Operation Help Save My Paycheck

Part of my new job with Rainbow Network is to work to find sponsors for high school and technical school students. I have been working on each of their profiles, preparing them for a sponsorship card. It did not take me long to figure out that I am in a world of trouble. The more profiles I write up, the more students I want to sponsor.

I recently met the one student I am sponsoring now, Christian Massiel. Not only did I get to meet her, but I got to meet her adorable younger siblings and spend time in her home. By home, I mean a simple dirt-floor, wood paneled building that you could see right through. Not only that but it had smoke billowing through it from the indoor, open-flame stove that is bound to cause respiratory problems. In the midst of what we would call a shack, that Christian and her family were living in, there were the most beautiful red flowers lining the outside of the house. It struck me that amidst all this poverty, there is still simple beauty.

Oddly enough, when we were visiting with Christian, there was another scholarship student that I have met a few times before working across the road on a coffee farm. His name is Celso and he is an inspiration to anyone who has had the pleasure of meeting him. He excelled in primary school but, due to his family's income, was never able to go to high school. Seven years after finishing primary school, Rainbow Network expanded into his community, La Grecia, and offered him a scholarship to go to high school. Once again he excelled and is now earning a college degree. On top of working and going to school, he takes care of his elderly grandmother and is the youngest community leader in all of the areas Rainbow Network serves.

As I was typing up over 200 student profiles this week, I could not help but wonder what miracles these students will endure. The average monthly income of the students's families was around $50 and without their scholarship there is no way they would be able to attend school. Previous scholarship students have gone on to be lawyers, medical workers, as well as other respectable jobs and I cannot help but think these that I am working with now are going to do the same. While I have to remind myself that I cannot spend all of my paycheck on sponsoring students, it does fuel me to work harder to make more dreams come true.