A kindergarten field trip

This fundraising page has been set up by 52 Lives, a website which aims to change the life of a stranger every week of the year.

This week, 52 Lives wants to help a kindergarten class in Albuquerque, USA.

We recently came across a story about a kindergarten teacher, Sonya. The story said the first thing she does when her children walk into her classroom in the morning is an inventory of immediate needs – if they have eaten, if they are clean. The reason? Some come to school having slept in homeless shelters and motels where it can be difficult to access a bathroom. Some are surviving on food stamps, which don’t stretch as far as they need to. She even has a drawer full of clean, dry socks, in case the children arrive with wet feet.

Sonya also told of her toughest day as a teacher. Authorities came to remove a malnourished child from her classroom after it was discovered that one of his parents had overdosed on drugs. The boy was begging not to be taken away, and Sonya was at a loss as to what to do.  The only thing she could think to do was to give him a stuffed toy to ‘take care’ of. Several weeks later, when his foster parents brought him back to school, he still had the toy. He told her he never let it ‘be lonely’.

This teacher is an amazing woman, who is making such a difference to these 18 little lives. 52 Lives contacted the journalist who wrote the article, Alice Gomstyn, and she put us in touch with Sonya. When we asked Sonya if there was anything we could do to help her students, she said she would love to be able to take her class on a small field trip. 

“So many of my kids have never been on a school bus or even been to a museum. We have little to no money for such "extravagances”…. But experiences build memories and access to a bigger world.”

So, this is what we need:

US$150 to hire a school bus for the trip

US$5 for each child -($90)

Please help if you can.