The director of the preschool came up with the idea that Paulo could pay for half of his tuition up front and have the other half loaned to him by the preschool. After he graduated, he would be contracted to work with the preschool for two years and pay off the debt. However the preschool functions completely on donations. So I interviewed Paulo and wrote his story to share with the regular donating churches and personal friends of the director, in hopes of getting some extra finances for him specifically. The donated money would be processed through the preschools bank account but would go directly towards the loan he would be working off in the two years following his graduation.
I really like this idea because most of the time people here just get free hand outs. Free aid has become part of the culture, which ultimately is not helpful because the people arent learning how to be self sufficient. So this plan of a loan system is great and really progressive!
Unfortunetly, none of the friends or church donors have offered to help him. The preschool is also having trouble with finances at the moment so they are not able to help Paulo as planned. He was depending on the money and Im afraid he might have to drop out of school if he doesnt figure something out soon. There is no financial aid system for education in Mozambique like there is in the states so it is really hard for people to get a college education.
Paulo did not ask me for help, he just mentioned his financial dificulty in conversation this week. I thought it would be worth it to check and see if anyone at home was interesting in helping him finish his education. His school is between $100-$150 per month but I am not sure of the exact amount. If anyone is interested in even making a one time donation, I know it would be greatly appreciated! Any amount of donated money would be recorded and paid back after he graduates. So in retrospect, your donated money would be put back towards the preschools finances in a few years when he pays it back from his salary.
Here is Paulo's Story:
Paulo was born in 1984
in Guija, District of Chokwe, Province of Gaza. Paulo finished primary and secondary school
in Chokwe. He has two siblings, one
brother and one sister. His mother still
lives in Chokwe, however his father passed away in 1991. Paulo was married to his wife Rebeca in 2010
and they had their first child in 2011.
They had a baby girl, Ilda, who is now four months old.
In 2008 Paulo started
working at Hlauleka as a driver and administrative coordinator. Paulo also manages all of the construction
projects for Hlauleka. Some of his
responsibilities at the preschool are to file government documents, make bank
deposits, pay utility bills, maintain vehicles, process salaries, and create the
report of income and expenses.
In order to improve
the quality of his work at
the preschool, Paulo would like to attend an 18 month course for public
administration in Chokwe. He is going
to finish his last year of secondary school at the same time as the first
semester of college. Paulo will continue working for Hlauleka
during the day and attend school in the evenings. Paulo said “I have difficulties with finances
and this money would help me immensely, in order to complete my education.”
Paulo enjoys working
at the preschool and working with the children. Each morning he picks the children up and
drops them off in the afternoon, so he is able to get to know the children and
their families very well. In the future he
would like to see the preschool grow in many areas. At the moment we have one car but he would
like to see us have 3 cars for the children.
We are also in need of an office and he would like to manage the
building project in the future.
Outside of work Paulo
is actively involved with his church. He
has music practice on Saturdays and leads music on Sundays. He is also the activities director for his
church. On his free time Paulo likes to
spend time with his family, read the bible and work on cars.
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