Leboy Edward Laizer

"Leboy had his communion and we were all very happy to see him having his first communion. His baptismal name is Edward Laizer. We are all proud when he attends church, we believe it will shape his morals."

--Laizer, Leboy's father

Standard 5 Term 3

As the year draws to an end we see another fantastic performance by Leboy.

As we can see, Leboy has finished the last term of standard 5 (the equivalent of the fifth grade) in third position and with very positive comments from his teacher and headmaster. As usual, he does very well in English and maths, even though they do not seem to be his strongest subjects, but keeps dropping points in French. As a reminder, French is actually the fourth language for many students at St Thomas, after English, Swahili, and their mother tongue (in Leboy's case, Ma).

I am hoping to be able to reward Leboy's efforts with a trip to an English speaking country sometime in 2014. If anyone reading this knows of any camps that Leboy might like (hint: soccer!) or knows of any scholarships that we might apply for, please contact me!

Happy holidays to everyone, and see you in 2014!

Standard 5 3rd Term Interim Report

Good news from Moshono. Leboy's midterm report is in and it looks like he's going to finish the school year strong. Ranking third, he's averaging good grades. Let's hope he can push till the end of the year and finish on top!

Leboy's 2nd term Standard 5

Leboy's report card of his second term at St Thomas Nurse & Primary School Standard 5 is here!

Once again Leboy has shown what he's capable of, ranking third with a plethora of As and some Bs in French, Sports, Computer, and Kiswahili. Even more encouraging is the fact that despite this great score his teacher seems to believe that Leboy is capable of so much more. More effort, the teacher says. From here we also say: Keep working hard, Leboy! Let's see you become number 1!

Pictures from Leboy's field trip and b-day party!

Below are some pictures from Leboy's birthday party and his field trip to Manyara park. He's growing up so fast!

Happy Birthday Leboy!

Yesterday was Leboy's birthday, and earlier this week his father sent me the mid-term report card. Our recently-turned twelve year-old is doing as well as ever, ranking 3rd in the middle of the school year. Congratulations and happy birthday, Leboy!

Direct Child Sponsorship Works

Direct child sponsorship has been around for a few decades now, but the effects of such programs have not been held to scrutiny... until now.

This paper provides a very elegant econometric analysis that such programs can have a positive effect on a child's future. Children who were sponsored under the organization the authors investigate completed more than one year of schooling on average and were much more likely to enter university and take up a white-collar job. It is a very well-written paper which I recommend anyone who has ever helped, or thought about helping, young children in need.

It is worth mentioning that Leboy's case is not a perfect match for this paper. First, any efforts to support Leboy are not channeled via any organization. It all comes from the people who are invested in his future: his family, his school, us... Second, Leboy isn't going to just any school. St Thomas is one of the top schools in Northern Tanzania with excellent teachers and resources. While this does not necessarily translate into future success, Leboy is in a much more privileged position than the children sampled in the paper to "make it" and pursue his dreams.