As principal Iris Arely Castillo de Moreno watched children anxiously file into San Jose Naranjo School for the first day of classes, a pale, skinny boy named Daniel caught her eye. Most of the children in this rural school in El Salvador were malnourished, but it was evident Daniel’s situation was far worse than most.
“The first thing he did was ask for food,” says de Moreno of Daniel. “I knew he needed help and needed it fast.”
Daniel began kindergarten that day and each day thereafter he asked for food. One of ten siblings, Daniel’s parents lacked the means to feed all the children. Soon after, Convoy of Hope began providing meals at Daniel’s school.
“We’ve watched Daniel’s growth and development as a student here and it is amazing,” reports de Moreno. “We’re so thankful for Convoy of Hope and its supporters.”
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Daniel is no longer the frail kindergartener in search of a meal. Today, he’s a healthy, prospering seventh grader. The twelve-year-old plays the trumpet in the school band and excels academically.
“The food is helping me because it has vitamins and makes me feel strong,” says Daniel. “I’m excited to get to school because sometimes it is the only time I get to eat.” Like most twelve-year-olds, Daniel loves recess and playing with his friends.
“Convoy of Hope came to Daniel and to our school at just the right moment,” says de Moreno. “We were about to close the school because we had no money. Convoy of Hope’s support helped us remain open and continue to help the children of this community.”
Convoy of Hope also helped build housing facilities for the school where teachers can stay during the week and as part of the feeding initiative, packets of food are sent home with children for their families.
“It’s because of stories like Daniel’s that we set out to feed more than 100,000 children through our children’s feeding initiatives,” says Hal Donaldson, president of Convoy of Hope. “We’ve reached that goal thanks, in part, to our sponsors and supporters but there are still many more children we want to reach.”
