La Esperanza Granada

This is the fourth in a series of profiles on our ayudantes. Ayudante means ‘assistant’, and it is the name we give to the young people receiving university scholarships through La Esperanza Granada. Alongside their studies, the ayudantes are long term interns who give 5 hours of their time every weekday to support La Esperanza Granada. Our ayudantes are so much more than assistants – they are critical to our success. In the following interview, we introduce Jerry, who is one of our ayudantes in the Jose de la Cruz Mena school. He teaches English to children between six to twelve years. Jerry is a cheerful person, is always smiling, and children are keen to work with him due to the fun and enjoyment they get from his classes. As he always says; the easiest way to keep the children’s attention is to entertain them. When did you hear about La Esperanza for the first time? More than two years ago from my friend and second cousin, Juan Carlos. He had already been working fo...

The most important thing for us is to see progress in our children- When they start to count, read, and write, and become more enthusiastic about different subjects and school life. We asked them to write a short personal letter about what they do day-to-day, their favorite things and their aspirations for the future.    This week we share a letter from Jerry. We look forward to introducing the children in their own words. Hello, I’m Jerry from San Ignacio which is in the outskirts of north Granada. I’m living with my mom, while my father works in Costa Rica. I’m twelve years old and I’m in 5th grade.   Although I am the only child in the family, I never feel alone because I have many friends from my local area. After school we always hang out and play together. We play tag or hide and seek which is my favorite, but I also like to take part in different kinds of sport activities. I'm the fastest runner among my friends so usually, nobody wants to ch...