arbour day), improving their environment and learning about the care of the natural world around them.

Boy hugging his mother
Boy sitting with with his sibling and older relative outside under a tree
a father stands with his arms around his children in Mexico
a group of boys in blue t-shirt plant trees with men in high vis helmets and vests for Arbour Day in Honduras
two boys high kick a yellow ball in the air over a net while playing sepak in the Philippines

Sporting and academic achievements

As they adjust to school and learn valuable skills, the children love to test their abilities against others in their peer groups. In May they excelled at chess, science, mathematics, and debating competitions, showing their skills, aiming high and triumphing over children throughout the regions and nationally.

They also love to compete in local and national sports competitions. In May this was hockey, basketball, tae kwon do, football, volleyball, athletics, and netball for the boys and girls across all the programmes.

To the left, you can see a picture of boys in Adlas taking part in a Sepak competition. Sepak takraw, or kick volleyball, takes place on a court similar to a badminton court and involves two teams of two to four players, who kick a ball over the net to score. This is a popular sport in the Philippines and our boys are excelling in competitions against other schools.

a girl in a gee kicks a board with her instructor during a tae kwon do
a group of girls play hockey on a grass field
a group of girls in pink sports kit hold a football trophy
two girls in aprons stand with their teacher, wearing medals
a group of girls wearing blue and white football kit smile at the camera in Tanzania
three swimmers push off backwards from the wall of a swimming pool
In the Philippines two high school boys and a nun hold a painting of a boy with a backpack in a boat on a river heading into a city
a boy in a black t-shirt sits at an easel painting in art class in the Philippines
two nuns stand inside a partially constructed classroom wearing orange high vis jackets

Harvests, Construction and meeting new children

At our newest programme in Tanzania, progress continued in Kisarawe girls’ school as the children were able to have their first harvest of aubergine, peppers, and white radish from their small school garden, teaching the girls valuable small scale farming skills, and helping to add fresh, healthy vegetables to their meals.

Dodoma Progress

Construction on the new Boys’ School in Dodoma continued to make good progress with the completion of the perimeter wall and services to the site. However this programme has a long way to go before it can welcome the first boys later this year. As the Sisters travel through Tanzania, the Sisters are witnessing deep deprivation amongst the most vulnerable boys in this region and facing enormous demand from families  to provide school places for their young sons. With your help we will begin with the first 160 boys at the school this summer.

Meeting children in the community

Elsewhere in our other countries, May saw the sisters continue to progress their community work, travelling far and wide to meet children in need of safety and a place at school for the next school year, including into the most remote and rural communities in The Philippines and Mexico.

 

a group of girls wearing bright pink sports kit standing a small garden with a nun, holding a harvest of aubergines in a crate
two nuns stand with two children, all wearing masks outside an informal house
A boy in a field planting a tree while others are planting trees behind him
a group of boys sit at desks in a classroom in rural Tanzania with a nun
a nun stands in a doorway with a family of 7, with a mother and young children
a nun sits with a boy while she writes on a piece of paper
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