AFE Children Dance About Their Freedom

On March 26th, AFE held its second annual dance competition, entitled “Quite Manchas,” (remove stains) in light of God’s redemptive work in the lives of its children.

Last year the competition was intense, with tears marking the finale and the winning team. This annual event is so important to AFE’s children because it is one of the only opportunities they have to dance and express themselves in this way. In Honduras, Christians do not dance, unless it is unto the Lord. And it is easy to understand why. In a sub-culture of generations trapped in garbage-dump poverty, most dancing is associated with drunken parties that last though out the night and the huge mistakes that change the course of a person’s life during these parties.

But this dancing was quite different. It was done with joy and pride in oneself, pride in the person they are, pride in the person they are becoming. The weeks and weeks of practice leading up to this event were grueling, but well worth it. During the practice time leading up to the competition AFE’s children learned to work hard even though they were tired, to persevere when they wanted to give up, and to see the beautiful reward from their efforts.

Three different teams performed two dances, and in the end everyone was a winner. The prize included the important discipleship that happened during the training. One team was entitled “New Generation,” and in effect it was. These young men (and one young woman) gave vision to the future leadership of AFE. The group, “Extreme Power” danced about how they will never return to the garbage dump, and “Ecc 11:19” showed the confidence they gained to each dance solo in front of a packed assembly hall.

Stay tuned for a video of these great dances! We can’t wait to see what comes of this competition in the coming years.

Turning the Tide

In every Great War there is often one battle that turns the tide. Waterloo, Bunker Hill, Gettysburg, Stalingrad…

It may not look like it, but AFE is at war here in Honduras. We wage war daily against the powers of darkness and the garbage dump culture to save these children’s lives. It sometimes seems hopeless in the beginning. Often, these children’s lives begin in a place of darkness and despair…like little Jose Dario in the nursery. His mother gritted her teeth then screamed him out of her, into the garbage-strewn shack which was their home. She suffered through the messy labor alone, except for her the company of her three other babies and toddlers (I can’t imagine the effect witnessing this struggle had on them). When Jose Dario was born, it was without a father and without an identity in the larger world. There was no record of his birth; in fact, there had never even been a record of his mother’s birth. He was born into a family entrenched with the garbage-dump life for generations.

Yet, we dare to dream for Jose Dario. Just as we have dreamed for countless others before him. As they progress through kindergarten and learn such basics as how to hold a pencil and say “good morning” to their teachers. As the children receive the priceless gift of literacy and begin to linger in the library, hoping for someone to read with them. As the children develop their self-esteem and friendships that will change their lives, we have dreamed for them. And you have
dreamed with them too.

Every time you came to visit from far away you would look a child in the eye and say, “See you at the University.” And AFE’s teachers crossed their fingers behind their backs and dared to believe that it was possible.

Today I am elated to announce that yes, it is possible, and in eight months we will see our dreams come true. Nine very intelligent, future leaders of society will graduate from AFE in December. They come from a community with no more than a third-grade education, a community that never dreamed of leaving the garbage dump. Yet, they will graduate high school and go on to college.

We would like to invite you to share our joy and God’s triumph on December 10th, when we watch nine young people graduate from AFE, and take their first step into the big world.

To RSVP for AFE’s first high school graduation, contact reyangeldiaz@gmail.com

To learn about how you can help send AFE children to college and help their dreams to come true, download: “See You at the University” (RIGHT), or simply go onto AFE’s website and give what you can toward a college scholarship.

Watch a video with each of our nine champions sharing about this victory:

Rene

Mirna

Mayra

Mariella

Gaby

Yuri

Karla

Griselda

Merlin

On behalf of everyone at AFE, thank you for joining us in this battle for the children’s lives, it is inspiring to see how deeply God loves them, so much so that he calls people from far away to make His plans a reality. Thank you for dreaming with us.

Rene Daniel Elvir Giron was the first child

Pastor Jeony rescued from the garbage dump.

Next year he will study engineering at a university in Tegucigalpa.

Summer Break

In Honduras, students take their “summer break” in December and January. This is because the school year runs from February to November, as opposed to the September-through-June school year in the United States.

As of November 29th, AFE students are officially out of school. We offer vacation activities (mostly to continue providing the one nutritious meal the children receive all day), and of course AFE’s “Gran Fiesta de Navidad” for the garbage dump community. Nevertheless, during this break AFE’s children often find themselves with more free time and sometimes they get into trouble.

Last year, a promising seventh grade student became pregnant over break and decided not to continue at AFE. In years past, gangs have tried to recruit our children, alcohol and drugs have been experimented with, and older children have simply discovered the independence and freedom they crave by working in the garbage dump instead of attending school.

Jenny Elvir is fourteen and will be in the 8th grade next year

Still, a break is needed. Our children have worked especially hard this last year. Now is the time that AFE’s teachers begin another sort of work, on our knees in prayer for our children as we send them back home. We ask their parents to watch over them, but most agree with a perfunctory nod. The parents believe that their fourteen-year-old is an already an adult....because at fourteen they were already raising two children of their own.

Will you join us in prayer for AFE’s children?

Jeyson Ordonez is sixteen and next year will finish his last year of high school.

Adult Education at AFE

By Paul Sloan

One month ago, AFE started an adult education course for the adults of the garbage dump. From 3 to 5 P.M., Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, adults come to AFE’s campus to receive classes. Currently, we have students receiving classes from 1st through 5th grade. Paul Sloan teaches 1st grade, which consists of 5 to 6 students per class period, and Oscar (a young man from the Linda Miller community) teaches 2nd through 5th grade, which also consists of 5 to 6 students per class. They instruct in all the basics, from the alphabet and reading and writing, to counting and mathematics.

One woman in particular is excelling in reading and writing. Almost 4 weeks ago, Marcia Gomez Lopez came to AFE not knowing the alphabet or how to read and write. Currently, every class period she is reciting the alphabet and reading aloud perfectly. She is 51 years old, lives in Buen Samaritano, and is a single mother with 4 children. Two of her children, Victor (15) and Brian (9) attend the classes with her. She has been living in the Buen Samaritano community for 2 years, and working in the dump for approximately 3 years.

When asked why she started coming to classes, she said with a smile, “Just to learn.” At age 51, not being able to read or write or do any sort of math, she is now reading and studying on her own time, doing homework with math problems and writing assignments. She is learning quickly and loves coming and participating in the class. It is people such as Marcia Lopez that AFE is trying to reach out too. She is a living example that God’s work does not stop with the children at the dump, but that His heart is for every one, and that every single person has a purpose, and His hand reaches out to all of them.

Addendum from Elise White Diaz:

Why provide an education for an older adult who will have a small chance of changing her circumstances? Education creates more than just new job opportunities. It also provides self-esteem, identity, and the ability to see beyond one's circumstances and glimpse the possibilities in the larger world. Who knows what effect education will have in the life of Marcia Gomez Lopez. Let's pray and see!

Crackdown!

Poverty is more than simply the environment in which the children of AFE grow up. It seeps into their minds and hearts and grabs at them from every angle. It uses things like their appearance to tell them: from trash they came, to trash they will return. It utilizes bad habits (like coming late and skipping school if they feel like it) to keep them locked into the garbage dump.

For this reason, AFE has set strict standards for its students; so that our children appear different and set apart from the surrounding garbage-dump culture. We established these rules to develop our students into the servant-leaders we know they are destined to become. Yet, making rules is much easier than enforcing them, especially with a large staff.

Last Friday, we had an all-school assembly to review the rules, the consequences, and our new approach. Now, the responsibility of enforcement is on the teachers. There will be random classroom checks. If a student is found with a cell phone (even children from the garbage dump have cell phones today!), the student will recceive detention and the teacher will be responsible to stay after and monitor that detention. In this way, the teacher is held accountable to enforce the school rules.

The rules include how the students maintain their school (no writing on desks, no throwing garbage on the ground) and extend to how their dress and appearance. They must come to school clean, in proper uniform, with shoes on their feet, but with no makeup or piercings on their faces. They will look different, too, from the other young people of their neighborhood who begin promiscuous behavior at very young ages.

We have high hopes for this new strategy. On Sunday, five minutes before the service began; the church was full of AFE students who had arrived on time. If our strategy proves successfuly, at the least AFE´s campus will be very clean and well-maintained from all of the students´ efforts during detention. At the best, AFE´s students will respect themselves, each other, and their environment.

Keeping Young Men in School

AFE’s junior high classes, while small, are predominately filled with young women. After the sixth grade it becomes a struggle to keep AFE’s kids in school, especially if they are young men.

As teenagers young men have the earning potential of an adult, and their families expect them to do so. Their communities perceive staying in school as a strange waste of time when they could be working.

This last year we have had to fight hard for six of the eight young men to continue. One young man left AFE to go back to the garbage dump (he’s now back at school again). Another young man was pulled out by his parents so he could work. Some just don’t seem to have the internal motivation to continue. We have had success convincing all eight to continue, but the struggle does not appear to be over.

To answer the felt-need of income potential in our young people, we partner with the Micah Project to teach the boys ready-to-use vocational skills in the afternoons. Three AFE boys have been accepted into this program. Another option is to teach the young people to make sellable handicrafts similar to those AFE’s mothers are creating.

Additionally, we hope to hold a workshop about money management for AFE’s teenagers and families so they can learn the importance of saving instead of working to provide for that day. Please keep this effort in prayer.

Contact Rey Diaz if you want to help with afterschool income-producing activities for our young people.