Closing Ceremonies

School Supplies

Even though we are on the equator and don't have autumn, we do have back to school excitement here in Cape Verde as families prepare to send their children to school, some for the very first time.

Our Praia stake primary president, Sister Fernandes, wanted to organize a service project for the primary children to prepare school supplies for needy children.  So Elder Biven found partners to help us distribute the school supplies and wrote up a proposal to submit to Frankfurt.  Approval came.  It was a great project, a wonderful sponsor, Sister Fernandez and the stake primary, and wonderful NGOs, Primarily the "Black Panthers" community group in Varzea.

Black Panthers were super organized and, even though we were dealing with back to school craziness in the shops, purchasing everything went very smoothly.  Here is Elder Biven and one of our translators, Rosa, in a school supplies shop.  It might be interesting to the reader to note that the school supplies requested for each child were one pencil, one pen, two small paper notebooks, an eraser and-- this is the really big deal-- colored pencils.  We gave them two pencils and added a small plastic pencil sharpener.


Sister Fernandes was also very organized and on Wednesday afternoon about thirty people showed up to help put the school supplies for each student into individual bags.  The children worked so well!  I one hour they built 300 school supplies bags!

And then on Friday we attended the back to school ceremony held by Black Panthers at their community center.  This is the crowd waiting outside.

















This is the first year students (five year old class) waiting inside for distribution of their supplies, which included a special first year student frock (it's an African thing) and a backpack with school supplies.   The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints through LDS Charities provided backpacks and/or supplies for about 375 students.

Here is the President Alcides Amarante of Associação

Juvenile Black Panthers, on the right, Sister Fernandes and Lionel representing the Praia Stake priesthood leadership.  Humanitarian missionaries kind of try to hide when it's time for photos, and there were TV cameras there, because we are simply managing funds donated by LDS Church members, and the projects belong to the people of Cape Verde who make these things happen.











It touched our hearts when, as we drove away after distribution of the materials, Sister Fernandez told her story (in Portuguese) as we drove her back to her work.  She said she wanted to do this project because when she was a child and school started she had nothing.  Nothing, and it was very hard.  She wanted children to have supplies when they went to school.  She was glowing after this experience and we were so grateful we could help her do this wonderful service:  "Children serving children", something which was unprecedented, according to the President of Black Panthers.

Óculos for the Poor and Needy

Purchasing eyeglasses in Cape Verde can be an overwhelming prospect for the poor.  A pair of glasses will cost about what it takes for a small, and very humble, family to live on for a month.  It is overwhelming.  Our predecessor, the Carnells, thought up a project to provide eye glasses to the poor and needy of Cape Verde.  When we inherited the project it was in pretty rough shape.  But we followed through on their commitment, and although it took months, and although we still have a number of glasses that have been in customs for weeks, on Friday we were able to facilitate the first distribution of seventy eyeglasses to the poor and needy of Cape Verde.   It was a happy day, with one of the doctors who had provided the free exams presenting the glasses to each recipient.  It was all coordinated by our wonderful NGO, ADEVIC an organization for those with visual disabilities.  They called the recipients and provided the organization of the distribution and the space to do it in.  Television cameras were also present at this event.  Here are some photos of the happy recipients.  The young man was so thrilled, he could see well!!  He walked around with that smile on his face just beaming.