We have donated a portable light to Romnick’s family as they have no electricity. We are also building them a table so the children have a place to complete their homework. Also, Romnick’s grandmother came to us and said we should concentrate helping her other grandson. His name is Raymond and he is also in the first grade and is eight years old. She said Romnick may be going to live with another aunt out of town so we will not be able to monitor him in school, if he stays in school. We are trying to sort all this out as information is sometime not accurate.

I will be going to Raymond’s school to teach a science lesson this week and I will get more information about Raymond. Raymond’s grandmother said that he is a bright boy and wants to do well in school. That’s all I have about him now. I’ll report more after my school visit.

Romnick is 14 years old and is the oldest in his family, yet is still in the first grade due to poor attendance. Romnick many times needs to skip school to help work in the small family garden so they have food. He is also expected to help with the other choirs so the family can survive. The family does not have enough money for a school uniform that is required of all students. While one can attend school without a uniform, not having one draws attention from the other students.

Romnick has one sister, but also lives with four other first cousins. The four cousins’ parents have abandoned them. In total there are four adults and six children living in a small one room house called a kubo. A kubo is a small house built with coconut tree bark and leaves. This small house is where ten people live.

His dad works odd jobs at very low pay, usually about one dollar a day, which is not enough to feed and care for the family. His mother helps the grandmother with the younger children and the grandfather also does odd jobs around town for very low pay. This is his grandmother’s house that they are living in, and he has been living there all his life.

Romnick and the other children have never been to a doctor or dentist. They have also never had their eyes checked for vision. They do not have the basic necessities of life. If we can help Romnick and get him up to speed on his education and to graduate from high school, he will be able to move out of poverty and better able to help his family. So by helping Romnick, we will help the entire family.

We distributed food to over 170 families today, December 24th. Each food bag consisted of about two kilograms of rice, two cans of sardines, two pieces of noodles, a package of Milo, one bar of soap, half kilo of sugar and one bag of crackers. Some thought that we would give out just some candy and crackers but were very happy to receive rice and the other foods. We planned on 150 originally and held an extra twenty bags just in case others came after, and it’s a good thing we did as we exhausted our total supply. Unfortunately, we had to turn away some but all in all it was a success.

We spent two days at Borders gift wrapping and we thank them for this opportunity. We missed one day because of a snowstorm. We are organizing and implementing the purchase of food at this moment and the plan is to distribute these items with a number system. Each family will get a ticket with a number and we will also buy some extra rice for any who show up without a pass. I will have an update on this within a few hours. Again, thank you for your kind donations.