Nicolas Francis

It's early morning, around 7:30 a.m. when I hear a knock on the door. Jayden is still in his pajamas, and we are both eating breakfast. I put my bowl of cereal aside and then go answer the door. When I open it I see a smiling Denise. "Madam," she says, "Nicolas ap ale na lekol e jodia li pote nef mayo. Eske ou ka fe foto silvouple?" (Nicolas is going to school and today he is wearing a new T-Shirt, can you take a picture please?) "Wi, mwen kapab" ( Yes, I can), I reply and start looking for my camera. Normally Nicolas wears a school uniform, consisting of a little checkered yellow shirt and tan pants, but since it's Christmas time, the school has given all the children one red shirt and one green shirt that they can wear to school. Meanwhile Jayden has clambered out of his high chair and escaped outside. Nicolas is his hero, best friend and like a big brother to him and Jayden is not going to miss out on this opportunity to see him. As I play with the settings on the camera, Nicolas posses against a wall. Seeing this Jayden does the same. "Jayden, move aside," I tell him, but he refuses to move. "Se oke", (It's okay) Denise laughs, so I take a picture of the two of them.



"Li bezwen pote chapo li osi," ( He needs to wear his hat also) Anoud pipes up and hands Nicolas the Christmas hat he received from the school as well. Sabboule doesn't think he should be missing out on the fun and finds a spot to stand on the other side of his big brother.




When I try to take a close up of the two brothers, Sabboule ducks. He can be so shy!



When the photo shoot is over, Anoud takes Nicolas to school and Jayden and I go back inside to finish our now soggy cereal. "Outside? Likka?" (Nicolas) Jayden begs as soon as he's finished his cereal. "You have to wait till he comes home from school." I reply, and Jayden sighs. Those two are thick as thieves. Both have way to much energy, love racing around, are very noisy and wild. They have sword fights with branches, races on the lawn, beat on buckets with sticks as if playing drums and get into all kinds of mischief. Sabbuole on the other hand is gentle, quiet and sweet. If it was up to him someone would just hug him all day. He likes colouring and can play quietly with toys for hours all by himself. Sometimes he tries to play with the other two boys, but that mostly ends up in him trailing behind them crying his eyes out because they are too rough and wild for his liking or he just can't keep up to their pace. How does a boy like Nicolas or Jayden do at school I wonder often. With that much energy? Nicolas is only four years old and goes to school five days a week from 8:30 - 2:30. Well, I shouldn't have worried.

That afternoon as I am cleaning the kitchen, there is another knock on the door. When I open it there stands a proud Anoud with a grinning Nicholas. He has just finished his last day of school before the Chritmas break and is now clutching his report card. "Ou bezwen gade li!"(You need to look at it!) Anoud says excitedly, so I do.



As you can see, in all his subjects he did good or excellent! And check out the bottom behavior section. According to it, he's always polite, disciplined, well behaved, good socially and participates well in activities! Wow, I am impressed and proud!

For Anoud and Denise who have only gone to school here and there when there parents or in Anoud's case guardians could afford it, and who can hardly read or write themselves this is incredibly important. Their child being able to go to school, speak French and get a good education means everything to them. It means that when he grows up he can get a good job, and do well for himself and his family. On behalf of Anoud and Denise I really want to thank the various people who provide support for Nicolas' schooling. I can't even start to describe how much this means to them.