Bruno Lozano Navarrete
/Bruno, who is 13 years old, joined the program this year. EA helped restore Bruno's long-violated right to education. Bruno did not attend school, experienced family instability, and did not have a supportive home, which prevented him from making good use of his free time.
Despite the challenges, Bruno's resilience shines through. He has yet to develop basic learning skills for his age, such as reading and writing and was relocated to the 5th grade of primary school. His determination to overcome these obstacles is truly inspiring.
Throughout this process, Bruno was accompanied by EA in adapting and strengthening his interpersonal relationships with his classmates. At school, relationships were developed with the teacher to monitor his education and coordinate the corresponding help.
In the afternoon service, we provided him, we focused on developing his reading skills even though he was busy performing tasks he did not understand. He did it mechanically; he only transcribed without understanding. Little by little, he became more aware of and committed to the importance of reading. We put together an individualized plan, and every afternoon, he is accompanied and encouraged during his reading time.
At school, they assigned him a position as an ecological policeman, which made him feel very happy, and EA accompanied him in the corresponding swearing-in. Bruno is a very persistent and brave child; for the last project that they assigned him at school, he asked for help to make a poster for an exhibition in which he had to learn some names of places; he was very excited to learn and asked his classmates to read to him and help him. After his presentation, he was beaming with joy and pride, and his eagerness to share his success with his classmates made us all proud of his progress.
In the afternoons, he practiced group reading in the classroom every day. On one occasion, we asked Bruno again if he wanted to participate in the reading aloud. (Usually, he did not accept or participate, and we respected his process.) We were surprised when he bravely decided to say yes. Bruno read 11 words in the allotted time, a significant improvement. This progress in his reading skills gives us hope for his future.
It is amazing how God allows Bruno to experience his actual value in Christ. In life, he can find many difficulties (such as relating to his peers or controlling his emotions), and in each of them, he can find strength. God teaches us that he wants to restore our lives as he does with Bruno and his needs, but the most important thing is the deep work that has already begun in his heart. We are happy and expectant as God will continue transforming Bruno's life and what He has for him.
Vanessa Paredes
Esperanza School Director
