A Package Has Arrived

Hi everyone, I found out today that one package for Francisco has arrived. It is
the one that has the album of his sponsors. Whenever the photos and other papers
arrive, I will post them to the group. I hope that they take lots of photos! God
bless.

Just a Reminder

Hi everyone,

Just a reminder, when you send in a payment, please let me know or record it into the correct database on the Yahoo group so that I can forward this on to Debbie, and she can credit your account. You can make the contribution at any time. So far he is paid up for 3 months. Thanks!

Shana

Inquiries

Dear Sponsors,

Debbie has asked that if you have a SNG request or inquiry about Francisco and
family, please have it come to me and I will forward this to her. She says that
this will help to cut down on expenses. We have requested to see whether or not
Francisco's mother could participate in an IGP (income generating progject) to
see if this might help to improve the living arrangements/conditions. Another SNG was sent off to see what Francisco's immediate needs might be. I will post when the
information arrives. God bless.

Fast Facts About Colombia Brochure

Francisco's sponsorship packet arrived today. It explained the reason why his last name is different from his sister's. Her father is unknown and she has the name of her mother and grandmother. Francisco has the name of his father. The Fast Facts About Colombia brochure has been posted on the Yahoo Group for anyone to read who does not have a child in Colombia. God bless

Update on Family Report

Yesterday I received an updated Family Record Report. It was updated on June 24 and the changes that I see are that instead of there being a concrete floor, the floor is described as dirt. The home description includes a bathroom, kitchen, and one bedroom, instead of bathroom, bedroom and multipurpose room. There are 4 wooden beds. It has not been posted to his account yet. I could not get it formatted so that you could see it better.

Updates

Yesterday we had one more sponsor added to Francisco's group with brings the total to 12 :) Welcome to Silke!

We will be checking again with CI to see if we can get a SNG for home repairs.

God bless.

Group Letter Sent to Francisco on July 2, 2010

Here is the group letter sent to Francisco sent along with some of his birthday gifts. It was sent to him in Spanish.


July 1, 2010

Dear Francisco,

Hello, how are you? How is your family? We are your new sponsors! Some of us
live in the USA. One of us lives in Canada and some of us live in Germany. One
of us lives in Libya and one of us lives on the island of Cyprus in the
Mediterranean Sea! We are so happy to be your sponsors and we are your friends.
We hope that you will write to us and let us know how you are doing. Do you like
school? Here are some gifts for your birthday, Francisco. Have a wonderful
birthday!! Some of the gifts are for your brother Samy and your sister, Evelyn.
Please give Samy the puppy puppet, the Spiderman socks and a pair of sunglasses.
Please give Evelyn the striped socks, the Pony tablet and one pair of
sunglasses. The other gifts are yours. We hope that you like them. One of the
gifts is a little picture album of our pictures. There is something about us on
the back of our pictures. Please tell your mother and the rest of your family
that we say hello. Be good and write soon!

Lots of love,
Tus Madrinas"


Querido Francisco,

¿Hola cómo estás? ¿Cómo es tu familia? Somos tus nuevos patrocinadores! Algunos
de nosotros viven en los Estados Unidos. Uno de nosotros vive en Canadá y
algunos de nosotros viven en Alemania. Uno de nosotros vive en Libia y uno de
nosotros vive en la isla de Chipre, en el mar Mediterráneo! Estamos tan
contentos de ser tus patrocinadores y somos tus amigos. Esperamos que usted
escribir para nosotros y háganos saber cómo estás haciendo. ¿Te gusta la
escuela? A continuación presentamos algunos regalos para tu cumpleaños,
Francisco. Tienen un cumpleaños maravilloso!!!! Algunos de los regalos son para
Samy de su hermano y su hermana, Evelyn. Por favor, da Samy la marioneta de
cachorro, los calcetines de Spiderman y un par de gafas de sol. Por favor, da a
Evelyn los calcetines con rayas, la tableta de Pony y un par de gafas de sol.
Los otros regalos son los suyos. Esperamos que gusta. Uno de los regalos es un
álbum de imagen pequeña de nuestras imágenes. Hay algo sobre nosotros en la
parte posterior de nuestras imágenes. Por favor diga tu madre y el resto de su
familia que decir Hola. Ser bueno y escribir pronto!

Lotes del amor,
Tus Madrinas"

Francisco's Gifts and Letters

Example of how the mini album sponsor pages look

'

.

Map that shows where his sponsors live

Gifts for Francisco and his siblings

Birthday card inside, with a mask he can wear

Birthday card outside

Mini album of sponsors




First Group Letter to Francisco

Letters and Gifts Sent Off!

After a slight ordeal at the post office, I was able to send the package off
with his group letter and birthday cards. I added a small map to the inside of
the photo album which shows the continents we are located on. I wrote in
Spanish:

"This is a map of the world. You live in Colombia which is on the continent of
South America. Your sponsors live were the stars are located."

Then I put a little arrow showing where he is located.

When you send off anything, you are welcome to post it into the album on the Yahoo Group or make your own album. Please update the database when you send anything off to Francisco and let me know so we can record the items in the Files Section to avoid duplications. Thanks again and God bless.

Gifts Being Sent - June 2010

June 2010

Hi everyone, here are some gifts that are being sent to Francisco. I will also
post them into the database and File Section so that we can't avoid duplicating.
I am not sure of the specific clothing for some gifts.

1 set of hot wheels
clothes (not sure of the type the sponsor is sending)
1 dinosaur coloring book/crayons
1 drawing pad/ froggy and lizard pencils
2 small pencil sharpeners
1 blue Mario Brothers T-shirt
1 pair Toy Story socks
1 Lime green Olympic jacket
1 Small Teddy bear in a Canadian sport's jacket.
1 book in Spanish 'El Gato con botas' i.e. Puss in Boots.
1 paper Canadian flag
1 Winter Olympic mascot zip-puller
1 Spiderman tooth brush and cap set
1 small Colgate toothpaste
1 pair of white briefs
Birthday cards
1 mini-photo album containing several photos and two postcards from a sponsor
1 Little Pony eraser slate for Evelyn
1 pair of colorful socks for Evelyn
1 small puppy puppet for brother, Samy
1 pair of Spiderman socks for Samy
3 pairs of toy sunglasses
Stickers for all children to share
1 Group photo album.

Also if you are unable to contribute to DP's now or want to give later when
there is not so much attention or whenever you can this is fine. I don't want
anyone to feel pressured into giving DP's or SNG's. If and when you can
contribute, this is great! The main thing is providing for the basic benefits
that he will receive from CI through our group sponsorship contributions.

Thank you again for your help and support. God bless.

Address for Sending Packages

Here is the address for sending packages to Francisco. Please be sure to write his full name and I.D. on the inside:



Director: Sra. Nidia Monterrosa

Office Name: Fundacion Amigos de los Ninos

Address: Barrio Espana, Calle Cadiz, Carrera 45#29-49

Cartagena, Colombia

Francisco's Age and Birthday

After checking Francisco's account today I see that he is actually 7 years old and his actual birthday is Oct. 27, 2002 :) Everything looks like it is the same. Some of us wanted to try to do home repairs but since there are several different relatives living in the home, the CI staff believe that this would create conflict. I had this happen to me with another child who was living with grandparents or the home was shared by cousins, aunts, uncles, ect. If the child moved, then they would not continue to receive the improvements made to the home , so we can think about doing and DP's, SNG's. I will contact CI soon to see what some of the special needs might be. Have a great day!

A Sad Time

Francisco can be seen in this video of his family and Evelyn's sponsor when her sponsor is preparing to leave.

Francisco and Evelyn

Francisco and Evelyn having a ball!

Francisco and Samy

Here is Francisco with his little brother, Samy. Samy is two years old and he also had a chance to have fun times with Evelyn's sponsor.

Fun Times

Francisco and his sister Evelyn were able to visit the mall with Evelyn's sponsor this past April. They had a great time!

How Did We Learn About Francisco?

Francisco's older sister, Evelyn, was visited by her sponsor in late April. During her visit her sponsor had the opportunity to take photos and videos of her and her family. Francisco kept popping up in the photos and on the video camera. He seems like a sweet little guy. When some of us saw the sad living condtions of the family, we wanted to help :) Here is Francisco with a new top that his sister's sponsor bought him :)

How Old is Francisco?

An interesting thing that we have learned is that Francisco is listed as being nine years old, having been born 6 weeks after Evelyln, his older sister, who is the same age. This may mean that Francisco is her step brother, a cousin, or maybe the age is incorrect. CI staff is going to check on this but if he is nine, he seems to be small for his age. This photo was taken in 2009 and Francisco is the child on the far left:

Family Report- Updated 6/25/10

Today, after almost two months of waiting, we finally found out that Francisco had been enrolled into the CI program. His full name is Francisco De Jesus Herrera Cervantes, a big name for a little guy! His family lives in very poor living conditions and Francisco will benefit from the services provided by Children International.

Here is his family report:

FAMILY RECORD Child ID # 1150571

Date Completed 6/10/2010 3:59:00 PM Project Cartagena

Sub-Project CAR3104 Country Colombia

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD:

1. Child's Full Name: Francisco De Jesus Herrera Cervantes

First Last Name
Francisco De Jesus Herrera Cervantes

Age: 7 Sex: M Date of Birth: 10/27/2002

Height: 3 Feet 7 Inches Weight: 37 Pounds Hair Color: Brown Eye Color: Brown

2. Attends School: Yes

3. Favorite School Subjects: Art

Favorite Pastimes: Playing soccer

Chores at Home: Running errands

Talents or Hobbies: Drawing

Languages Spoken: Spanish

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S FAMILY:

4. Approximate monthly income for the family (in U.S. Dollars): $50.00

5. Name of Father: Pedro Nel Occupation:

(If not present, why?) Abandoned family

6. Name of Mother: Karina Occupation: Homemaker

(If not present, why?)

7. Brothers and Sisters:

Name: Evelyn Paola Age: 9 Sex: F Name: Samy Alberto Age: 2 Sex: M

8. Child lives with: Mother

INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S HOME:

9. Description of Home: Bathroom, One Bedroom, One multi-use room

Construction: Walls: Wood Roof: Corrugated metal Floor: Concrete

Cooking Facilities: Electric burner

Sleeping Accommodations: Wooden beds


10. Facilities and Services:

Water Source: Running water in home

Electricity: Regulated use

Sanitary Facility: Toilet

Francisco's Home

Who is Francisco?

Francisco is a little boy who lives in Cartagena, Colombia with his mother, older sister, baby brother, and nine other relatives. His father abandoned the family. Francisco likes to draw and play soccer. A big thank you to all who are helping to improve the life of this little boy and his family.