Learning through Letter Writing

The town of Valle de Angeles, Honduras, is the home of Compassion Project ‘Amor y Frutos’ where more than 200 children are receiving the message of the love and hope of Jesus. Among the registered children at the project is ten-year-old Santos Ramon Salgado.

Santos comes from a large, poor family, and is raised by a single mother who struggles each day to support her family by washing clothes. For Cristina, everything started to change when she registered Santos at the Compassion project. "It was a ray of hope for me and my kids. It is hard to live like this but I'm glad that this project came here when I needed the most.”

One-to-One Help

Santos is the youngest in his family and has learning difficulties, something which caught the attention of the project tutors who are helping him to learn how to write and read. In the past it has been difficult for Santos because he is shy and doesn't talk much, but since he’s been registered in the project he has made rapid improvement thanks to the level of care and attention shown by the staff. Santos is also gradually feeling more able to socialize with other kids.

Words of Encouragement

The experience of having a friend abroad has also been something new for him; having a sponsor has been an opportunity to develop a relationship with a special person who cares for him and his needs. "I have a sponsor and she is from Korea and her name is Hye Young. I like having a special friend in another part of the world," said Santos. "Every letter makes me feel that I'm important for somebody, so it is great to get letters."

Santos treasures every single letter that he has received from his sponsor and he tries to respond to them with the help of the project staff. "Well, my tutor helps me out with the letters because I still have some writing problems but I know someday I will be able to write them all on my own,” explained Santos. The correspondence is motivating Santos to put his best efforts into learning to write and read well. It has certainly been a big challenge for him but he is confident that he will achieve it with the support of his tutors.

A New Freedom

When he’s not practicing his reading and writing, Santos’ very favourite hobby is riding horses. He feels a special connection with the animals and it makes him feel free when he rides. "I used to help a neighbour who has cows and one day he told me to help him round up the cattle. So that's when I rode a horse for the first time, and ever since then I do really enjoy every time he asks me to help him with the cows because I get to ride a horse."

For the Salgado family, the sponsorship experience has opened their eyes to a wonderful adventure in which Santos is now linked to a generous human being interested in rescuing this child from poverty in Jesus' name. Now the future is bright for Santos and his mother; both know that the Compassion project has played an important role in the development and life chances of this young boy.