Joe is our child through Adopt a Kid in Need (AKIN). AKIN is a program started by American college students wanting to help Zambian kids affected by AIDS. Half a million children there have already lost parents to the disease. Without AKIN, these kids might never have the chance to go to school, and are more likely to become victims themselves. To learn more about AKIN, click here.
Children in the AKIN program are learning English, so the letters come straight through without needing to be translated in between. In Tonga, the children's native language, there are no rules regarding the spelling of the written word; words are spelled how they sound, and not always the same way! Often the people do the same with English, so it is not unusual for words, even names, to be spelled differently from one letter to the next. Note the spelling of Joe's name in our first letter from him:
How are you by these days, me I am all right. I am a boy aged 8 years old. I am in grade 2. I have one brothers and one sister. I am the 2 in our family. The best subject I like is English I also enjoy playing football and cross country. I would like to know your family.
Yours faithfully
Joh |
