Ed Mendoza, our new VP of Education and Community Outreach, shares the second update to a previous post.

Christel (DeHaan) and I recently visited Jesus Obregon School in Caracas, Venezuela. Jesus Obregon is a technical institute that offers technical career courses for students in grades 7-12. In the evening it serves as a technical college for post High School Students and adults. During the visit we met up with a Christel House alumnus Karelvys Rodriguez and enjoyed a pleasant visit. (Pictured here from her 2008 graduation)

Karelvys, like many Christel House alumni, continues her studies to advance her career. She attended CH in the seventh grade and five years later completed her graduation requirements receiving her diploma from Christel House Venezuela in 2008. She is now enrolled at Jesus Obrero Technical College studying to be an assistant administrator. In addition to her daily classwork, 17 year old Karevys will hold a position as apprentice in a local business in Caracas. Typical for most students like Karevys, she starts her day very early in the morning. To arrive at school on time, she takes two buses for the long journey. The day at Jesus Obrero consist of office training from 8:00 AM until dismissal at 1:30 PM. The late afternoon and evening is spent on internship work. After work she takes the long ride home through extremely busy traffic. Karevys does not complain as she is very grateful to have the opportunity to attend school.

Karvlvys is appreciative of her learning opportunities at Christel House. She states, “It's a privilege to be a student at Christel House.” The education received at CH has prepared her well to continue studies at Jesus Obrero. She joins several other CH alumni also attending Jesus Obrero. CH alumni build strong relationships and build life-long friendships.

Karelvys is a great example of the CH mission, to break the chains of poverty and to become productive a citizen of the community. She advises current CH students to, “Learn as much as you can and take full advantage of all the courses. These courses will help you later.” It is always a joy to see first hand that Christal House is making a significant difference in the life of our students as well as in the La Vega community. The entire Christel House family should be proud to know that our efforts are producing positive results.

-Ed

Labels: alumni, graduation, update, Venezuela