Mrs.Matzen's Fourth grade

Kaden: "What kind of hard work do they have to do in order to survive?"

They work in the fields with their families, they may have to pick up scrap metal to try and sell. There are many children who are orphaned or living with relatives. Things are very different here for children.

Lucia: "Can you please find out some of the 4th graders' names?"

They have many different names some student names I have meet while here: Michael, David, Harriet, David, Moses, Henry, Martha, Ruth, Ida, Rita, Mary,and  Miriam.

Vinny: "What kind of stuff do they have at their pharmacy?"

I have not yet been into a pharmacy, I would imagine it is mostly medications and supplies.

Chuck: "Do they like football? Do they know what that is?"

Here they call soccer football, so I ask about football, I have to make sure I say American Football.  The truth is they don’t know anything about American Football, they don’t understand it, and don’t follow it.

Amelia: "Do a lot of the kids live at the school?"

Depending on the school, some are boarding and some are just day schools. The rural schools often are mostly day schools while the people who can afford to board will send their children.  The secondary schools are mostly boarding schools. Many adults have stories of being dropped off by their parents at a boarding school at an early age 6 or 7 and spending many nights crying and missing the family.

Melina: "Are there a pretty even amount of boys and girls at the schools?"

I am pleased and thrilled that there seem to be more girls than boys or at least equal amounts.  It hasn’t always been the case that girls would get a chance to go to school.  It is still true that in some of the more rural areas the boys outnumber the girls.

Paige: "Do they have breaks - like summer break?"

They do have a break, but over all they are in school for about 256 days… a lot more than we are!

Ben: "How much farm work do they do?"

Comparatively the do a lot of garden/farm work. They grow veggies to supplement their own food source or perhaps to sell.

Elizabeth: "Is it hard for them to meet their essential needs there?"

Yes, and their needs are slightly different than ours. The standard of living here is different than at home. 

Schuyler: "What other kinds of toys do they make (you mentioned they made a ball out of a water bottle and rocks)?"

Anything that they can toss around or kick becomes a toy. I watched some boys playing with the inner tube of a tire…

Isabel: "How excited were they to get all of the donations?"

They were very excited and grateful. I will show some video when I return!