Universal Children's Day

Universal Children's Day was celebrated on October 19th and 20th this year.

Each of the girls dresses in a costume to represent a different country in a parade through the local community and in performances at the school. 

(The costumes were donated to the school and do not come out of the sponsorships.)

Twice as Many Girls This Year in Burkina Faso!

Last year, Her Star Scholars sponsored 8 kids in Burkina Faso. This year,  we were able to send an additional eleven girls to school, more than doubling our number for a total of 19 !  Here is Samira, one of those girls, who is attending school for the first time.  Hurray! We are thankful for sponsors who made it possible for these girls to go to school as well as receive their own bike and a six month supply of food for their families. 

School Shoes

This past weekend Edgardo and Yenyen with the help of some of the children's parents took 50 girls out shopping for school shoes!

These 4 girls had never been in a store before this day. They'd never  owned a pair of new  shoes.

Burkina Faso

This is the school attended by 2 of our sponsored girls in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Fousseina and Assana in class.

Fousseina

Assana

Chores

Novah watches as her father repairs his fishing net and then helps her mother wash clothes.

Matching Grant Challenge

A supporter of Her Star Scholars has offered us a matching grant challenge. If we raise $1500 by May 1, the donor will donate an additional $1500.

This is a great opportunity for us to help us support the children!

That means every dollar you donate will go twice as far.

Please consider using this opportunity to help us change the lives of girls through education!

Click here to donate through paypal.

Congratulations to our Littlest Stars!

Your Gift of Learning, Our Tool for Nation Building

On March 24th the Obod-Obod Christian Learning Center held their closing exercises for the year. Seventeen girls graduated from Kinder 2 and will be moving on to Grade 1 in the fall.

The children and parents arrive for the ceremony.

Receiving Certificates of Completion.

Part of the Graduating Class

Congratulations to our 1st Grade Scholars!

In the Philippines, Her Star Scholars' seven 1st Grade students have completed their year successfully.

Several of them even won special honors.

Congratulations to all of the girls and a Huge Thank You to all of our sponsors!

Burkina Faso

Samiratou outside of school.

Sephora in her classroom.

Presents in the Philippines

Several sponsors gathered presents for the children in Her Star's Philippine project. They didn't make it in time for Christmas, but the children were so excited when they did arrive!

Presents unpacked

Waiting is so hard!

A Huge Thank You to Everyone Who Helped Make This Such a  Special Day!

Melisa

14 year old Melisa is entering her 9th and final year of school on January 16th. She is an excellent student who hopes to continue with junior college and university to become a music teacher. Please consider helping her by sponsoring her this final year or donating to her college scholarship fund.

Sergio

Sergio is 13 and will be starting grade 5 on January 16. He has been with Ninos con Bendicion for 5 years now, but he needs the assistance of a new sponsor.

Julio

12 year old Julio is one of 8 children. He enjoys soccer and social studies. This year he will be entering 5th grade, but he needs the assistance of another sponsor.

Banessa

Banessa is 11 years old and will be starting Grade 5 on January 16. 

She needs another sponsor to help her continue with her studies. 

Keihly

10 year old Keihly is starting 4th grade this January 16. She enjoys drawing and she loves to play the marimba. Keihly still needs 1 sponsor to help her through the 2012 school year. The cost for the year is $300 -  Ten friends willing to chip in $30 each or 3 friends at a $100 each? A Spanish club? Sunday School? Do you know somebody who can help keep Keihly in school?

Her Star Sholars in the the Philippines Celebrate Christmas

Preparing for the Christmas Party

Gifts for the children and their families

There was a lot of singing!

More singing!

More Singing...

And more singing!

There were games like rolling a calamansi (like a key lime) with your nose.

And games with children on their mothers' shoulders

And lots of special food! This is a lechon (roasted pig).

 Thank you to all of the sponsors who made this possible!

Help Carmen Go to College

Carmen is 20 years old and lives in the Philippines. She would like to study information technology and find a job at a call center. Her father is a driver and can't afford to send her to school. Her annual college expenses will be $476.

Help Annabeth Go to College

Annabeth lives in the Philippines with her parents and seven brothers and sisters. Her father works as a blacksmith. She had excellent scores in high school and dreams of going on to college for a 4-year degree in business administration. The cost for her would be $833 per year. Can you donate to Her Star Scholars college scholarship fund to help girls like Annabeth?

Help Melisa Become a Music Teacher

Melisa, in Guatemala, will graduate from Basico in October. She would like to go to Diversificado so that she can become a music teacher. Melisa is very bright and acts as a tutor for younger children. She likes to read because she can learn more about the world, people, and places. Her older brother and sister never had a chance to go to school, but Melisa dreams about finishing Diversificado and perhaps even continuing on to higher levels. It will cost $1300 for her first year of studies.

Program Success!

One Meal at a Time

We started off the school year in the Philippines with 50% of the pre-school girls classified as malnourished. As of yesterday, the most recent medical exam shows no malnutrition among the girls who started class in June.

Thank you to everyone who has made this possible!