I do some voluntary teaching of English in a charity school for Haitian children attached to an Evangelical Church. I and my friends are increasingly involved with fund-raising to help the school in other ways (although most of us are not necessarily Evangelicals or even Christians).
The pupils in the class where I assist are aged from 12 to 16. I have become aware that one girl in my class, aged 12, is very bright. Her class teacher tells me that she is also the best in every other subject taught. She has an excellent attitude, is neat, methodical and punctilious in other tasks as well.
In my country of origin a child with this talent would be certain to attend university and would expect to do well there assuming she continued to progress in the same way.
This girl is hoping to be a nurse. This is of course a very honorable and useful profession but, firstly, it is doubtful if she will even have the opportunity to enrol for nursing training, and, secondly, she has the natural ability to be aiming much higher.
I am beginning to wonder if it would be beneficial to sponsor her to attend a regular school. I assume that her parents do not have the necessary documentation to enrol her in a state school.
I was justing starting to enquire about the possible costs of this when I saw this article on DR1 today:
"For a poor family to send children to a modest private school can cost RD$20,000 per child, for the middle class in mid-range private schools RD$74,000 and for the rich in top bilingual schools RD$500,000, reports Listin Diario. The school year starts on 17 August in the DR."
I assume these are annual costs? If so, the "modest private school" would probably be within our means and sustainable through the following years.
But would attending a "modest private school" actually assist her education very much? For example, would she encounter problems of prejudice? She seems totally fluent in Spanish, though my own Spanish is not advanced enough to judge and I would need to check on that.
These are very early days. I have not yet discussed the matter with her parents or with the teachers at the charity school she now attends.
Though I have lived in the DR less than a year, I am very aware of the problems of trying to help people here and the unexpected and sometimes unfortunate consequences that can arise from even the best-intentioned acts. The phrase "No good deed goes unpunished" is never far from my mind. As a child's interest and happiness is involved I will tread very slowly and carefully, which means that even if we proceed with this plan she will not be ready to start school as early as August.
I would be grateful for any advice or suggestions you may have. PM me if you think that might be more appropriate.
The pupils in the class where I assist are aged from 12 to 16. I have become aware that one girl in my class, aged 12, is very bright. Her class teacher tells me that she is also the best in every other subject taught. She has an excellent attitude, is neat, methodical and punctilious in other tasks as well.
In my country of origin a child with this talent would be certain to attend university and would expect to do well there assuming she continued to progress in the same way.
This girl is hoping to be a nurse. This is of course a very honorable and useful profession but, firstly, it is doubtful if she will even have the opportunity to enrol for nursing training, and, secondly, she has the natural ability to be aiming much higher.
I am beginning to wonder if it would be beneficial to sponsor her to attend a regular school. I assume that her parents do not have the necessary documentation to enrol her in a state school.
I was justing starting to enquire about the possible costs of this when I saw this article on DR1 today:
"For a poor family to send children to a modest private school can cost RD$20,000 per child, for the middle class in mid-range private schools RD$74,000 and for the rich in top bilingual schools RD$500,000, reports Listin Diario. The school year starts on 17 August in the DR."
I assume these are annual costs? If so, the "modest private school" would probably be within our means and sustainable through the following years.
But would attending a "modest private school" actually assist her education very much? For example, would she encounter problems of prejudice? She seems totally fluent in Spanish, though my own Spanish is not advanced enough to judge and I would need to check on that.
These are very early days. I have not yet discussed the matter with her parents or with the teachers at the charity school she now attends.
Though I have lived in the DR less than a year, I am very aware of the problems of trying to help people here and the unexpected and sometimes unfortunate consequences that can arise from even the best-intentioned acts. The phrase "No good deed goes unpunished" is never far from my mind. As a child's interest and happiness is involved I will tread very slowly and carefully, which means that even if we proceed with this plan she will not be ready to start school as early as August.
I would be grateful for any advice or suggestions you may have. PM me if you think that might be more appropriate.