A few success stories

Today was the last day of the second Monitoring & Evaluation field mission. All in all we visited 13 schools and interviewed 22 TaC-beneficiaries. Most schools were visited for the first time, only two were visited in order to follow up our measures taken since the first visit. For example: in August, seven of our beneficiaries who struggled with diseases were taken to hospital for a medical check-up. I have by now seen four of them again - and you know what? Those four are all in good health, energetic, and in most cases even their performance has improved! I was most impressed by one boy in Yala, who didn't perform well back in July and made a lethargic impression on me. When I met him again today, I almost didn't recognize him: a smart young man with a cheerful smile and an impressive report form in his pocket. His teacher complimented highly on the increased performance and thinks of the boy as a promising case. Three girls, who struggled with eye problems, have also received treatment and are no longer disturbed nor distracted by sickness. One of them proudly presented her new glasses to us...
During the first visit we found that one boy had run away from his boarding school and was even suspected for theft. It was not easy to track him down and when we eventually managed, we were very disappointed by his behavior, but decided to give him a last chance: if he manages to inscribe himself in a different school on his own and doesn't misbehave anymore, we wouldn't drop him. The boy apparently grasped the seriousness of his situation. He indicated the school he would attend and promised not to let us down a second time. I must say, I didn't quite believe him back then. Today however, we paid a surprise visit to his new school. We found the boy in class, friendly and relaxed. The principal and his deputy praised him and his performance and proudly presented the results of the last exam-cycle, where he scored the second best result. We told the principal to keep an eye on him and bid good-bye to the school with a smile of relief on our faces.