Scholarship Candidates 2006 Please feel free to choose a student to sponsor if you have the opportunity. These are the students who are currently studying 9th grade at Escuela Publica Canton El Zaite. They are all hardworking, intelligent students with a lot of potential to contribute to their community. Most of them come from single parent homes and live with their extended families. Some of them live in homes with as many as 16 family members in one small dwelling. The breadwinners of the family make around five dollars a day if theywork in the maquilas (clothing factories) in the area, but some of the families work in agriculture, which is not subject to minimum wage laws, and some of the workers earn less than three dollars a day. The students and families are ecstatic about the opportunity to continue their studies. The fence seen behind the students in these pictures was placed by Fundacion Habitat with the coordination of the Sister School Project and allows the elementry school students an outdoor space to play. Without your donations none of this would be possible. Thank you.

					Yolanda Escobar Alfaro Sponsored for three years by Erin and Tom Mettee Yolanda is a bright 15-year-old young woman who goes to church often with her family, enjoys playing soccer, and has three brothers. Her favorite subject in school is English and she works very hard to balance her life between studying, attending church, and helping her family. She spends a lot of time taking her family's clothes to a creek near the house where many women in the community do laundry. She would like to study Health in high school and proceed to university to study medicine if she's given the opportunity.
					Jonathan Ramirez Espinoza Sponsored for two years by Hickory High School Spanish Honor Society and Joseph Wilson and family Jonathan is a 14-year-old young man who is quiet, hardworking, and athletic. His goal is to attend high school and study public accounting. His father works as a cashier at a grocery store and his mother is a housewife. Jonathan loves mathematics, and wrote that "sometimes I imagine helping to improve the situation of my family. They have helped me so much and I would like to return the favor when I can."
					Claudia Patricia Jesus (Patty) Patty is a very animated 15-year-old young woman who is always smiling and has one of the highest grades in my English class. She has volunteered to help the school create a small library of children's books for the elementary school. She will organize the books based on subject and author, and be responsible for letting families in the community borrow the books. She has three brothers and one sister and would like to go to high school, and later the university to get a degree in public administration. According to Patty she is "funny, caring, and I love to participate in all the activities of the school."
	Veronica Gomez Renderos Sponsored for two years by Angie Lloyd and Jack Ferrebee Veronica is a hardworking 16-year-old young woman who dedicates herself to her schoolwork. She has two sisters and two brothers. She enjoys playing soccer and would like to go to high school and then study in university to be an English teacher. She is very shy at first, but once she gets to know you she is talkative, friendly, and willing to do anything to help her friends. Rosaura Marielos Ramirez Sponsored for two years by Ms. Giovanetti's ESL / Spanish Class at McKinley School, and anonymous donor Rosaura is the top student of the ninth grade class. She has the rare blend of talent and dedication that leads to greatness and at only 13-years-old is the youngest of the ninth graders. She is dedicated to her family and spends a lot of time taking care of her younger brothers and sisters. According to Rosaura, "my favorite subject is English because I know it will serve me in the future. The career that has always called me is to be a lawyer, and I want to be someone in life." I have no doubt that with the opportunity of education, Rosaura will achieve her dream.